Chocolate for Valentine’s Day – Gourmet Chocolate Souffle Recipe

In honor of the upcoming holiday, I have asked Gourmet Chef and blogger Kathy Davault to guest post for us. She is an award winning gourmet chef with over thirty years of experience cooking up the most amazing dishes. On her blog How to Cook Gourmet, Kathy shares her favorite gourmet recipes and even shows you how to do it. So I asked her to share one of my all time faves, Gourmet chocolate souffle in honor of Valentine’s Day.

Easy Gourmet Chocolate Souffle Recipe

I will have to admit, a good chocolate souffle is a favorite dessert of mine. It is so very light and airy, moist and creamy and then it puffs to glorious heights and makes a dramatic dessert presentation!

What more could you ask for in a dessert? So why is it that a lot of you out there shy away from making them? Okay, I know they do take a while to make and must be served right away, but that is not what I am hearing. You say it’s the rise thing! Okay, I totally understand,I have had my share of flop-a-roos. BUT YOU CAN DO THIS! Here are a few simple tips I learned that I will pass along to you.

Make sure your egg whites and custard base are both at room temperature. The egg whites will whip to a better volume and if the base is the same temperature, they will incorporate together better. The egg whites are whipped to stiff peaks with a portion of sugar for stability.

Next, once you have gone to a great deal of trouble to beat air into the egg whites, you don’t want to knock it all out of them when you fold the souffle together. A wide spatula works well. Insert the spatula in the center of the bowl, drag it across the bottom to the edge, and bring it up and back to the center, spreading some of the contents from the bottom across the top. Just remember, you are folding not stirring. You don’t have to get every bit of white thoroughly incorporated. It is better to stop while there is still a patch or two of whites than to deflate by overworking.

For a dramatic souffle that is puffed well above the dish, fill it to within 1/2 inch of the top.

Your souffles need heat from the bottom to rise properly. You want as much rise as possible before the top cooks. Place your souffle in the lower third of the oven. You can also preheat the oven a little lower than you want (25F lower), then turn the oven up when you place the souffles in. This will ensure more heat from the bottom.

And finally, all souffles fall! That is just their nature, so serve your souffle immediately before it collapses. A warm custard sauce (creme anglaise) if often served as an accompaniment to a sweet souffle.

Below is this delicious chocolate souffle recipe:

Serves 6

6 Tbsp. superfine sugar, divided, plus more for dusting
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
5 oz. semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 Tbsp. natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
6 large egg whites (room temperature)
Powdered sugar for garnish
Lightly sweetened whipped cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 400F. Butter ramekins and lightly dust with superfine sugar. Chill. Place milk in a small saucepan, scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and let milk steep.

Discard bean from milk mixture. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat yolks and 3 Tbsp. superfine sugar in a medium bowl until slightly thickened and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Beat in flour and salt. Gradually beat in half of vanilla milk. Whisk egg mixture into remaining vanilla milk in saucepan; bring to a simmer, whisking constantly, over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until souffle base is thickened, 2-3 minutes. Transfer souffle base to a large bowl.

Combine chocolate and cocoa powder in a small bowl; set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Gradually whisk chocolate mixture into souffle base.

Using an electric mixer with clean, dry beaters, beat egg whites in a large bowl until frothy, about 1 minute. With machine running, gradually add remaining 3 Tbsp. superfine sugar by tablespoonfuls, beating to blend between additions. Continue beating meringue until semi-firm, glossy peaks form, 6-7 minutes. Gently stir 1/4 of meringue into souffle base to lighten; then gently fold in remaining meringue in 2 additions. Fill ramekins, 3/4 full.

Bake until center are just set and souffles are puffed, 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately, topped with a dollop of whipped cream or creme anglaise sauce on the side, if you like.

I hope these tips will help you make the perfect chocolate souffle that rises beautifully. YOU CAN DO IT! ENJOY!

For more great ideas for your Valentine’s celebration, check out her recipe for a Heart Shaped Chocolate Mousse Cake with Raspberry Sauce. Special thanks to Kathy for sharing her amazing talents with us!