When it comes to dinner parties ,nothing beats the intrigue of a Souffle. Taken right from the oven perfectly risen they are a delight to all. There is however a certain element of risk. Souffles can collapse if not done with exacting care . Get it right however and you will have some admiring friends.
Making Souflles is not as difficult as it sounds. If you practice a little and follow these guidelines it is possible to get your Souffles right every time.
Follow these guidelines
Before even contemplating placing your Souffles in the oven, you need to have the basics covered. Making Souffles allows little margin for error, so it's important to follow these guidelines.
The basics
- Temperature control is important when making Souffles. It is advisable to use an external heat sensor to gauge whether your oven is getting to the temperature that you are setting it for. Do this prior to making Souffles
- Make sure the eggs you are using are at room temperature. Doing this is ultra important
- Make sure the dishes and utensils you will be using are washed in warm soapy water., rinsed out and allowed to dry. Not doing this risks the Souffle collapsing.
- Weigh out the ingredients exactly as they are specified in the recipe. Making a Souffle is more science than art. With this in mind, a little bit extra here, a little more there won't work
- Preheat your oven with a baking sheet before starting
- Do not under any circumstances open the oven door while the Souffles are cooking . This will cause them to collapse
- The souffle dishes need to be greased heavily with butter after they have been washed and dried. Doing this will help the Souffles to rise
- Warn your guests that you are about to start cooking the Souffles. They need to be seated and waiting for them for the perfect souffle experience.
Chocolate Chilli Souffles
On the one hand, chocolate and Chillies are made for each other. On the other hand, Souffles, the fantastic French dessert, is a great way to finish a dinner party. So why not combine the two to give your next spicy theme evening party an extra bit of "Je ne sais quoi. "
Ingredients
The following ingredients are required to make eight smallish Souffles
- Dark chocolate – 5 ounces (roughly chopped).
- Salt – ¼ teaspoon
- Full cream milk – ¾ cup
- Sugar – ¼ cup
- Cocoa powder – one teaspoon
- Vanilla extract – ¼ teaspoon
- Chilli powder – ½ teaspoon (add more or less according to personal preference)
- All-purpose flour – 2 tablespoons
- Butter – one tablespoon (and a bit more
- Icing sugar- one tablespoon
- Large eggs - 5 (separated into four yolks and five egg whites).
Notes
- Remember that the eggs must be at room temperature for the Souffles to rise properly. Take them out of the fridge the night before
- Reserve the egg yolk left over in your other cooking. Use it, for example, to make an omelette
- Use unsweetened, preferably dark chocolate
Procedure for making Souffles
Be organised
Lay the ingredients out in the order you will use them. Once you start, you need to continue the whole procedure continuously.
Making the Souffle base
- Add the chocolate and butter to a medium-sized bowl.
- Place the sugar (excluding the icing sugar), flour, cocoa and Chilli powder in a smaller bowl. Mix well until thoroughly blended.
- Bring the milk and vanilla extract to a boil. Turn down the heat and allow it to cool slightly.
- Gradually add the mixed cocoa/flour/ sugar/ Chilli powder.
- Turn the heat to medium and stir continuously until the base has thickened.
- Add the thickened base to the chocolate and butter. Stir well until all the ingredients are well blended (do not be concerned if the mixture looks like it has curdled, the egg yolks will bring everything back together).
- Add the egg yolks and whisk until the mixture looks shiny.
- Cover the bowl with cling film, allowing the film to lie directly on the surface of the mixture.
- Refrigerate for at least one hour
Put everything together
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Use the extra butter to pregrease the ramakins
- Sprinkle to the insides of the ramekins with icing sugar. Use a tea strainer or similar
- Place the egg yolks into a large mixing bowl.
- Using an electric beater, whisk the eggs until they are just starting to form peaks.
- Add five tablespoons of the whisked eggs to the chocolate base. Mix in. You don't have to be too careful with mixing at this time. You are simply trying to loosen up the consistency of the base
- Now gently fold in the remaining egg in a figure of eight motion. Doing this needs to be done gently, because you want to ensure that air is incorporated into the mixture. Do not touch the sides of the bowl while doing so.
- Once everything is folded in, spoon the combined mixture into the pregreased ramekins. (only fill to three quarters)
- Using your finger, wipe the sides of the ramekins (on the inside) above the souffle mixture.
- Place in the oven and cook for 12 minutes. Do not under any circumstances open the oven. This will cause the Souffles to collapse.
- At this point, the Souflles will have risen
- Serve immediately
Finally
Wow, that sounds like a lot of work. Not really. There are undoubtedly many things that need to be taken care of when making Souffles. Everything needs to be done precisely (and thus all the instructions). Otherwise, it's not that complicated. The reward will definitely make up for the effort!
Chillis are definitely a winner when it comes to desserts, baking and puddings.
Enjoy
Credit
This dessert was based on a recipe by Elizabeth on the SugarHero website.
Image Credit
Pierre-alain orange / CC BY-SA 3.0 / via Wikimedia Commons