Chocolate Soufflé

Food

Audio By Carbonatix

Chocolate Soufflé

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• Butter, for greasing
• 2½ tablespoons sugar
• 1 2/3 cups whole milk
• 6oz (170g) semisweet chocolate (65% or 70% cacao), chopped.
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 5 eggs, separated
• Powdered sugar for serving (optional)

A few notes on making this:

• Soufflés can be intimidating because of the fear that they won’t rise, but the truth is, if you don’t overmix your egg whites into the chocolate, they turn out fine.
• Do not use chocolate chips to make the soufflé—use a baking bar instead—chocolate chips contain stabilizers that keep them from melting properly.
• I added this as a note in the recipe, but it’s extremely important to make sure your mixing bowl is extremely clean before you add your egg whites, or they will not beat to peaks. This also includes making sure the whites are completely free of any yolk. If a yolk breaks when you’re separating your eggs, just use a new egg.
• I have included an egg separator linked here if you want to use, but I find the easiest way to separate eggs is to crack them gently into one large bowl, and then scoop the yolks out into a separate bowl with your hands.
• Resist the urge to open your oven when baking the soufflé(s) because the temperature difference will cause deflation.

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F and move a rack to the center position.
• Grease a 8-9-inch soufflé dish or 6 individual ramekins with butter and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bring all but 2 tablespoons of the milk to simmering point in a pan over low heat.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate.
• Mix the remaining milk, flour, and sugar to a smooth paste and set aside.
• Beat the egg yolks in a large bowl and pour on the chocolate milk, stirring constantly.
• Stir in the flour-and-sugar paste and let cool.
• In a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites to form stiff peaks. NOTE: **make sure mixing bowl is extremely clean and free of any grease/water droplets or the egg whites will not whisk properly.**
• Fold gently into the chocolate mixture until just mixed. A few streaks are ok.
• Pour into the prepared dish or ramekins and gently level the surface.
• Place soufflé dish or ramekins on baking tray and place in the oven for 10 minutes, then increase the temperature to 400°F and cook for another 25-30 minutes.
• Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately.