Soufflés Mocha & Vanilla

Soufflés

This is probably like the holy grail of desserts. The name Soufflés means to “to blow or puff up” and believe me you will be sitting in front of the oven praying that it puff’s up. These amazing little creations have broken thousands of Chef’s around the world. I have personally witnessed a very large man cry like a little girl when his soufflé has collapsed. And no it wasn’t me!

A soufflé consist of a thickened custard base (Crème Patisserie), sabayon or bouilli, with egg whites whipped to stiff peak stage, gently folded together. Then baked in the oven, so if you’re not gentle when folding in the whites, all the air in them will be knocked out and the soufflé will never rise. This dessert was designed for immediate gratification, another of the French’s world renound accomplishments. It should be served as soon as it comes out of the oven or it will collapse completely within 5 – 10 minutes. 

TIP: Always brush you ramekins with melted butter then, dust them with caster sugar or cacao. Make sure the sugar or cacao coats the entire ramekin. Discard any leftover sugar or cacao; the sugar on the sides will assist the soufflé to climb up the sides of the ramekin, the same with the cacao. (Very fine biscuit crumbs will do too)

·         Once you’ve scooped the Soufflé mixture into the ramekins, take the tip of your index finger and run it around the top edge of the ramekin on the inside. This will result in the “top hat” effect and this will ensure the soufflés will rise up straight up properly. Cook them immediately.

·         Always place the prepped ramekins on a heated baking tray, this will ensure the soufflé will rise properly. Supplying enough heat to heat the bottom of the ramekin immediately

 Mocha Soufflé

This is definitely for the Coffee junkies out there.

·         1 x Quantity Chocolate Crème Patisserie – add a 1 Tbsp of strong granulated coffee or instant espresso to the milk before you bring it to a boil

·         4 x Egg Whites

·         Pinch of Salt

·         70g of Caster Sugar

·         Unsalted Butter - for brushing the ramekins

·         Cacao – for dusting the ramekins

For the Chocolate Mocha Sauce

·         200g Dark Chocolate

·         250ml Cream

·         1Tbsp Instant Espresso Powder

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 190 ͨC, and place a baking tray in the oven to heat up properly. Make the Crème Patisserie according to the recipe on page ( ) just remember to add 1Tbsp of extra strong coffee or instant espresso powder to the milk before bringing the milk to simmering point. Follow the recipe and once done, leave to cool and set aside. In a deep mixing bowl add the egg whites and start whisking to foamy stage before adding the pinch of salt. Whisk to soft peak stage then start adding the caster sugar one tablespoon at a time till you reach stiff peak stage and the whites have doubled in size. Gently fold in ⅓ of the meringue into the crème patisserie; this is just to loosen the mixture so the whites can be folded in gently. Now fold in the rest of the whipped egg whites. Take 1 large soufflé dish or 4 ramekins and brush them with the melted butter, add ⅓ of a teaspoon of cacao to each ramekin and dust so the entire inside is covered. Shake out the extra cacao and fill the ramekins about ⅔ up the ramekin. Tap the ramekin lightly on the kitchen counter to release any air pockets then bake for 13 – 15min till risen, puffy, slightly set on top but still moist in the centre.

For the Sauce

In a small saucepan bring the cream and espresso powder to a slight simmer. Finely chop the chocolate and place in a glass or stainless steel bowl. Pour the heated cream over the chopped chocolate, leave to stand for a minute or two before whisking till everything is combined.

Serve the soufflé immediately; pour the sauce into a small pitcher so everyone can help themselves to sauce.

 

Vanilla Soufflé

This is by far one of my favourites, made with a bouilli base as the French would say. This is truly a quick and easy recipe.

·         4Tbsp of Sifted Flour

·         1 Cup of Milk

·         90g White Sugar

·         1 x Vanilla Bean – split lengthways & seeds scraped out

·         5 x Whole Eggs – separated, yolks for the bouilli and the whites for the meringue

·         Pinch of Salt

·         1Tbsp of Castor Sugar

·         Softened Unsalted Butter & Sugar for the Ramekins

       Method:

Preheat the oven to 175 ͦC. Now make the bouilli base first, in a thick based saucepan add the flour, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, over a low heat. Then start pouring in the milk slowly in a steady stream while whisking continuously, once all the milk is added, keep stirring and wait for the mixture to start bubbling. Let the mixture cook for 3 -4 minutes stirring the whole time, make sure the flour is cooked before you remove the pot from the heat. Use a spatula and scrape everything into a mixing bowl, remove the vanilla bean and whipping it a few times just to cool it slightly. Now add 1 egg yolk at a time whisking it vigorously till all the eggs are incorporated. Cover the bouilli directly with a piece of cling film so no skin will form on top, while whisking up the egg whites. Place the 5 egg whites and a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl and whisk to soft peak stage, sprinkle over the tablespoon of castor sugar and whisk to stiff peak stage. Roughly fold through ⅓ of the stiff egg whites into the bouilli to loosen the mixture slightly before adding the rest of the whites to the mixture. Fold the whites through very gently and evenly. Prep the ramekins by brushing them with soft butter on the inside then dusting the bottom and the sides well with sugar, discard any excess sugar. Now spoon the bouilli mixture into the ramekins to the rim of each ramekin. Take your finger and gently run it along the sides of the ramekin, shaping the soufflés edges, place the ramekins on a baking tray evenly spaced apart and bake for 25 -30 minutes. The soufflés are cooked if you can stick a tooth pick in the risen sides and it comes out clean. Dust well with icing sugar and serve immediately with a drizzle a crème anglaise.