Saturday, February 11, 2017

Chocolate Soufflé – Perfect for Your Valentine (Unless I’m Your Valentine)

With everybody’s favorite made-up holiday right around the corner, I thought I would finally post a chocolate soufflé. I’m not sure what took so long, other than the fact that soufflés have never been my favorite delivery system for chocolate.

Sure, they’re visually impressive, which is key for a special occasion dessert, but the chocolate does get a bit diluted by all those air bubbles. Also, I’ve always been much more of a cold, or room-temp chocolate dessert guy, and never gone nuts for things like lava cakes, and baked puddings.

Having said that, I’m sure I’m in the minority, and you and your special someone will enjoy these just fine. I developed this recipe for two, since that makes a lot of sense, but it should scale up without issue. If you want to add some type of liquor to this, you can add it to the milk and flour mixture after you turn off the heat.

Rum works beautiful, as does coffee, orange, or raspberry liqueur.  Above and beyond that, if you really want to impress your date, you could also whip up a sauce to serve along side. I’m thinking either a berry puree, or maybe a coffee crème anglaise would pair perfectly. Either way, sauced or not, I really hope you give this a try soon, and it gets you lots of compliments. Enjoy!


Chocolate soufflé for two 5-oz ramekins):
melted butter and sugar to prep ramekins
1 tablespoon butter  
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon cold milk
pinch salt
pinch cayenne
2 ounces dark chocolate (I like something around 70%)
1 large egg yolk
2 large egg whites
pinch cream of tartar (you can use a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar instead)
1 tablespoon white sugar, added in 3 additions

28 comments:

Pishulonco said...

This is NICE! but I have a few questions Chef, as this is a dessert.
This is supposed to be eaten hot or warm I guess, so keeping it in the fridge is a no no.
So, If I wanted to serve this as a dessert, can I keep the mix in the ramekin stage in the fridge or at room temperature for a while so I can just put them in the oven when we are finishing eating? Or will they deflate too fast if I don't put them in the oven right away?
Thanks Chef, love all of your recipes and your sense of humor.
Hope you get L...ots of compliments too.

Unknown said...

Can you prepare the mix and store in a fridge so that it just needs popped in the oven after dinner?

Anonymous said...

I never had more than a mediocre choc. Soufflé made from a roux base.

A bouille base is best, followed by pastry cream and a distant third is roux base. Also, if you used more like 1/4 of the whites to lighten the base you get a better rise than your anemic rise. A roux base is stiff and requires one to "waste" more whites to lighten the base.

Finally, I prefer a more crisp exterior and creamy interior than what you got. I realize it's a matter of preference.

End critique,

Dimitri H. Masson said...

I am melting, this seems delicious. There is a slight typo in the title : you wrote pRefect instead of perfect.

Broklynite said...

Hi Chef John! Delighted to see a souffle recipe at long last! There used to be a wonderful restaurant here in NYC that made glorious, decadent souffles in a variety of flavors (both sweet and savory) but that would pair them with various sauces- a raspberry souffle with a chocolate sauce, or a hazelnut souffle with a vanilla sauce, that sort of thing. I'd really love to see a video where you show how to a) make non-chocolate souffles, and b) make a few flavored sauces to go with them. But this was a great video, very straightforward, easy to follow just like all your vids.

Anonymous said...

Hi Chef, I plan on making this for my boyfriend and myself, is it possible to make this ahead of time before baking it? Thanks!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hayden Wileman said...

Can not wait to try this recipe

Unknown said...

Once it's in the ramekins can you leave it in the fridge till it's ready to go in the oven?

Unknown said...

can u make the bater like 30 min beforhand

Casey said...

Just made these and they turned out perfect! I added a little too much cayenne, but it tastes like Mexican chocolate so I take it as a win.

Unknown said...

Chef John, I love all of your cooking creations and making them, it seriously something that I look forward to in your day. I just have one question, could you please explain to me your philosophy on cayenne, why cayenne why not any other spice and why use it so much-I have always been curious. Thanks!

Chris K. said...

...and always remember: you're the Kiter of your lonely nighter!

Except for me. I'm the David Spade of getting ...let down by anemic rises. Or so I'm told.

Anonymous said...

We can see you in the metal bowl reflection. Yes.

otto said...

Just enjoyed this great recipe. I never did such a thing before, let alone any dessert except for tiramisu (I am Italian - we learn it at school).
Nevertheless it turned out just perfect, thanks for the easy tutorial!
Keep it up with the amazing channel!!

kristi_de said...

i just made this...first time, mind you... oh. my. god! great instruction and soooo yummy!! to the person who said "this is other way is better..." pah!! this was fan-freakin'-tastic! :) <3

DianShan said...

Can you please convert to metric calculations?
Thanks!

guntario said...

Does it matter if it's 2% milk?

Anonymous said...

Wow. The first soufflé I've ever made. Nailed it. Great recipe!

Anonymous said...

My first soufflé. Nailed it. Great recipe! Thanks Chef.

Joanne said...

Can you make the souffle in just one larger container rather than the 2 ramekins? I don't own any ramekins (yet!). Thanks!

chefen it up said...

when I finish the soufflé can I stick It I the fridge or will it deflate?

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yo me said...

Chef,
Am I missing something?
Where are the baking instructions? Would like to try out this little gem
Thanks
The Drama Chef

Unknown said...

your recipe yields the best results in respect to efforts - highest sharpe ratio (reward/effort)! totally enjoy it.
added 2 teaspoons of pepper/chillies. divine

Unknown said...

If you add a little bit of xanthan gum mixed with sugar for the egg whites, you can leave it outside for a couple of hours before you bake them. Eggs won't deflate.

Unknown said...

This worked great. Once with chocolate and once with nutella. It rose nice and high. Perfectly moist inside too.

live oak said...

375 degrees for 12-15 minutes (this was at the end of the video)