Chocolate Soufflé

A light airy chocolate souffle served with raspberries.

This Chocolate Soufflé is light and airy while maintaining a rich chocolate flavour. It makes the perfect light dessert after a large meal. Join me as I make my very first Chocolate Soufflé from a professional pastry chef’s recipe.

Chocolate Soufflé Science

In the February 2014 issue of Cook’s Illustrated I read a really interesting article about soufflés. One of the things I love about CI is how they experiment with recipes so that you can get the very best results at home.

In the soufflé article they mentioned using a copper bowl to whisk the egg whites to a soft (non dry) peak. For some reason there’s a chemical reaction that happens between the copper ions in the bowl and the egg whites. This reaction produces a more stable egg white.

I mentioned this to Hubby and my father in law, who is a retired chemistry teacher (who also loves to bake). We ended up having a pretty interesting conversation about Kitchen Chemistry. Imagine my surprise when I opened my birthday present and saw that it was my very own copper bowl to experiment with!

chocolate
Here’s the chocolate and butter in the double boiler

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Chocolate Soufflé Tips From a Pastry Chef

In celebration of National Chocolate Soufflé Day 2014, Calgary’s Avenue Magazine did a feature on a local pastry chef and her take on Chocolate Soufflé.

Karine Moulin who was the pastry chef at Yellow door Bistro, Hotel Arts, and Raw Bar at the time generously shared her recipe and tips for making a perfect Chocolate Soufflé and I gobbled up the chance to make one!

Melt Chocolate in a Double Boiler

The whole recipe began (as many delicious dishes do) with chocolate. Put the chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water.

Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Set aside.

Whisking egg whites in a copper bowl

Beat the Egg Yolks and Whites Separately

I started out with the yolks in the Kitchen Aid mixer but there didn’t seem to be enough contact between the small amount and the beaters. So, I transferred them into the copper bowl and beat them by hand with the hot water and sugar.

It took quite a while and we’ll just say my whisking muscles definitely need to be worked on. I got Hubby to do some of the beating as well.

After the yolks were beaten into ribbons, I folded them into the cooled chocolate, cleaned THE BOWL and got started on the egg whites.

chocandyolks

These whisked up in no time though my muscles were aching. I had to get kids number three and two to take turns. We’ll just call this the ‘Family Soufflé’ then or ‘the family that soufflés together, stays together’.

I thought the egg whites took on a bit of a greenish hue but I wasn’t totally sure. Eventually they got to the stiff peak stage and I began to fold them into the chocolate mixture.

folding

After the mixture was folded entirely it went into some greased and sugared ramekins. I didn’t fill them to the brim so I couldn’t really level the mixture off. I may try doing this the next time so I get a nice even top.

souffle

We all hung around anxiously watching the soufflés in the oven.And meanwhile, I staged the scene for taking the final picture because I knew I wouldn’t have a long time to take pictures.

oven

I also whipped some cream and found some raspberries in the freezer to serve with the soufflé.

souffle1

In all, I think my first attempt at making a soufflé turned out really well. They were nicely cooked and didn’t deflate for a good three minutes after I took them out of the oven. I would really like to try to make a cheese soufflé next time.

The Secret to the lightest Chocolate Soufflé - Pastry chef approved! #soufflé #chocolatesoufflé

Other Chocolate Treats from Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen:

Oatmeal Chia Coconut Hemp Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Pecan Pie with Bourbon

If you make this Chocolate Soufflé recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe, please tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see what you guys are making! Thank you so much for reading my blog.

Yield: 6 servings

Chocolate Soufflé

A light airy chocolate souffle served with raspberries.

This Chocolate Souffle is light and airy while maintaining a rich chocolate flavour. It makes the perfect light dessert after a large meal.

Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 7 ounces finely chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
  • 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, plus for preparing the molds
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 3 Tablespoons warm water
  • 1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 Tablespoons
  • 8 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • Confectioners' sugar for garnish

Instructions

  1. Brush 6 (6-ounce) ramekins with soft butter, then coat with sugar. Put the prepared ramekins in the fridge.
  2. Set an oven rack in lower third of the oven and preheat to 400 °F.
  3. Put the chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Set aside.
  4. Combine the egg yolks and warm water in the bowl of a standing mixer or large bowl and beat until frothy. Gradually add 2 tablespoons sugar, and continue beating until ribbons form, about 5 minutes. Very lightly fold the yolks into the chocolate mixture.
  5. Remove prepared ramekins from fridge. Put the egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer, or large non-reactive bowl, add the lemon juice. Beat on medium until frothy; then gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and increase speed to high. Beat until the whites hold stiff but not dry peaks.
  6. Working quickly, fold about a third of the egg whites into the chocolate to lighten; then fold in remaining whites until blended. Gently ladle or spoon the soufflé mixture into the ramekins, and place on a baking sheet. (Level off the surface with a straight edge, scraping any excess mixture back into the bowl.)
  7. Immediately bake until the soufflé rises about 1 1/2 inches from the ramekins and the tops are touched with brown, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven, dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately with a dollop of peppermint whip cream

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 440Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 144mgSodium: 116mgCarbohydrates: 59gFiber: 2gSugar: 55gProtein: 10g

Nutritional calculation was provided by Nutritionix and is an estimation only. For special diets or medical issues please use your preferred calculator.

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8 comments

  1. Denise from Urb'n'Spice

    Happy #ChocolateSouffleDay, Bernice! This is a lovely recipe – I know Karine! You did a great job and you would do her proud if she saw your chocolate souffle. Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply

    1. Bernice Hill

      No way, really?! That’s awesome. She’s a very nice lady, we do miss her a lot here in Calgary. She knows all about my infatuation with her chocolate soufflé!

  2. thebrookcook

    Looks great! I LOVE soufflé– so pretty and delicious 🙂

    Reply

    1. dishnthekitchen

      Next time….cheese soufflé!

    2. thebrookcook

      that is another one on my Easter menu 🙂

    3. dishnthekitchen

      Wow! Go hard or go home…I may have to up my game 🙂

  3. foodisthebestshitever

    Mmmm souffle… nice copper bowl too…

    Reply

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