There is some confusion about the name. In French cuisine, the terms œufs à la neige ("eggs in snow") and île flottante (floating island) are sometimes used interchangeably; the latter is the source of the English name. The difference between the two dishes is that île flottante is often one large meringue cooked in a bain-marie in the oven, and may contain additional flavoring, while œufs à la neige consists of smaller scoops of meringue poached in liquid on the stove.[1][2]