Foolproof Mini Chocolate Souffles with Sauce

Foolproof Mini Chocolate Souffles with Sauce

 

½ cup sugar + 4 teaspoons for coating

8 squares (8 ounces semisweet chocolate)

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup heavy cream

 

Place an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 400°.  Lightly rub four individual soufflé dishes with butter.  Put 1 teaspoon sugar in each dish, and tilt the dish so that the buttered surfaces are covered with sugar.  Use more sugar if necessary.  Set aside.

Melt the chocolate in a heavy frying pan over very low heat, stirring constantly.  When the chocolate is almost melted, turn off the heat and set aside to cool.  The heat of the pan will melt the remaining chocolate.

Separate the eggs, putting the whites into a medium metal or ceramic bowl with no traces of grease, and the yolks in another medium bowl.  Set the yolks aside.

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer just until they form stiff peaks.  Do not over beat.  Set aside.

Add the ½ cup sugar and vanilla to the yolks and beat with an electric mixer or a whisk for about 1 minute, or until thick and light yellow.

Add half the melted chocolate to the beaten yolk mixture.  Set aside the rest of the chocolate for making the sauce.  Stir the chocolate mixture thoroughly.  Add the beaten egg whites and fold them together gently with a rubber spatula, turning the mixture over repeatedly until no white is showing.

Pour the mixture evenly among the four prepared soufflé dishes.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the mini soufflés have risen and are beginning to brown.  Remove from the oven.

 

To Make the Sauce: While the mini soufflé are baking, add the cream to the reserved melted chocolate and stir thoroughly to incorporate, Ir the chocolate is too firm, heat it for about 1 minutes over very low heat, stirring constantly, until it softens enough to combine with the cream.

Unlike most souffles, which must be served as soon as they come out of the oven, these mini souffles can wait to be served for up to 30 minutes. Their tops will fall a little, but no one will notice because, just before serving, you make an incision in the top of each one with a knife, and then spoon in about 2 tablespoons of the warm chocolate sauce. If the souffle hasn’t fully cooked, no one will notice, because of the added sauce. Store leftovers, covered, in the refrigerator.

 

Chef’s Note:

This recipe may look intimidating, but it is rather simple, with just a few ingredients.

Tip:

To help get the soufflé dishes out of the oven easily, bake them on a cookie sheet and then simply lift the cookie sheet out of the oven.

 


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