Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Chocolate Souffles

I had purchased some ramekins a couple months ago (to make some mushroom pot pies for Richard's birthday), & was wondering what else i could use them for.. and while flicking through food magazines, i saw souffles :)

While i did want to try a savoury, i thought a sweet chocolate one would be nice to make for the girls (Ann & Anita). So i invited them over to try my first time chocolate souffles!

Being all nervous, and having Ann help me as well (although she was on the phone for the 2nd half of it haha) after i placed it all in the oven & turned around - and saw the flour still sitting there >_<

I FORGOT TO STIR IN THE FLOUR!!!! arggh...

So, i had no choice but to start again (and what a waste of 4 eggs... :(

I did suggest maybe stirring through the flour but ... no, i started all over again.



I think i maybe should of had the temperature up abit more (i have a stoneage heat element oven), or maybe kept them in for a bit longer, as they didn't rise to the effect in the picture, but they did taste really nice! Soft on the top, and slightly gooey in the centre. So here is the recipe..

1 tsp butter
150g bittersweet chocolate, chopped
85g castor sugar
1 tbsp brandy/rum/whiskey
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
4 large eggs, separated
1 tbsp plain flour, sifted

Preheat oven to 190c, butter four 150ml ramekins, & sprinkle the sides with some castor sugar, place on baking tray. ( i read the castor sugar will help the souffle rise evenly, but it could be because of this that they didnt rise over the top of the ramekins)

Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water

Remove from pot, cool slightly, then beat in castor sugar, brandy & vanilla essence. Beat in the egg yolks, one by one, and then the flour. Mixture should be fairly stiff.

Whisk or beat the eggwhites until stiff & peaky, then gentley fold them into the chocolate mixture.

Pour into prepared pots and bake for 10-12 minutes until well risen. They should be slightly gooey inside.

8 comments:

Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse) said...

After 10 years or more of baking, I have yet to brave making a soufflé - you're a brave girl for trying!

Betty @ The Hungry Girl said...

OOh love the last pic! These look great! I've been thinking about making souffles, might give this a try soon :)

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

They still look great! I think the brushing from the base vertically to the rim in straight lines is very important to help the souffle rise so perhaps that might help if you want to try them again? :)

Bean Sprout's Cafe said...

not sure why it didnt rise but it looks great.. wow, wanna eat that souffle now :)

OohLookBel said...

Nice effort, Betty. Souffles are one thing that are way down on my to-do list (they seem so hard!).

panda said...

the worse i ever did was leave out the sugar in a batch of cupcakes, they were inedible and like you, i frantically went through the exercise of cooking another batch. at least you learn never to forget these things!

anyway, have yet to brave a souffle recipe so tops to your efforts!

Anonymous said...

You are a brave girl, Betty! They still look good and taste good even if they didn't rise. I have tried making potato souffle but yet to try a sweet one, although i did make a failed flourless chocolate that wasn't supposed to rise but it rised like a giant souffle. >_<

Anonymous said...

You are a brave girl, Betty! They still look good and taste good even if they didn't rise. I have tried making potato souffle but yet to try a sweet one, although i did make a failed flourless chocolate that wasn't supposed to rise but it rised like a giant souffle. >_<