swan song

meringue in a gentle pond of crème anglaise

I went for an evening walk with a friend recently and we wondered about why writers love birds so much. There’s mention of them in nearly every essay and every poem I can think of and used to illustrate every wild, beautiful, sorrowful thing. He dreams of a bird, he tells me, of lemon flowers, says Mahmoud Darwish. To be loved is to be impaled by a bird’s sharp beak, says Virginia Woolf. Franny Choi: how I pleaded quiet as a bird knocked out of air. Cliff Fell: something in your fingertips, something winged and intimate. Mary Oliver: no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese. And on, and on, and on.

I know I am no different, as someone who pauses to look at every common city sparrow and dreams of someday-children named Robin and Dove. Maybe we write so much about birds because they remind us of our softest parts: what flutters, what sings, what bleeds. I recently re-read Oliver’s With Thanks to the Field Sparrow, Whose Voice is So Delicate and Humble, which so tenderly goes:

I do not live happily or comfortably
With the cleverness of our times.
The talk is all about computers,
The news is all about bombs and blood.
This morning, in the fresh field,
I came upon a hidden nest.
It held four warm, speckled eggs.
I touched them.
Then went away softly,
Having felt something more wonderful
Than all the electricity of New York City.

Have hope; soon it will be spring. This morning I saw a cardinal fluffing its scarlet wings in the bare branches of the neighborhood willow tree, like a beating heart. There really is poetry in everything.

I was inspired by the French dessert “île flottante” while making this swan, which features a sweet, airy, crunchy meringue filled with vanilla bean custard, red currant jam, chantilly cream, and a luscious crème anglaise. What’s great about these fillings is that they ensure no part of the egg goes to waste — the whites are used in the meringue and the leftover yolks are used to make the custard and crème anglaise.

I’d highly recommend drawing and cutting out a stencil for the swan’s head/neck, wings, and body, which you can then trace onto your parchment paper and use as a piping guide. I’d also recommend making multiple necks and wings per batch, because the meringue pieces are very fragile and easily breakable once dry. Below is an example template of my stencil with their approximate measurements:

Swan’s head/neck: 8 x 2 inches. Swan’s wings: 7 x 4 inches. Swan’s body: 4 x 2 inches.

Note that the body of the swan (bottom of the page) will be the “boat” that holds whatever you want to serve the meringue with (like a pavlova), so it will need to be taller/deeper/have more dimension than the other pieces. Be sure to also make it on the narrower side, because the wider the body, the farther apart the wings will be when sandwiched on either side, which gives the swan less structural integrity.

Though this recipe is a bit laborious, I hope it brings you joy, light, and discovery like it did for me. Please, enjoy ♡

The Swan Maidens, by Walter Crane

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Swan Meringue

Ingredients:

For the meringue:

• 250 g egg whites (from about 7 eggs, save the yolks)

• 300 g white sugar

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 75 g powdered sugar

• 10 g cornstarch

• 7 g vinegar

For the vanilla bean custard & jam:

• 2 cups milk, divided

• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

• 1/4 cup cornstarch

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar

• 2 large egg yolks (saved from the meringue)

• 2 cups salted butter, room temperature

• Red currant jam (or jam of choice)

For the chantilly cream:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

For the crème anglaise:

• 5 large egg yolks (saved from the meringue)

• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1/2 cup whole milk

• 3 tbsp granulated sugar

• Pinch of salt

• Ice, for chilling the bowl

Special equipment needed:

• Swan stencil (I drew and cut the pieces out of cardstock)

• Stand mixer (or hand mixer)

• Piping bags

• A large round piping tip (like Ateco #808)

• A very small round piping tip (like Ateco #2)

• A large French star piping tip (like Ateco #869)

Recipe:

The meringue:

1. Preheat your oven to 175F (200F is fine if your oven doesn’t go that low). Line two sheet trays with aluminum foil followed by a sheet of parchment paper with your desired stencil shapes traced on the underside (the foil keeps the sheet tray from getting too hot and browning the bottom half of the meringue). Note that the meringue will need at least fours hours to bake and dry, but is also quite shelf-stable, so you can make it a few days in advance if needed.

2. Fill a small saucepan with about 2 inches of water and set over high heat. You should be able to fit your stand mixer bowl (or a large metal bowl) over top without touching the water.

3. While the water warms, measure your egg whites, granulated sugar, and salt into the bowl. Make sure to save at least 5 yolks for the crème anglaise. later. Place the bowl over the boiling water pot and begin whisking to dissolve the sugar and warm the egg whites. Cook until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are slightly warm to the touch (~120F, make sure to measure the temperature often because this happens pretty quickly).

4. Remove the bowl from the heat and begin whipping the egg whites at high speed, either with your stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a hand mixer. Whip until stiff peaks form, and then keep beating until the meringue starts to feel thick (an additional 2 to 3 minutes after stiff peaks; you will notice that running the beaters through the meringue will feel more like an arm workout).

5. Sift and fold in your powdered sugar and cornstarch, then fold in the vinegar.

   Once everything is combined, fill three piping bags with meringue: one fitted with the large round tip, one with the French star tip, and one with the small round tip (this bag doesn’t need that much meringue in it because it’s only used for the swan beaks).

6. With the large round tip, follow your stencil guide to pipe the swan neck, starting with the head. Once finished, use the small round tip to pipe a triangle beak connected to the round head. You can also use the large round tip to make the swan boat/body — this doesn’t have to look “pretty” because it will be hidden by the wings. Use a spoon to sculpt a cavity into the center of the body (like a traditional pavlova) so it can be filled with custard/jam.

7. With the large French star tip, pipe rows of feather “dollops” onto your wing stencil (see images above). You will need at least two wings. Across two baking sheets, I was able to fit two swan necks, four wings, and two body/boats.

8. Once the meringue is piped to your liking, bake in the oven for three hours, then let sit in the oven for another hour with the heat turned off to fully set (drying it in the oven will prevent wrinkling and cracking). The pieces should feel hard to touch and very light when picked up. You can store the meringues in a cool, dry place covered with plastic wrap for up to two weeks.

The crème anglaise:

1. When you’re ready to assemble your swan, make your crème anglaise first: Fill a large bowl halfway with ice and place a medium metal bowl on top, pouring a couple inches of cold water into the large bowl so the ice water reaches halfway up the outside of the inner metal bowl. Let the bowl chill in the ice bath.

2. In another bowl, whisk 5 large egg yolks and set aside. In a small saucepan, add 1 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup whole milk, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, and a pinch of salt. Stir until combined, bring to a boil, then remove immediately from heat.

3. While stirring the egg yolks with a wooden spoon, slowly pour in 1/3 cup of the hot cream mixture. Once fully combined, add the yolk mixture back to the saucepan. Stir to combine.

4. Return the saucepan to medium-low heat. While stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, cook until the custard is silky but thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (around 5 minutes).

5. Immediately strain the custard through a fine-mesh strainer into the chilled metal bowl. Stir the crème anglaise continuously over the ice bath until chilled, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

The vanilla bean custard & chantilly cream

1. The process of making the vanilla bean custard is similar to the crème anglaise: Add 1 1/2 cups milk and the vanilla bean paste into a saucepan. Cook over high heat, stirring often until it just starts to simmer. Remove from heat.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk remaining 1/2 cup milk, egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch.

3. While whisking vigorously, slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, then return mixture to saucepan and cook over high heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and comes to a boil. Pass through a strainer and into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on top of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Cool to room temperature.

4. With a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the softened butter on high speed until pale and fluffy. By hand, whisk the room temperature custard until smooth, then add to the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, incorporating well after each addition. Taste, and add powdered sugar or more vanilla if desired. Beat for an additional 2 to 3 minutes until everything is smooth and fluffy.

5. For the chantilly cream, simply beat together heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form.

Swan assembly:

1. Fill a piping bag fitted with the large French star tip with the vanilla bean custard. Place your swan body/boat in the center of a large platter. At the base of the swan’s neck, pipe a bit of custard to act as “glue” and adhere to the front of the body. While still holding onto the neck, pipe two dollops of custard onto the platter on either side of the neck to keep it secure. I also like to pipe a dollop of custard behind the neck on top of the body so it has something to “rest” against. Feel free to pipe as much custard around the neck and body to ensure everything stays in place.

2. Add a layer of jam into the swan body cavity, then pipe a layer of custard dollops on top. At the bottom edge of each wing, pipe a line of custard (again to act as “glue”) and press gently to adhere to either side of the swan body.

3. Now, you can fill the swan with as much custard, chantilly cream, and jam as you’d like. The higher you pile the filling, the more structurally sound the swan will be, but make sure it all stays hidden behind the wings. When ready to serve, pour the chilled crème anglaise around the swan, like a little pond.

If you make this recipe, please feel free to tag me on Instagram (@eldrflwr) so I can see your beautiful creations and feature you in my story if you’d like! Thanks for reading!