A Perfect Soufflé Is No Piece Of Cake!

Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Soufflés

Mom and I have just finished an extremely satisfying bowl of Tortellini (filled with a bolognese mix) with a salad and sun-blushed tomato bread on the side…. YUM!

I feel so so satisfied right now and I desperately want to find time to make my own Tortellini one day. I’m thinking…. spinach, ricotta, tomatoes, pesto…. I could go on….

I feel so good, I decide to spontaneously make a batch of Soufflés.

I see Mom give a wry smile over the table, and off I go thinking WOW this recipe sounds so simple, I could do all this in under half an hour. I mean I’m pretty good at whipping up egg whites (with my Baked Alaska recipe) so it should be fine, right?

I did not do it in half an hour. In the back of my mind somewhere I think I knew I had no idea what on earth I was doing and I think I knew that I’d heard people talk about how hard it is to make the perfect Soufflé.

Of course I’d never made them before, so why not give them a go?!

I’m making this sound worse than it was, they were actually really really tasty… And the texture wasn’t too bad either…. All in all it wasn’t a bad first attempt at all!

I just wish I’d read some of these helpful tips beforehand:

– Carefully line the ramekins with soft butter, then sugar (or bread crumbs for savory souffles). Inadequately buttered ramekins will produce an uneven rise.

– One-week-old eggs are best; very fresh egg whites have a high water content and are prone to graining.

– Fold the base and the egg whites carefully, making sure not to “break” the egg whites.

– Don’t overfill the ramekins. Stop just before the top.

Like me, if you haven’t made these before, give them a try, you might just become obsessed like me!

SO along with my bread making craze (check out my Farmhouse Loaf, Fougasse & French Stick) I now have accepted the challenge of mastering the soufflé. 

With a blob of ice cream, these warm gooey masterpieces are possibly the yummiest desserts of all time.

Watch out for more posts and fun ideas on the soufflé front.

Enjoy 🙂

Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Soufflés (makes around 6) 

50g dark chocolate (I used 70%)

2 tbsp cornflour

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp instant coffee granules

4 tbsp caster sugar

150ml milk (I used lactose free)

2 eggs, separated, plus 1 egg white

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees
2. Put the chocolate into a pan with the cornflour, cocoa powder, coffee, 1 tbsp of sugar and the milk
3. Warm gently to melt the chocolate and then increase the heat and stir until the mixture thickens (this takes around 5 minutes)
4. Allow to cool a little, then stir in the egg yolks – cover with a damp cloth
5. Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually whisk in the remaining sugar until the mixture is stiff
6. Stir in one-third of egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Then fold in the remaining whites
7. Divide between your ramekins and place on a baking sheet.
8. Bake for around 12 minutes until well risen