Recipe – Baked Chocolate Soufflé

These hot soufflés make an excellent dessert if you get the time right and can serve them hot.  Especially in the fall and winter when the weather is cooler or around the holidays when you may be entertaining friends and family.

Time Note

• You will want to begin this recipe about an hour before your desired serving time.

Chocolate Souffle Ingredients

• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup Sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 11/4 cups whole milk
• 3 squares unsweetened chocolate
•  5 eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream, whipped
• ½ cup chocolate syrup

Chocolate Souffle Directions

• Grease six 10-ounce soufflé dishes or custard cups with butter or margarine and then lightly sprinkle them with sugar
• In 2-quart saucepan, combine flour and cup sugar: gradually add milk, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth. Cook mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is thickened: remove from the heat
• Stir chocolate into the mixture until melted. Rapidly beat in egg yolks all at once, until well mixed; set aside and allow to cool to lukewarm.
• Preheat oven to 375 F.
• In a large bowl with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites, salt, and vanilla until soft peaks form; while beating at high speed, gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time. The egg whites should stand in stiff peaks. With a rubber spatula gently fold chocolate mixture into beaten egg whites until blended; spoon into the prepared soufflé dishes or custard cups
• Place filled cups in 15 1/2″ by 10 1/2″ jelly-roll pan for easier handling. Bake soufflés 30 to 35 minutes until puffy and brown.
• Serve soufflés immediately.
• Garnish with powder sugar or pass whipped cream and chocolate syrup to spoon over the top of the soufflés.

 Chocolate Tips

• Melting the chocolate: Use any of these ways: Place in top of a double boiler and melt over hot, not boiling water. Or place in a custard cup and set in a pan of hot water. Or place in heavy, 1-quart saucepan; melt over low heat- if the pan is too thin, it will transfer heat too fast and burn the chocolate.
• To speed melting: Break up the chocolate into smaller pieces; stir frequently. If you are melting the chocolate in a double boiler or in a custard cup set in a pan of water, do not boil the water to speed melting as this will only thicken or curdle the chocolate
• If chocolate thickens or curdles, add vegetable shortening (not butter or margarine) a little at a time and stir until of the desired consistency.
• In an emergency, you can substitute cocoa for unsweetened chocolate in recipes. The proportions to use are 3 tablespoons cocoa plus I tablespoon shortening or cooking oil (not butter or margarine) for each square of chocolate called for in the recipe.
• Do not substitute semisweet or milk chocolate in recipes calling for unsweetened.