Posted on Friday, 8th April 2011 by Grace
Do you ever wonder what the word “Soufflé” means? The literal definition is, “To blow up”. Hmm, that sounds like an accurate description of some of my cooking projects. James Beard said, “The only thing that will make a soufflé fall is if it knows you are afraid of it.” So why do most people fear making a soufflé?
There are many types of soufflés, sweet (my favourite, of course!), savoury and frozen (hoping to make soon). The structure of a soufflé is quite delicate. The perfect soufflé will be light and fluffy in texture with a creamy centre (not runny).
I remember feeling full of this “fear” before making my first soufflé. And I think Mr. Beard is right – that first soufflé knew it! But today I’m armed with a few good tips for making soufflé, and do you know what? With these tips in hand, making a soufflé is actually a simple process. Simple you may ask? Continue on, dear reader, and you’ll see for yourself.
Soufflé Tips
Begin your soufflé with a flavoured base and then “lighten” the base with beaten eggs whites. This particular recipe for Nutella Soufflé is extremely easy. The flavour base is made up of very few ingredients, egg yolks, melted Nutella, Frangelico, vanilla and a pinch of salt.
These are the tips I’ve learned for making a good soufflé:
- Dish it up! Use the proper baking dish, round with straight sides (I strayed from this tip this time and as you can see in the photos I didn’t achieve that straight-sided rise).
- Greasing the skids. Take a few moments to properly grease the baking dishes. This is done using a pastry brush and brushing with even upward strokes. And then coating with sugar or grated chocolate for a sweet soufflé or cheese, breadcrumbs or cornmeal for a savoury soufflé.
- Preparation is key. Prepare all your ingredients prior to making the soufflé (mise en place) and use precise measurements.
- Bring on the heat! Preheating your oven is very important; to rise properly the soufflé needs a very hot oven.
- Just beat it. Do not over beat the egg whites because it will be difficult to incorporate into the flavoured base and when baked you will have bits of cooked egg in the centres. Also very important once the egg whites are beaten they begin to deflate so you must move quickly but remember gently fold (you don’t want to lose the volume).
- White ties and top hats. To create a “top-hat” effect, run your thumb along the rim of each baking dish, slightly inside the mixture (this will help it rise evenly).
- Best for last! The most important tip, “a soufflé waits for no one” (not even photos!), serve immediately!
Soufflè di Nutella is quite rich and in hindsight I wish I would have baked in 4-ounce dishes. It didn’t really matter this time because Matt (my son) and his friends had these luscious chocolate desserts devoured in no time.
So conquer your fears and tame that soufflé explosion. Keep my tips handy and show off at your next dinner party – imagine the looks of admiration you’ll get from your dinner quests when you serve this rich, luscious, and elegant dessert.
Soufflè di Nutella – Nutella Soufflé
Makes 4 X 6-ounce servings or 6 X 4-ounce servings
- 43 g (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened, to grease
- Finely grated chocolate, for dusting
- 250 g (8.82-ounces) Nutella
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1 tablespoon Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur), optional
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Preheat oven to 190° C (375° F). Using a small pastry brush, brush (using even upward strokes) each ramekin well with softened butter (this will help soufflè rise). Chill the ramekins for 5 minutes. Apply a second coat of softened butter as before (to ensure the soufflè doesn’t stick to the ramekin). Spoon a little grated chocolate into each ramekin; roll the dish around, tilting it as you do, so the ramekin is evenly lined all around.
- Melt the Nutella in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of just simmering water.
- Meanwhile in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment at medium speed, whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form.
- In a large bowl, using a hand-held whisk, whisk the egg yolks and melted Nutella until well combined.
- Whisk in the Frangelico, vanilla and salt.
- Using a large spatula fold in one third of the stiff egg whites to the Nutella mixture (this will loosen the mixture). Carefully fold in one-half of the remaining egg whites, cutting through the mixture. Fold in the last of the egg whites (take care not to lose the volume).
- Transfer mixture to a pouring vessel (i.e. large measuring cup).
- Pour the mixture into the ramekins, filling right to the top. Gently tap each ramekin on the counter to release any air bubbles.
- Working with one ramekin at-a-time; with one hand hold the ramekin over the pouring vessel, with the other hand take a large palette knife and pull it across the top of the ramekin (away from you) so the mixture is flat letting the excess fall into the pouring vessel. Take a minute to wipe away any splashes off the outside of each dish and also on the rim (otherwise they will burn on while baking). Repeat with remaining ramekins.
- To prevent the mixture from sticking to the top of the mold, and to give a straight finish, run your thumb around the rim of each soufflè, slightly inside the mixture (this will help it rise evenly).
- Bake the soufflès until the tops are set but jiggles when moved, 15 to 17 minutes.
- To serve, dust with grated chocolate. You may also want to serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.
- Enjoy!
Related posts:
- Gordon Ramsay’s Hot Chocolate Soufflé
- Mini Blueberry-White Chocolate Cheesecakes
- Triple Chocolate Mousse Cakes
- Chocolate Cream Pies
- Mini Boston Cream Pies
Tags: after school treat, afternoon tea, baked pudding, chocolate, chocolate dessert, dessert, desserts, food, food photography, food photos, hazelnut, individual dessert, individual desserts, mini desserts, Nutella, quick desserts, souffle
Posted in Baking & Pastry, Baking Mise en Place, Custards, Creams & Mousses, Eggs, Recipes
Comments (7)
Subscribe
April 8th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
So gorgeous!
April 8th, 2011 at 6:17 pm
Your son’s friends must love coming over to your house. An afternoon snack of gorgeous souffles is not too shabby!
April 8th, 2011 at 10:29 pm
Dara the house is always full of teenagers on the weekend, word is out Mrs. Langlois is making treats. This week the weekend started early PD day on Friday. They arrived Thursday evening and they are still here.
April 9th, 2011 at 7:41 pm
I just bought nutella so I had to bookmark this recipe. And thanks for all the tips. I’m one of those who fear souffles…I guess I will have to meditate before attempting it and let the fear go away first!
April 10th, 2011 at 10:54 am
I definitely like a sweet souffle as well and using nutella sounds amazing!
April 10th, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Hi! This looks amazing and my family loves Nutella. I’m definetely making this. At what temperature should it be baked ?
Thanks!
April 10th, 2011 at 6:47 pm
HI Jo – so sorry about that and thanks for catching my error – just updated the recipe, oven should be set to 190° C (375° F).