I’ve always dreaded making soufflé. I’ve heard so many horror stories of it not rising and so thought for a long time I should leave it to the top chefs out there. I was wrong; I found soufflé to be easier than cake, literally.
It was quick, straight-forward and fool-proof (I made it twice). It rose beautifully, a little higher than in the picture, and well, I can hardly hide my pride in that. I am just a home cook and I did it, and so can you!
This chocolate gingerbread soufflé will make an exquisite holiday dessert. Ethereal, it will be the lightest, most cloud-like, most delightful dessert to end a rich meal with. It is delicious by itself, but you could fancy it up a bit for the holidays with a warm vanilla or rum sauce on the side.
Don’t you love it when holidays coincide? It puts everybody in a festive mood. Sometimes I wish the whole world had holidays at the same time, exchanged gifts at the same time and had a joyful frame of mind at the same time. I bet it would make God smile. It’s one of those fairy thoughts I can’t help.
Pictures of candles were taken two summers ago in Italy.
Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!
P.S. Take a look at this pictorial holiday calendar. It’s pretty cool watched in fullscreen.
GINGERBREAD SOUFFLE RECIPE
Yield: 4 SERVINGS
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 12 min
Soufflés collapse after a few minutes of coming out of the oven and therefore are best baked immediately before serving so that you can enjoy their blown up goodness while eating.
Ingredients:
For coating the ramekins
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
For the soufflés
- 3 ounces good-quality dark chocolate (60 or 70% cocoa)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon unsulphured molasses
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- A pinch of ground clove
- 3 egg yolks
- 4 egg whites
- A pinch of cream of tartar
Directions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Step 2: Brush 4 small (3- to 4-ounce) ramekins with melted butter. Coat the buttered ramekins with granulated sugar by rotating the sugar around the bottom and sides. Tap out excess sugar.
Step 3: Place the chocolate, butter, molasses, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon and clove in a large glass bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave for another 30 seconds until melted. Stir again to combine.
Step 4: Stir the egg yolks, one at a time, into the chocolate mixture. The chocolate will turn a little thick and sticky.
Step 5: Beat the egg whites with cream of tartar to soft peaks using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment. (Soft peaks means when you lift the whisk, the egg whites are starting to hold themselves but slowly fall back down after a second or two. Stiff peaks are when the egg whites hold themselves straight up without falling.)
Step 6: Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, a little at a time. Keep folding until the mixture is fluffy and has a light brown color but don’t over mix.
Step 7: Divide the mixture among the 4 ramekins, filling them ¾ of the way up. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes until they’re nicely blown up. Do not open the oven during the baking process as that might prevent the soufflés from rising.
Step 8: Serve immediately.
For a quick warm vanilla sauce to serve with the soufflés, simply melt vanilla ice cream until warm in the microwave or on the stovetop. Flavor it with a teaspoon of rum, if you wish. Poke a hole in the soufflé and pour in the desired amount of sauce. Yum!