Chocolate Souffle

Soufflé came from the French word “souffler” which means “to blow up” and it is a good
description of this dish as it really puff’s up during the cooking process. A proper soufflé is a
bit tricky to prepare because once it comes out of the oven it should be fully puffed and fluffy.
The most common mistake in making one of these is they deflate once you put them out in the
oven but generally it should stand for at least 5-10 minutes before collapsing.
According to the food historians the modern soufflés have been invented during the 18th
century in France.  It was credited to Antoine Beauvilliers (cooked to King Louis XIV and
owner first real restaurant in Paris, Le Grand Taverne de Londres), he was famous for this dish
as he served a lot of soufflés in his career and probably it had started as early as 1782.  Also,
during his time soufflés were baked in a pastry case called croustade instead of ramekins. 
Then in 1814 Carême published the first soufflé recipes in print.

How to make Chocolate Souffle

Ingredients (Egg Yolk Mixture)
3 egg yolks
3 tbsp warm water
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp sugar
Ingredients (Egg Whites Mixture)
8 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
Ingredients (Chocolate Mixture)
200g finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
4 tbsp butter
Ingredients (Others)
butter for moulds
confectioners’ sugar
cocoa powder

Method
1.Brush 6 ramekins with soft butter then coat it with sugar, once done place in freezer until
needed.
2.In a double boiler mix together chocolate and butter until melted and smooth. Remove from
heat then stir in the vanilla extract, set aside
3.Mix together egg yolks and warm water in a mixing bowl, beat in high speed until frothy.
Gradually add 2 tablespoon of sugar and continue beating for 5 more minutes.
4.Fold the yolk mixture with the chocolate mixture.
5.Place the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl together with the lemon juice, beat in high
speed until frothy, then gradually add the 1/2 cup of sugar until it forms stiff peaks.
6.Lightly fold 1/2 of the egg whites with the chocolate mixture, once evenly mixed fold the
remaining egg whites until fully blended.
7.Remove ramekins from the freezer then pour the mixture in, place on baking pans then level
of the surface.
8.Bake soufflés in 200C pre heated oven for 18-20 minutes or until soufflé rises 1 to 2 inches
from the ramekins, remove from oven then dust with confectioners’ sugar or cocoa powder
then serve immediately.