Intensely Bittersweet Chocolate Souffles
"While some versions of souffles do indeed require a light touch, the following recipe for individual chocolate souffles is forgiving and pretty much foolproof. Recipe by Alice Medrich"
- Ready In:
- 36mins
- Ingredients:
- 13
- Serves:
-
8
ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sugar, for the ramekins
- softened butter, for the ramekins
- 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, 70 percent,such as scharffen berger,finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1⁄3 cup milk
- 3 large eggs, separated,at room temperature
- 1 large egg white, at room temperature
- 1⁄8 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1⁄3 cup sugar
-
FOR THE TOPPING
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1⁄2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)
directions
- If you're baking the soufflés right away, position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.
- Butter the 6oz ramekins and dust the insides with sugar.
- Place the chocolate, butter and milk in a large heatproof bowl (preferably stainless steel) in a large skillet of barely simmering water.
- Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Remove the bowl from the water bath and whisk in the egg yolks.
- (Don't worry if the mixture stiffens slightly or is less than perfectly smooth at this point.) Set aside.
- In a medium, dry bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted.
- Gradually sprinkle in the 1/3 cup sugar and beat at high speed until the whites are stiff but not dry.
- Fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg whites.
- Divide the mixture evenly among the prepared ramekins, filling each 3/4 full.
- (The soufflés can be prepared to this point, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bake directly from the refrigerator.) Place the soufflés on a cookie sheet.
- Bake until they rise and crack on top and a wooden skewer plunged into the center emerges very moist and gooey (but the centers should not be completely liquid), 14 to 16 minutes, perhaps a minute or so longer if the soufflés have been refrigerated.
- Meanwhile, make the topping: Beat the cream with the vanilla and sugar until it holds a soft shape (or stiffer, if you like it that way).
- Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate until ready serve.
- When they are done, remove the soufflés from the oven and serve immediately, with a little powdered sugar sifted over the top, if you like.
- Pass the whipped topping separately.
- NOTES: You can substitute a lower-percentage bittersweet or semisweet chocolate if you prefer a sweeter, less intense chocolate flavor; or reduce the sugar to 1/4 cup to partially compensate for the sweeter chocolate, if desired.
- There is no need to make other changes in the recipe.
- After you have buttered the ramekins, the easiest way to dust sugar on the inside is to put the 2 tablespoons of sugar in one of the buttered ramekins.
- Tilt and hold that ramekin over another as if you were going to transfer the sugar.
- Rotate the ramekin containing the sugar, allowing the sugar to coat the sides as you slowly pour the sugar into the other ramekin.
- Repeat.
- Room temperature eggs are best because a cold egg might cause the chocolate to seize, which means it gets too stiff to work with.
- If you do not have eggs at room temperature, you can hold the egg yolks in a mixing bowl over medium heat (hold the bowl over but not on the burner) to warm them up.
- Underbeating egg whites is always better than overbeating them.
- You want to beat the whites until they're no longer yellow and translucent.
- To get a bigger rise, fill the ramekins higher than suggested.
- This will mean that you will have one or two fewer soufflés.
- Don't worry about underbaking or overbaking this recipe- The souffles will still taste good.
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Reviews
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These souffles are MARVELOUS!!! So easy to make, and my guests thought they were to die for. Since I'm not too crazy about bittersweet chocolate, I used half semi-sweet and half bittersweet chocolate, and also used regular salted butter. To top them, I whipped 1 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup powder sugar, then folded in 2 tablespoons Chamborg liquer (raspberry). OH MY!!! This recipe is definely a keeper! -
These were my first souffles and they were fabulous! I used Trader Joe's bittersweet chocolate and salted butter but followed everything else as written. Once these were in their dishes I drove them to my Bible Study group and cooked them there, they transported easily and didn't seem to mind the ride. They are wonderfully chocolaty but have nice lightness to them and I really liked the little bit of crunch on the outlide edges from the sugar. Everyone loved them; I had several recipe requests and one dish came back so clean it looked like it had been licked spotless! I served 6 and have 2 waiting in the fridge which I will bake tonight. The whip cream is a must and perfect with the souffles. Thank you Chef Kate, I'll be making this again and again. Made for Please Review My Recipe Tag.
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Well I have never souffle'd, until now. I have been curious about making such the creme of the crop, the heart of resistance, and this recipe will not only make you feel like you can souffle, but you can do it well. The directions are very, very concise and there were no changes made, there simply is no need to make changes. The eggs separated at room temperature is a must, as well as dissolving the chocolate slowly, but a good stir every now and then is the way to go. I made these but didn't bake them, so to me it appeared as the chocolate, butter, and sugars just maturated together. Lets just say it was very difficult not to eat it from that point, but in the oven they went, time flashed by and the little cracks showed up, signaling they were nearing doneness. The topping made the whole presentation perfect, and yes, I could of just eaten the creamy topping all by itself as well. I tried to get a good photo of this, but my little souffles were a bit lopsided, so will get it again when I make them next weekend. Oh Chef Kate, these are yummy, easy, and wonderful for the stomach desserts. Don't be afraid to try, you will be more then surprised. -
Came out perfectly and was easy for a souffle.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Chef Kate
Annapolis, 60
<p>I have always loved to cook. When I was little, I cooked with my Grandmother who had endless patience and extraordinary skill as a baker. And I cooked with my Mother, who had a set repertoire, but taught me many basics. Then I spent a summer with a French cousin who opened up a whole new world of cooking. And I grew up in New York City, which meant that I was surrounded by all varieties of wonderful food, from great bagels and white fish to all the wonders of Chinatown and Little Italy, from German to Spanish to Mexican to Puerto Rican to Cuban, not to mention Cuban-Chinese. And my parents loved good food, so I grew up eating things like roasted peppers, anchovies, cheeses, charcuterie, as well as burgers and the like. In my own cooking I try to use organics as much as possible; I never use canned soup or cake mix and, other than a cheese steak if I'm in Philly or pizza by the slice in New York, I don't eat fast food. So, while I think I eat and cook just about everything, I do have friends who think I'm picky--just because the only thing I've ever had from McDonald's is a diet Coke (and maybe a frie or two). I have collected literally hundreds of recipes, clipped from the Times or magazines, copied down from friends, cajoled out of restaurant chefs. Little by little, I am pulling out the ones I've made and loved and posting them here. Maybe someday, every drawer in my apartment won't crammed with recipes. (Of course, I'll always have those shelves crammed with cookbooks.) I'm still amazed and delighted by the friendliness and the incredible knowledge of the people here. 'Zaar has been a wonderful discovery for me.</p>
