Chocolate Souffle

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I wanted to try something special for Easter so I used the techniques I learned last week at the cooking class and made chocolate souffles. These souffles are very rich and go well with red wine, Irish Cream, or a nice stout.

You can make the souffle mixture in advance and keep it refrigerated for up to 2 days. The most important part making these souffles is to do all the prep work before you start cooking. Separate egg whites and egg yolks, chop chocolate, and measure out other ingredients. Lightly butter ramekins and coat sides with sugar. By doing all the prep work before hand the process of making the souffles will run smoothly.

To make the chocolate mixture use a double boiler to avoid burning the chocolate. The mixture should look smooth and creamy.

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The hardest part of making souffles, both technically and physically is whipping the egg whites. You will stop once firm peaks form. Firm peak is when the egg whites can stand on their own.

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The most important part of making the souffle mixture is to fold in the egg whites into the chocolate. Do not stir them together, this will prevent the souffle from rising properly. Although this recipe seems intimidating it is not as hard as it sounds. Everyone will be impressed by both the final presentation and taste of this dessert. Enjoy!

Chocolate Souffle

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Cooking Class Week 6: Souffles

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Week 6 was bar far the toughest week of the cooking classes. I had always wanted to attempt to make a souffle but was always intimidated by the process. Our chef broke down each step from the creation of the base, the whipping of the egg white, and the folding over of the two. After the class I was very excited to try to make a souffle for Easter.

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I chose to make a basic ham and cheese souffle in the class. Unfortunately I was unable to take pictures throughout the cooking process but I will give a few of the tips I learned. On Sunday I will post step by step pictures for the next souffle I make. The hardest part of making the souffle was whipping the egg whites. It is quite exhausting and as delicate as souffles are they are rough on the cook. An important tip before you whip the egg whites, add a pich of salt and 1 tsp cream of tartar for every 8 egg whites. These ingredients will help the eggs fluff up and not become too bubbly. It is also important to line your ramekins with something to allow the souffle to grip something as it climbs up the wall. For this souffles I used butter and Parmesan cheese. If I were making a sweet souffle I would have used sugar. The final tip came when we were mixing the base with the egg whites. During this step you want to keep folding the base over the whites until the mixture looks faintly streaky, do not stir the two together.

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You will probably be seeing a few souffle attempts in the coming weeks because they are fun, challenging, and rewarding to make. Keep checking the blog out to see how it goes.