Schneenockerl auf Kanarimilch

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide shallow saucepan (24-28cm)
• •Two large soup spoons for shaping
• •Slotted spoon
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Wooden spoon
• •Hand mixer or stand mixer for egg whites

Instructions

1. 1

   Warm the poaching milk

   Pour the milk into a wide, shallow saucepan. Add the scraped vanilla seeds and the empty pod. If you're using Vanillezucker instead, add it now along with 40g of the granulated sugar. Heat the milk over medium-low until small bubbles form at the edges. You want it just below a simmer, never boiling. Boiling milk will tear your Nockerl apart instead of setting them gently. Keep the heat low and the surface barely trembling.

   A wide pan matters here. You need room for the Nockerl to float without touching each other. A deep saucepan will crowd them. Use the widest pan you have, at least 24cm across.
2. 2

   Beat the egg whites

   While the milk heats, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt in a spotlessly clean bowl until they hold soft peaks. Add 60g of the sugar gradually, a tablespoon at a time, beating continuously. Keep going until the meringue is glossy, smooth, and holds firm peaks that curl just slightly at the tip. If you add the sugar too fast, the whites won't reach their full volume. Patience here pays off in lighter Nockerl.

   Gretel always said your eggs should be at room temperature for whipping. Cold whites take longer to reach full volume and the meringue is less stable. Take the eggs out of the fridge thirty minutes before you start.
3. 3

   Shape and poach the Nockerl

   Using two large soup spoons dipped in hot water, shape the meringue into oval Nockerl. Scoop a generous spoonful of meringue with one spoon, then pass it to the other spoon, turning it to form a smooth egg shape. You should get six to eight Nockerl from this amount. Slide them gently onto the surface of the barely simmering milk, leaving space between each one. Cover the pan and poach for four to five minutes. Don't lift the lid. The trapped heat sets the tops while the milk sets the bottoms. When you uncover them, they should be firm on the outside but still soft and cloud-like inside.

   Dipping the spoons in hot water between each Nockerl keeps the meringue from sticking. You'll get cleaner shapes and your kitchen will stay calm.
4. 4

   Lift and rest the Nockerl

   Lift the poached Nockerl out of the milk with a slotted spoon and set them on a clean plate. They'll look pale and pillowy and impossibly delicate. Handle them gently. Keep the poaching milk in the pan. You need it for the custard, and it's now flavored with vanilla and a whisper of meringue sweetness, which is exactly what you want.

5. 5

   Make the Kanarimilch

   In a separate bowl, whisk the four egg yolks with the remaining 20g of sugar until pale and thick. Slowly pour the warm poaching milk through a fine sieve into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. You're tempering the yolks so they don't scramble on contact. Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and cook over the lowest heat you have, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Constantly means constantly. Don't answer the phone. Don't check your messages. Stir in slow figure-eights, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan. The custard is ready when it coats the back of the spoon and you can draw a clean line through it with your finger that doesn't run back together. This takes five to eight minutes.

   If you see the custard start to look grainy at the edges, pull the pan off the heat immediately and whisk hard. Pour it through a sieve into a cold bowl. You can rescue a custard that's just beginning to split. You cannot rescue one that's fully curdled. Stay close and keep stirring.
6. 6

   Cool the custard

   Pour the finished Kanarimilch through a fine sieve into a clean bowl or jug. Remove the vanilla pod if you haven't already. Let the custard cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming. If you want to speed this up, set the bowl over a larger bowl of ice water and stir until cool. The custard will thicken slightly as it cools. It should be pourable but rich, the color of a canary's breast, golden and glossy.

7. 7

   Assemble and serve

   Divide the cool Kanarimilch among shallow bowls or deep plates. Set two Nockerl on each pool of custard. They'll float. Dust the tops lightly with powdered sugar. If you like, scatter the finest thread of lemon zest across the surface. Serve immediately. The Nockerl are best within thirty minutes of poaching, while they're still soft and yielding against the cool custard beneath them. Mahlzeit!

Chef Tips

• •This is a dish of two temperatures. The Kanarimilch should be cool and the Nockerl should be served while they're still slightly warm from poaching. That contrast between the cold custard and the warm, pillowy meringue is what makes the first spoonful so good. Don't refrigerate the Nockerl.
• •Use a real vanilla pod if you can get one. The Kanarimilch is so simple that the quality of the vanilla has nowhere to hide. If you can't find a pod, use good Vanillezucker. Do not use vanilla extract here. The flavor is different and the custard won't taste right.
• •The whole recipe uses just four eggs, milk, and sugar. This is the kind of cooking where your ingredients have to be good because there are so few of them. Buy the freshest eggs you can find. The yolks should be deep orange, and they'll give your Kanarimilch that proper canary color.
• •If you have leftover Kanarimilch, pour it into small glasses and chill it. It's beautiful on its own the next day, served cold with a biscuit on the side.

Advance Preparation

• •The Kanarimilch can be made up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated, covered with cling film pressed directly onto the surface to prevent a skin.
• •The Nockerl must be poached fresh and served within thirty minutes. There is no shortcut around this. They deflate as they sit and there's no bringing them back.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 200g)