Recipe

Chocolate Souffle Recipe

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Ingredients

Heavy cream; whipped to stiff peaks
8 lg Egg whites
1/2 c Unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 c Granulated sugar
3 oz Bittersweet chocolate; sliced
Creme anglaise;
1/3 c Half-and-half
Powdered sugar for dusting
1/2 c Water

Directions

Step #1 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Step #2 Souffles are baked at a high temperature to ensure a good rise.
Step #3 Use a pastry brush to evenly coat the inside of a 1 1/2-quart souffle mold with softened butter.
Step #4 Fill the mold with granulated sugar, then pour out the excess.
Step #5 If you have properly buttered the mold, the sugar will stick to the side & bottom of it.
Step #6 The butter & sugar keep the souffle from sticking to the side of the mold & allow it to rise evenly.
Step #7 The sugar also gives the souffle a crunchy crust, which I think makes a great contrast to it’s soft interior.
Step #8 Prepare the souffle base: Pour the half-and-half into a 1 quart heavy-bottomed saucepan & heat over medium high heat until bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan.
Step #9 remove this from the heat and make a ganache by adding the sliced chocolate.
Step #10 Stir well until mixd & all of the chocolate has melted.
Step #11 Place a 1-quart saucepan half-filled with boiling water over high heat & bring to a boil.
Step #12 Make a double-boiler by setting a large mixing bowl over the boiling water.
Step #13 Place the ganache in the mixing bowl, add the cocoa powder & water, & whisk until very hot.
Step #14 remove this from the heat & set aside.
Step #15 To finish the souffle: Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl & whip with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy.
Step #16 Increase the mixer speed to medium-high & make a French meringue by adding the sugar 1 tbsp at a time & whipping the whites to stiff but not dry peaks.
Step #17 Do not overwhip the egg whites or they will not incorporate evenly into the ganache, & when baked, the souffle will have chewy pieces of egg white in it.
Step #18 You can tell the egg whites are overwhipped if they start to separate & resemble scrambled eggs.
Step #19 Use a rubber spatula to carefully fold about half the meringue into the warm chocolate mixture.
Step #20 Then fold the chocolate mixture into the remaining meringue, being careful not to deflate the batter.
Step #21 The souffle mixture should be homogeneous in color, but if you still see streaks of meringue in the batter, that’s okay.
Step #22 Use a rubber spatula to carefully place the souffle mixture in the buttered & sugared mold.
Step #23 Fill to about one inch above the rim of the mold.
Step #24 Place the souffle in the center of the oven & remove the top oven rack if necessary to allow enough room for it to rise.
Step #25 If the souffle is too close to the bottom of the oven, the bottom of the souffle will burn before the inside is properly baked.
Step #26 bake this until the souffle has risen to about one & a half times its original height & starts to brown on top, about 20 mins.
Step #27 Remove from the oven & dust the top this with powdered sugar.
Step #28 Serve as soon as possible with a side of whipped cream or creme anglaise, if desired.
Step #29 --.
Enjoy the Chocolate Souffle recipe