Chocolate Soufflé Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to a good soufflé? ›

According to La Varenne Practique (a timeless masterwork you should consider owning if learning more about classic French cooking appeals), there are only a few critical points to perfecting a souffle: a base of the right consistency, stiff egg whites, and the careful folding of the base and the beaten whites.

Mousse — Essentially a sweet dessert, mousse can be made either with whipped cream or egg whites that are stabilized with gelatin. Souffle — A baked dessert made with beaten eggs, eaten as soon as its baked. A good souffle has a set base and is soft in the centre.

If the egg whites are not mixed enough, they will be too heavy to rise, but if they are over-whipped they will collapse in the oven. Finally, and most problematically, any cross-contamination between yolks and whites will cause the whole concoction to collapse, which is the bane of many dessert chefs' days.

The key is in the ingredients. The lighter the base mixture, the longer it will hold. The most flexible mixtures are those made for light dessert souffles like lemon, lime and raspberry. They can easily be refrigerated for two to three hours.

Fresh eggs are essential when used to give lift to cakes or to whip up into meringue to make pavlovas, soufflés or light-as-air Chocolate Mousse. This is because old eggs don't whip up as well. Fresh eggs are also better for poaching because they have tighter whites so they poach neatly.

The chocolate soufflé was not invented until the 19th century when chocolate became more widely available. The first chocolate soufflé recipe was published in a cookbook by Marie-Antoine Careme, who was a French chef and considered one of the greatest chefs of all time.

Because the eggs aren't cooked, the mousse retains that fluffy, light finish. The chocolate souffle has a firmer texture. Because it's cooked in the oven, you should expect a light crust to form on top. Once broken into, your mixture should be smooth, light and fluffy.

Deliciously crafted souffle made with our savory egg mixture, Neufchâtel, cheddar, Parmesan and romano cheeses.

French meringue is the lightest and least stable recipe of the three. Since it isn't as stable as Swiss and Italian meringue, French meringue is often used for baking treats like meringue cookies and soufflés.

Souffles are mostly made of eggs, so there will be a slight eggy taste, but it should not be overpowering if there is enough flavoring in it, like vanilla or chocolate. Make sure to use fresh eggs, good-quality flavorings, and enough flavoring to balance the egg taste.

Why cook soufflé in a water bath? ›

Half-fill a roasting tin with boiling water and put it in the oven – this bain-marie will insulate the soufflé mixture from the intense heat of the oven, and keep the texture soft and custardy, rather than tough and chewy.

Soufflés are best when they're still slightly runny in the centre. To check if a soufflé is set, gently tap the dish – it should wobble just a little bit. If the centre seems too fluid, cook for a few more minutes.

Souffle Logic: A soufflé is made up of three elements: A base sauce enriched with egg yolks (pastry cream for sweet, béchamel for savory), a filling (anything from cheese to chocolate), and whipped egg whites.

If your Soufflé Cake tastes eggy, it's either undercooked or overcooked. Make sure that you don't increase the temperature, this will also make the eggs rubbery and taste eggy. Stick to a low temperature.