Chocolate Soufflé
A classic dessert: warm cups of chocolate aoufflé, served with Chantilly cream, raspberries, and chocolate sauce. The aoufflés can be prepared up to an hour ahead of time and chilled, then baked during dinner to emerge from the oven at the perfect moment.
Ingredients
- Chocolate Soufflé
- Sugar - 1⁄2 cup
- All-Purpose Flour - 1⁄4 cup
- Cocoa Powder - 1⁄4 cup
- Cream - 2 cups
- Egg - 1
- Egg Yolk - 1
- Butter - 1 tablespoon, at room temperature
- Egg Whites - 6
- Chocolate Sauce
- Heavy Cream - 2 cups
- Butter - 1 cup (2 sticks)
- Brown Sugar - 1 cup, firmly packed
- Sugar - 1 cup
- Cocoa Powder - 1-1⁄2 cups
- Bourbon - 1 tablespoon
- Vanilla Extract - 1 tablespoon
- Chantilly Cream
- Heavy Cream - 1-3⁄4 cup
- Sugar - 1⁄4 cup
- Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon
- Fresh Raspberries - 1⁄2 pint, for garnish
Instructions
To make the chocolate soufflé: Preheat the oven to 375 F. Butter 6 individual soufflé dishes and coat with a light dusting of sugar, knocking out the excess sugar.
In a bowl whisk together the flour and cocoa powder. In a heavy saucepan combine the cream and sugar and heat until it comes to a boil. Add the flour and cocoa, whisking briefly until smooth. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until smooth. With the machine running add the whole egg, then the egg yolk. In a heavy saucepan heat the butter over low heat until melted. Cool. Add the butter to the mixing bowl, beating for an additional minute.
In the well-chilled bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a balloon whip, beat the egg whites with a pinch of sugar until the meringue just holds stiff peaks. Stir one-fourth of the meringue into the custard to lighten. Fold in the remaining meringue gently but thoroughly. Spoon the mixture into the prepared dishes. The soufflé may be prepared up to this point 1 hour ahead and chilled, covered with a paper towel and plastic wrap. Do not let the paper towel touch the surface of the soufflé. Place the cold soufflé in a preheated oven. Bake the soufflé dishes in the middle of the oven (make sure the rack is low enough to allow soufflé to rise about 2 inches) about 16 to 20 minutes or until firm and set in the center.
To make the chocolate sauce: In a small heavy saucepan cook the cream, butter, and sugars over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is no longer grainy. Remove the pan from the heat, add the cocoa, and stir until melted. Stir in the bourbon and vanilla, strain, and set aside to cool. If made in advance, the sauce may be reheated gently over low heat.
To make the chantilly cream: Place the whipping cream in the well-chilled bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a well-chilled balloon whip. Whip on low speed until the cream is frothy. In a steady stream add the sugar and whip, gradually increasing the mixer’s speed until the cream begins to form peaks. Add the vanilla and whip until soft peaks form.
To present: Place individual soufflé cups on plates and accompany with chantilly cream, fresh raspberries, and a pitcher of warm chocolate sauce.
