Chocolate Souffle

From the kitchen of Carly

A dinner-party trick that looks impossible but isn't. Beat the egg whites well, fold gently, bake fast, serve immediately. The molten chocolate sauce poured into the top at the table is the crowd-pleaser. Have everyone seated and forks ready before you pull these from the oven. Souffles do not wait.

Chocolate Souffle
Prep
20 min
Cook
10 min
Total
30 min
Servings
6
Difficulty
hard

Ingredients

6 servings

  • 142 mlsingle cream (or half-and-half)
  • 25 gcaster sugar (for sauce)
  • 100 gdark chocolate, chopped (for sauce)
  • 25 gunsalted butter (for sauce)
  • 1 tbspmelted butter, for greasing ramekins
  • 50 gcaster sugar (for souffles)
  • 175 gdark chocolate, chopped (for souffles)
  • 4 tbspheavy cream
  • 4large egg yolks
  • 5large egg whites
  • 1 for servingpowdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Place a baking tray on the top shelf to preheat.

  2. Make the sauce first. Heat the single cream and 25g sugar in a small saucepan until just boiling. Pull off the heat. Stir in 100g of the chopped chocolate and 25g butter until smooth and glossy. Keep warm.

  3. Brush 6 small ramekins (150ml each) with melted butter, paying attention to the rims. Sprinkle the insides with about 2 tbsp caster sugar and tap out the excess. The buttered, sugared sides help the souffles climb.

  4. Melt the remaining 175g chocolate with the 4 tbsp heavy cream in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Let it cool slightly so it doesn't scramble the eggs.

  5. Whisk the egg yolks into the cooled chocolate mixture.

  6. In a separate spotlessly clean bowl, whip the egg whites with a hand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Add the remaining 50g sugar 1 tbsp at a time, whisking back to medium-stiff peaks between additions.

  7. Stir a generous spoonful of egg whites into the chocolate base to lighten it. Then gently fold in the rest using a spatula. Stop folding the second the streaks disappear.

  8. Spoon the batter into the ramekins. Wipe the rims clean with a paper towel and run your thumb around the inside edge of each (this makes them rise straight up).

  9. Drop the oven temperature to 400°F (200°C). Place the ramekins on the preheated tray and bake 8 to 10 minutes, until risen with a slight wobble at the center. Do not open the door before 8 minutes.

  10. Dust with powdered sugar. Bring to the table immediately. Have each person poke a small hole in the top, pour in some warm chocolate sauce, and replace the lid as they eat.

Substitutions
  • single cream to half-and-half or whole milk + 1 tbsp butter. Single cream is a UK product (about 18% fat). Half-and-half is the closest US equivalent.
  • caster sugar to granulated sugar pulsed in a blender for 10 seconds. Caster is a finer grind. The pulse-blender trick gets you exactly there.
  • dark chocolate to 70% chocolate. Don't go below 60%. Sweet chocolate makes the souffle too sugary.

Pairs well with: Lightly sweetened whipped cream alongside, A small glass of port or Pedro Ximenez sherry, Espresso, served black, in tiny cups

Adapted from TheMealDB.