So yes, it has been a while hasn't it? But the dry spell is over, and it's back to business as usual.
Today's humble offering comes from a video that someone posted on my Facebook page: individual molten chocolate souffles with creme anglaise sauce. They looked amazing. So I went looking and found the actual recipe here, which also happens to contain the how-to video as well. It's definitely worth a watch. But if you're impatient and just want to see what the darn things look like, then wait no more!
Trust me, they taste even better than this picture shows. And the video makes them look even better.
Ok, now here's the catch: the recipe comes in grams and ounces, so that means all the ingredients have to be measured by weight. I happen to have a food scale, so this wasn't a huge issue for me. I do realize however that not all of you have a food scale, so you may be a bit put off. I'd like to say, "Fear not! For I have converted everything to volumetric measurements for your peace of mind! Rejoice!" But I can't. The fact is that in baking, measuring dry goods by weight is just more accurate.
That being said: okay, yeah, I did kind of convert some of it as I went. But I strongly encourage you, if you want to do the thing properly, to go out and just acquire a food scale. Honestly, they're not even pricey.
So, without further ado, let's jump right to it!
WHAT I USED!!!
For the souffles
6.6oz whole milk
1.2oz bread flour (about 1/2 cup)
1.2oz butter
3.5oz sugar
3 egg yolks
5 egg whites
4.8oz 70% dark chocolate, chopped fine
a pinch of salt
For the creme
2 vanilla beans
8.8oz heavy cream (just over 1 cup)
4.4oz whole milk (just over 1/2 cup)
1.8oz sugar (about 1/4 cup)
3 egg yolks
a pinch of salt
WHAT I DID!!!
For the souffles
Preheat the oven to 375. Using some extra, butter the insides of 3 small oven-safe ramekins, making sure to get complete coverage. Sprinkle some extra sugar into each, rotating the ramekin to completely cover the butter with sugar. This gives the souffle the grab it needs to climb the ramekin and rise up.
Using your hands, combine the salt, butter and flour into a paste. Heat the milk and the sugar to a brief boil over medium heat, then drop in the flour mixture and whisk to combine. This should not take very long at all. Add the chocolate and whisk to combine, then work in the egg yolks.
Meanwhile, beat the egg whites in your stand mixer (or get a trusty minion to use your hand mixer) until they reach soft peaks. You'll know you have soft peaks when you can dip the beater into the egg foam, pull it out, flip it over, and see mountain-like peaks that fall over if you gently tap the beater with your hand. Add a little extra sugar, and continue to beat until you get stiff peaks. These peaks don't fall over as easily, hence the name.
Take a scoop of the egg white mixture and stir it into the chocolate base, just to loosen things up a bit. Then fold the rest of the whites into the chocolate in about three stages. You do this by making cutting-and-flipping motions with a spatula, rather than traditional stirring motions.
Fill each ramekin right to the top, and use the back of a knife to level off the surface. Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about 17 minutes. When they come out, garnish them with powdered sugar and the creme anglaise, which you should have already made.
For the creme
Chop your vanilla beans into a fine dice. Combine the beans with the cream, milk, sugar, and egg yolks, and whisk well. Heat over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture hits about 180 degrees or it makes it to the nappe stage. This is when the mixture will coat the back of a metal spoon completely. If you swipe your finger through it, the sauce will still adhere to the spoon and keep its shape without running.
Whatever you do, do not let it over-heat like I did! (What? It was my first time making the stuff.) It really will not take very long at all to be done.
When it's ready, strain out the beans and cool before serving over your souffles.
There now, ain't that just sexy?
As I said, I did over cook the sauce a bit, so the eggs curdled. It was tasty, it just didn't have that rich, velvety smoothness that it should've had. The souffles, though, turned out wonderfully. I didn't get quite as much rise as in the video, but I think that had to do with the shape of my ramekins (they have a lip, and the recipe calls for completely smooth sides). Still, they had a wonderful chocolateyness to them that I loved. I can't wait to make these again!
Anywho, I hope that you enjoyed this long-awaited entry to my blog. If you have any comments or suggestions, I look forward to hearing them.
Until next time then! Go forth and eat well!
