Ile Flottante (Floating Island)

Name: Ile Flottante (Floating Island)
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 8 or more servings
Cuisine: french
Ingredients: 1/4 cup currants; 1 spongecake loaf (see recipe), preferably made at least one day in advance; 1/4 cup kirschwasser or maraschino liqueur; 1/2 cup apricot preserves; 1/4 cup toasted, coarsely chopped almonds; 1 cup heavy cream; 2 tablespoons sugar; 1/4 cup shelled pistachios, cleaned of their dark outer coating; English custard (see recipe) OR; Raspberry sauce (see recipe)

By Craig Claiborne and Pierre Franey

Total Time: About 1 hour
Rating: 4(16)
Comments: Read comments

Featured in: FOOD; A CLASSIC CONFUSION

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Ingredients

Yield:8 or more servings

¼cup currants
1spongecake loaf (see recipe), preferably made at least one day in advance
¼cup kirschwasser or maraschino liqueur
½cup apricot preserves
¼cup toasted, coarsely chopped almonds
1cup heavy cream
2tablespoons sugar
¼cup shelled pistachios, cleaned of their dark outer coating
English custard (see recipe) OR
Raspberry sauce (see recipe)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Place the currants in a small bowl and add warm water to cover. Let stand 30 minutes or longer. Drain and pat dry.
Step 2
Place the spongecake loaf on a flat surface and, holding a sharp knife parallel to the surface, cut the cake lengthwise into four flat slices, each approximately the same thickness.
Step 3
Arrange the slices close together. Sprinkle or brush with the kirschwasser or maraschino liqueur.
Step 4
Heat the apricot preserves in a small saucepan, stirring. When slightly liquid, remove from the heat. Brush the spongecake slices with the preserves.
Step 5
Use half of the currants and sprinkle an equal portion of them over the layers. Sprinkle each layer with an equal amount of the almonds. Reshape the loaf by piling the layers one on top of the other.
Step 6
Whip the cream and when it is partly beaten, sprinkle in the sugar. Continue beating until it is stiff. Coat the reassembled loaf with the whipped cream, top and sides.
Step 7
Sprinkle the remaining currants and the pistachios over the loaf. Set the loaf in a rectangular serving dish, leaving a margin for the sauce. Pour an English custard or a raspberry sauce around the cake and serve sliced.

Tip

Classically, this dessert is made in a special savoy mold. This is a mold of pyramid shape with a flat bottom and fluted edges. In this recipe, we have used a standard loaf pan because savoy pans, although available in specialty shops, are not standard in most American homes.