Chocolate Souffle For Valentine’s Day

Chef Eric Frischkorn must be getting ready for Valentine’s Day. When I asked the staff what they thought of making for that special someone on Valentine’s Day he was ready to go with this Chocolate Soufflé recipe. I’ve had it and it’s delicious. It’ll be the perfect ending to your meal this week. – Chef Justin

When I was first out of culinary school, I moved to Lake Tahoe to work at a restaurant and that had a very busy soufflé station (we usually sold 50 to 60 per night).  We made the soufflés the traditional way with a pâte à choux base.  Preparing soufflés this way means the beaten egg whites have to be folded into the pâte à choux and baked right away or they will not rise properly. At the time, I thought that was the only way to bake a soufflé.

When I moved to Wine Country I got a job as a sous chef at a local restaurant, Madrona Manor, I learned the soufflé recipe that I still use to this day.  What makes it a great recipe, besides its deliciousness, is that it can be made 2 to 3 hours in advance and it will still rise.  After learning this version, I’ll never make chocolate soufflés another way – it is so easy.

This dessert is perfect for Valentine’s Day.  Old school chocolate soufflé never goes out of style.  I like to serve it with crème anglaise, the combination of the hot soufflé with the cool crème anglaise is amazing.  Hope you enjoy the recipes below.  Happy Valentine’s Day.

Chocolate Soufflé with Crème Anglaise
Makes 5 to 6 soufflés

Ingredients

  • 7 oz. butter, plus more for buttering the ramekins
  • 6½ oz. bittersweet chocolate
  • 5 eggs, separated (be careful not to get any yolks into the whites)
  • 7 Tbsp. sugar, plus extra for sugaring the ramekins
  • 1 Tbsp. flour

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 400⁰F. Butter and sugar the ramekins (6 oz.) and set aside.
  2. In a double-boiler over medium heat, melt the butter and chocolate.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the egg yolks and 4 tablespoons sugar until pale yellow in color. Add 1 tablespoon flour to mixture and mix until combined.
  4. In a double-boiler, add egg whites and 1 tablespoon sugar and heat until warm (you can check the temperature by swirling your finger in the whites). In a clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the egg whites and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Mix on medium speed until soft peaks form.
  5. Fold yolk mixture into chocolate mixture. Fold in 1/3 of the whites into this mixture to lighten the batter, then fold in remaining whites.
  6. Spoon the batter into prepared ramekins (only 3/4 full), being careful not to get the batter on the edge of the dish. This will cause the soufflé to rise unevenly. Use a clean cloth to wipe off the rim of the ramekin. Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes (convection) or 12 to 14 minutes (regular).
  7. Serve immediately. Poke a hole in the center of each soufflé and pour crème anglaise inside.

For The Creme Anglaise

  • 1 cup cream
  • ¼ cup milk
  • ½ vanilla bean, split & scraped
  • Pinch of kosher salt
  • 3 Tbsp. sugar
  • 4 egg yolks

Method

  1. Place a bowl over an ice bath and set aside.
  2. In a sauce pan, heat the cream, milk, vanilla bean (seeds & pod) and salt until it comes to a simmer.
  3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the sugar with the egg yolks until pale yellow in color.
  4. Gradually whisk the cream mixture into the yolks, adding 1/3 cup of hot cream at a time. Once all the cream has been added to the yolks, pour the mixture back into the sauce pan over low heat. Stir with a rubber spatula until the sauce has thickened. The sauce should be thickened to the point that it coats the back of the spatula and leaves a path when a finger is drawn across.
  5. Once done, strain the sauce into the bowl setting over the ice bath. This sauce can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. Crème anglaise can also be flavored with pureed berries or liqueurs such as Grand Marnier or Kahlua.