What makes the perfect chocolate soufflé? It should be delicate and light, with the texture of a chocolate mousse. Moist, but not runny (this is not a chocolate lava cake). They say that if you place a teaspoon into the centre, it should slowly sink under its own weight… It should be made from the simplest ingredients, without any butter or flour in the soufflé mixture itself. It’s not difficult to make – you simply need to follow the recipe carefully. It rises beautifully, up to 3 cm above the rim of the ramekin. A soufflé must be served immediately. There’s one golden rule: the soufflé must never wait for us – we wait for the soufflé! Before you begin, prepare all your bowls and equipment, and make sure all the ingredients have come to room temperature. It’s also worth reading my guide on whisking egg whites to soft peaks before you start. Impress your family and friends!
Makes 4 servings.
Ingredients for the chocolate soufflé:
- 140 g dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 90 ml double cream
- 2½ tablespoons caster sugar
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon rum or vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Prepare 4 ramekins (180 ml each). Thoroughly grease the inside of each ramekin with softened butter, making sure to cover the sides all the way to the top edge. This is very important, as it helps the soufflés rise evenly. Dust the ramekins with caster sugar (or granulated sugar), turning them so the sugar coats the entire inside surface. Tap out any excess.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Pour the double cream into a heavy-based saucepan and add the sugar and rum. Bring just to the boil, remove from the heat immediately, then add the chopped chocolate. Leave for 2 minutes, then gently whisk until you have a smooth, glossy ganache. Leave to cool slightly. The ganache should be warm, but still pourable.
Separate the eggs. Whisk the egg yolks into the warm ganache until completely combined. The mixture should be smooth and flow easily from the whisk. In a clean, dry metal or glass bowl, whisk the egg whites with the pinch of salt until they reach the soft peak stage. When you lift the beaters, the peaks should gently curl over into a hook shape. Do not whisk to stiff peaks.
Add about one-third of the whisked egg whites to the chocolate mixture and stir briskly to loosen it. Add the remaining egg whites and gently fold them in with a spatula, using broad strokes from the bottom of the bowl upwards. Fold only until no white streaks remain. Overmixing will knock out the air bubbles that help the soufflés rise.
Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared ramekins, filling them almost to the top and leaving about 2–3 mm below the rim. Place the ramekins into the preheated oven. After 30 seconds, reduce the oven temperature to 180°C.
Bake for about 15 minutes with the fan oven or 16–18 minutes using conventional top and bottom heat. Do not open the oven door while the soufflés are baking. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.
It is completely normal for the soufflés to sink slightly after 5–10 minutes, which is exactly why they should be served as soon as they come out of the oven. Immediately after baking, they should rise to about 1 cm above the rim of the ramekins.
Enjoy!
After a few minutes out of the oven, they begin to sink… that’s why soufflés should be served straight from the oven to the table!
Recipe inspiration (adapted): Bon Appétit Magazine.
I read all comments, but unfortunately I can't answer them all. Before posting a question, make sure nobody has asked a similar one (this will be facilitated by the search engine included in the comments). Comments with links may not be published.
Blog author