CLASSIC INDIVIUDAL
CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉS
About the Recipe
Everyone loves soufflés, especially huge, decadent chocolate ones. However, I like individually portioned chocolate soufflés even better. And better than that when they're oversized. And best of all when sauced with melty ice cream.
Made correctly, soufflés—light and fluffy baked concoctions founded on an egg yolk and beaten eggs white base—possess a delicate, ethereal texture particularly suited to spring. Just the thought of these airy culinary miracles confounds many cooks, but their preparation is actually easy to get the hang of. And chocolate soufflés (which don't require making an initial roux and are flourless — for all of you gluten-free-ers out there) are the easiest of all. To intensify the flavor of the chocolate for an ever richer flavor, add 2 teaspoons of instant espresso powder when melting the butter with the chocolate.
CLASSIC INDIVIDUAL CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉS
Serves 8
Ingredients:
Approximately 3 tablespoons unsalted butter and 4 tablespoons granulated sugar to prepare the molds
8 ounces best quality bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup plus 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup warm milk
6 egg yolks
8 egg whites at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Method
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter and then sugar eight 1-1/4 cup ramekins, soufflé molds or little charlottes.
Melt chocolate in a double boiler over low heat. When chocolate is melted, remove the pan from the heat.
Whisk in the 2/3 cup sugar and the milk until the mixture is smooth. Then whisk in yolks, one at a time, until no traces of yolk remain.
To finish the soufflés: Whisk the room temperature egg whites with salt and cream of tartar, preferably in an electric mixer with a whisk attachment in place. Start beating on low speed and raise the speed gradually as the egg whites mount. When whites are opaque and beginning to stiffen, very gradually add remaining sugar and continue to beat until soft (not super stiff) peaks form.
Stir a quarter of beaten whites into the chocolate mixture and then use a large silicone spatula to gently fold the lightened chocolate into the remaining whites.
Ladle batter into prepared molds, set them on a baking sheet and place them on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Immediately reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife blade inserted into the middle of a soufflé comes out clean. If you like your soufflés creamy at the center, remove them from the oven a bit sooner. Serve immediately.
Accompany with whipped cream or melty vanilla or coffee ice cream and/or chocolate sauce if desired.