The process of making these chocolate souffles is an incredible sensory experience: liquid egg whites morph into sculpted foam-like peaks, the kitchen fills with the perfume of melted chocolate, excitement mounts while watching the soufflés puff, and the denouement is rupturing the chocolate cap to slowly drizzle a stream of thickened cream.
Coating the ramekins with melted butter and sugar is a worthwhile step because the result is a caramelized crust that contrasts wonderfully with the velvety, delicate interior of the soufflé and the tart raspberries. These soufflés don't require much time in terms of prep or baking and are so delicious. Soufflés have an unfounded reputation for being very difficult to make, so you'll impress whoever gets to savor this dessert with you.
These soufflés cracked a little because they went about 2 minutes too long. Fortunately, they didn't seem overdone, so they were whisked out of the oven in the nick of time!
Nutrition Highlight: Raspberries
Since raspberries are a summer fruit, using frozen raspberries as a topping for the soufflé works perfectly. Not only do raspberries and chocolate taste delicious together, but this fruity topping will give your dessert a significant nutritional boost, so be generous with the raspberries!
Anti-Cancer Berry
Raspberries are one of the best sources of ellagic acid, a flavonoid antioxidant. Ellagic acid is known for its anti-carcinogenic properties.
High Fiber Food
If you're trying to increase your fiber intake to promote a healthy digestive system, consider eating more raspberries. For only 60 calories, 1 c of raspberries will provide 8 grams of fiber, about 30% of your daily needs. To put this in perspective, 1 c of strawberry halves or chopped apple will provide 3 grams of fiber. People should aim for 25-35 g of fiber per day.
Using a towel is easier than potholders because it protects your hands and gives you more flexibility to grasp the ramekin without touching the delicate soufflé.
Bittersweet Chocolate Soufflés
Soufflés wait for no one, so if you want to eat soon after dinner, prep the chocolate base in advance and have the rest of the ingredients ready to go for finishing up and baking. This recipe is from Entertaining with Beth.
1 T butter, melted
sugar to coat ramekins
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 T butter
1 yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 egg whites
1/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar (stabilizes whites)
cream
raspberries
First, prepare ramekins. Melt 1 T butter and divide between 2, 8 oz ramekins, swirling to cover all sides. Then dust with granulated sugar. This coating promotes better rising because the soufflé batter won't stick to the sides of the ramekin. It also adds a slightly crunchy, caramelized component to the finished product.
Next make the base. Melt chocolate and butter in microwavable bowl in 30 sec. increments, stirring in between, to avoid overheating the chocolate. Stir in yolk, vanilla, salt. At this point, you can let rest on counter for 1 hour if you'll be finishing the soufflés a little later, or you can refrigerate until ready. Just allow 30 min. to come to room temp after refrigeration.
Make meringue (takes about 5 min). Starting on a low speed, begin to whip egg whites. Once foamy, add cream of tartar, which stabilizes whites and helps improve volume, but isn't absolutely necessary if none is on hand. Then add sugar, slowly, meanwhile increasing the speed to medium. Stay here for about 2 minutes. Continue to gradually increase the speed until you're on the highest power. When the whites are starting to get stiffish, test your peaks. If the tip of a peak on the beater flops over, it's still soft, so whip a minute longer and check again. You want the peak to be rigid, but you also don't want to over beat the whites.
Stir in 1/3 of the whites into the chocolate base. Then fold in 1/3 of whites gently into chocolate, and repeat with remaining 1/3 of whites. The idea is to incorporate the whites into the chocolate in a deft manner so you don't lose too much air.
Preheat oven to 400º and make sure there's sufficient headspace for the soufflés above the bottom rack.
Pour filling into ramekins, filling all the way to the top. Place ramekins on bottom rack of oven and bake for 13 minutes. The tops will be firm and you'll smell chocolate. Cracking is a sign that they are starting to over bake.
Remove with a hand towel, dust with powdered sugar. You can gently whip 1/2 c of cream with a splash of vanilla until it's thick but not fluffy to serve as a sauce. Make a rupture in the top each soufflé with 2 spoons, drizzle in some sauce, and follow with a succession of raspberries. Makes 2, 8 oz soufflés. Enjoy right away!
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