Soufflé au Chocolat
Ingredients
- 80 ml heavy whipping cream
- 28 g unsalted or salted butter, at room temperature
- 142 g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2-3 big pinches of salt (if using unsalted butter)
- ½ tsp espresso powder (optional)
- 4 large eggs, cold
- 60 g granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar (optional)
- Extra room-temperature butter and granulated sugar, for the ramekins
A soufflé is nothing but a flavoured base lightened with whipped whites, and everything about it is timing. The ramekins are buttered and coated in sugar so the batter has something to climb; running a thumb around the rim after filling is what lets it rise straight instead of catching on the lip. The oven starts at 200°C and drops to 190°C as the soufflés go in, which sets the outside fast while the centre stays loose — twelve to thirteen minutes for a soft middle, fourteen to fifteen for a firmer one. It begins to sink about two minutes after it leaves the oven.
Method
Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Butter four 180 ml ramekins thoroughly, coat them with granulated sugar and set them on a baking sheet.
Melt the cream, butter, chocolate, vanilla, salt and espresso powder together gently in a double boiler or the microwave, stirring often.
Separate the cold eggs, putting the whites in a mixer bowl and the yolks in a small bowl.
Whisk the yolks into the cooled chocolate mixture until thick and glossy.
Whip the whites with the cream of tartar until foamy, then add the sugar gradually and beat to stiff peaks.
Whisk one large spoonful of the whites into the chocolate base to loosen it, then fold in the rest gently.
Fill the ramekins to the top, smooth them and run a thumb around the inside edge. Lower the oven to 190°C (375°F) and bake 12-13 minutes for soft centres or 14-15 for firmer ones. Serve immediately.
