TWD: Floating Islands

I hate tempering. No matter what, my eggs always scramble.

So when I saw this week’s TWD involved some kind of tempering and dealing with my ‘oh so not favorite thing’ (making meringues), I told another baker that floating islands ‘scared me’ and I wasn’t sure I was going to make them.

Then, I reminded myself of why I joined a baking club in the first place. To try new things, or at the very least conquer things I don’t normally set out to do in the kitchen. So, I put my big girl panties on and got out my eggs and started tempering. Otherwise, what’s the point?

For someone who aspires to be a pastry chef, I ought to be a bit more tough…and not let things I’m not so sure of “scare me”. I suppose I could use that advice for life in general.

Anyway….

This week’s TWD was hosted by Shari of Whisk a Food Blog. If you would like to see the recipe, be sure to visit her page. You can also check out what the other TWD bakers were up to this week by clicking here.

How did I fare this week?

Well, I think the saying is “It’s better to try and fail than to never try at all”???

That was me this week. Failure.

My eggs certainly did scramble because I couldn’t get the temp up to 180, and pressed on to try to reach it. It never happened. Instead, I got scrambled anglaise. I strained it and prayed it would be better in the morning. Nope. Still scrambled bits left and very thick. *shivers*

But I was determined to see what the fuss was about with poaching meringues. I had to try it. So I separated more eggs, whipped them, and poached them. It was cool to watch but honestly, either I’m not getting the nostalgia of a foamy egg white in my mouth or I did it all wrong. (I’m hoping it’s the latter because together my dessert was utterly repulsive). Between the slimy foamy consistency of the egg and the scramble in my anglaise….it just wasn’t a home run for me. So I am looking forward to today just to see what the other bakers’ came up with.

Back to the drawing board….

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