Bittersweet Chocolate Souffle Recipes

Steps:

• In "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," their profoundly influential 1961 cookbook, Julia Child, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle describe the soufflé as the "epitome and triumph of the art of French cooking." A half-century later, soufflé remains as vital as ever, as successive generations of chefs revisit and refresh the classic recipe. A souffle has two main components, a flavorful base and glossy beaten egg whites, and they are gently folded together just before baking. The word itself comes from "souffler," meaning "to breathe" or "to puff," which is what the whites do to the base once they hit the oven's heat. The base may be made either savory or sweet. Savory soufflés usually incorporate cheese, vegetables, meat or seafood and are appropriate for a light dinner or lunch, or as a first course. They require a substantial and stable base, in the form of a cooked sauce that often involves butter, egg yolks and some kind of starch (flour, rice or cornstarch). Sweet soufflés, with fruit, chocolate or liquors, make spectacular desserts. The base can be made from a fruit purée, or a sweet, rich sauce. Soufflés are found all over France, with each region applying its own spin. In Alsace, cooks use kirsch. In Provence, goat cheese or eggplant are excellent additions. And naturally, Roquefort cheese is a popular addition in Roquefort.
• Marie-Antoine Carême, the father of French haute cuisine, is credited with perfecting and popularizing the soufflé, publishing his recipe in "Le Pâtissier Royal Parisien" in 1815. (The first recipe had appeared in 1742, in Vincent La Chapelle's "Le Cuisinier Moderne.") Initially, Carême made his soufflés in stiff pastry casings called croustades that were lined with buttered paper. Soon after, vessels were developed just for making souffles, deep dishes with straight sides, for the tallest rise. Carême went on to create several variations, including Soufflé Rothschild, named after his employer, one of the richest men in France; it contained candied fruit macerated in a liquor containing flecks of gold. (Contemporary versions substitute more attainable kirsch for the golden elixir.) As the soufflé evolved, the number of variations grew. By the time Auguste Escoffier published "Le Guide Culinaire" in 1903, which codified the classic recipes of French cuisine, more than 60 soufflé variations were in common use, with versions that incorporated ingredients as varied as Parmesan cheese, foie gras, escarole, pheasant, violets, almonds and tea. A layered soufflé called a Camargo alternated stripes of tangerine and hazelnut soufflé batters in the same dish. "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," published nearly six decades later, offered several recipes, including a version called Soufflé Vendôme, in which cold poached eggs are layered into the unbaked soufflé mixture. After baking, the eggs warm up slightly, releasing their runny yolks when the soufflé is broken. Despite a movement in France in recent years that called for a more experimental take on traditional cuisine, there is still a place for perfect soufflé. And while chefs may innovate upon the classic version, those first 18th-century recipes are still very much in use. Above, the menu at Le Soufflé, a restaurant in Paris.
• Soufflé mold The soufflé has a pan created just for it, a deep ceramic dish with straight sides. Ceramic holds the heat evenly, so the center cooks at nearly the same rate as the edges, and the sides direct the expanding air upward, to give the most rise. A heavy metal charlotte mold also works. Or use a shallow oven-safe dish, like a gratin dish or a skillet. The soufflé won't rise as high, but it will still puff up. (It will likely cook faster, so watch it carefully.)Metal mixing bowl You will achieve better results beating the whites in a metal mixing bowl rather than in a plastic, glass or ceramic bowl. Plastic can retain oily residue, and glass and ceramic are slippery, making it harder to get the whites to cling and climb up the sides. This is especially important if you are beating the whites by hand. Stainless steel or copper work best.Electric mixer Using an electric mixer, whether it is a hand-held model or a stand mixer, makes the work of beating egg whites go faster and easier than if you were to use a whisk and your arms. Wirecutter, a product recommendations website owned by The New York Times Company, has a guide to the best stand mixers.
• A chocolate soufflé is an eternal showstopper of a dessert. The flavor is dark and intense, yet the texture is light and custardy. Be sure to use excellent bittersweet chocolate. For maximum drama, always serve a soufflé straight from the oven.
• The primary technique for making a tall and airy soufflé is the proper beating of the egg whites. Once you learn it, a whole fluffy world opens up, rich with spongecakes, mousses and foams.• Always use eggs at room temperature or even warm, for the highest rise. Cold egg whites won't beat up as loftily. To get cold eggs to temperature quickly, soak them in their shells in warm water for 20 minutes. • Make sure your hands are clean. If there is any trace of oil or grease on them and you touch the egg whites, the soufflé may not puff. • Crack your eggs on a flat surface, like the countertop, instead of on the rim of the bowl. That way, you are less likely to shatter the shell and pierce the yolk. • There are two ways to separate eggs. The first is to hold the cracked egg over a bowl and pass the yolk between shells, letting the white slip into the bowl. Gently drop the yolk in into a separate, smaller bowl. Take care: The sharp edge of the shell can easily pierce the yolk, allowing it to seep into the white. The other method requires you to strain the whites through your fingers, but it ensures that yolks do not creep into the whites. First, set up three bowls. Hold your hand over one bowl and drop the cracked egg into your palm, letting the white run through your fingers into the bowl. Drop the yolk into the second bowl. Inspect the white for traces of yolk. If there are none, slip the white into the third bowl. Repeat with remaining eggs. Using that first bowl as a way station for each freshly cracked white before it gets added to the main bowl of pristine whites helps ensure no yolk contaminates the mixture.• Well-beaten, stable whites are the key to a gorgeously puffy soufflé. So don't rush this step. The slower you go, the better your chances for success. • Take a moment to make sure there are no traces of yolk or any fat in the egg whites or the bowl. (Egg yolk will impede the whites from frothing.) • Adding a little bit of acid (in our recipes, cream of tartar) helps stabilize the egg foam, and also helps prevent overbeating. Beating the whites in a copper bowl will produce a similar result without the added acid, which is why copper bowls were historically considered essential for making meringues. • If you are using a stand mixer, check the bottom of the bowl every now and then for unbeaten egg whites. Sometimes the whites pool there, and when you go to incorporate the meringue into the base, those whites will deflate the overall soufflé. Whisk any pooled whites by hand into the rest of the meringue and continue beating with the machine. • Beat until the meringue is just able to hold stiff peaks. This means that when you lift the whisk out of the meringue, it will create a little cowlick that stays upright without drooping as you gently move the whisk. It should look glossy, or be just starting to lose its shine. Don't overbeat (which will make the foam turn grainy and dry) or underbeat (which won't give the proper lift). If you overbeat your whites, you might be able to rescue them by beating in another egg white. This often restores them.• The goal in folding the egg whites into the base is to work quickly and use a light touch. This lightens the base, making it easier to fold in the rest of the meringue mixture all at once. Fold in a C shape, as demonstrated in the video above: Starting in the middle of the bowl, drag the thin edge of a spatula down like a knife, then tilt and scoop up a spatula full of the soufflé base, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl. Turn the batter over, away from your body, back into the middle of the bowl. Shift the bowl 45 degrees, and repeat. • Stop folding when the streaks of white have just disappeared - or rather, when they have almost disappeared. A few white streaks are preferable to overfolding, which deflates the batter.• Buttering the soufflé dish, then coating the butter with something with a bit of texture, is essential for the rise. If the soufflé dish were to be just buttered, the soufflé would slip down the sides instead of climbing. An additional thin coating of granulated sugar, bread crumbs, ground nuts or grated cheese creates a rough texture for the egg whites to hold onto as they rise.• If your soufflé dish isn't big enough to accommodate all of the batter, you can extend it by tying a buttered piece of parchment paper or foil around the rim of the soufflé dish to increase its volume.• For individual soufflés, use small ramekins placed on a rimmed baking sheet so they are easy to get in and out of the oven. Reduce the cooking time of a larger soufflé by about half.• Heat matters. Make sure the oven is preheated; that initial hot blast expands the air trapped inside the bubbly foam of batter, which makes it rise. Having the soufflé base hot or warm when you fold in the egg whites helps the temperature rise quickly, too.• Baking the soufflé on a preheated baking sheet on the bottom of the oven helps the soufflé cook on the bottom as well as the top, producing a more even result. The baking sheet will also catch any overflow.• For a higher rise, rub your thumb around the inside rim of the soufflé dish to create a gap between the dish and the batter. (Many soufflé dishes already have a groove there to help.) • If you want a perfectly flat top to your soufflé, level the foam with the back of a knife before baking, and before running your thumb around the edge of the dish. Or you could leave the foam as it is, for a more natural, wavy look. Julia Child preferred a natural top; pastry chefs tend to prefer a flat top. • A soufflé is done baking when it has risen above the rim of the dish and is nicely browned on top. It should feel mostly firm and only slightly jiggly when you lightly tap the top. Flourless soufflés, such as those made with fruit purée or chocolate, are lighter and cook faster. (Chocolate soufflés can also be intentionally underbaked for a gooey chocolate interior. The soufflé should be a tad wiggly when gently shaken but firm around the edges.) Thicker soufflés made with flour, like a cheese soufflé, don't rise as much in the oven, but won't collapse as much either. • Use the window of your oven to monitor the soufflé, and don't open the oven door until you see the soufflé puff up over the sides of the dish. Once it has done that, you can safely open the oven and check on it. • If the top of your soufflé starts to brown too fast, top it with a round of parchment paper. • All soufflés fall within minutes of coming out of the oven, because the hot air bubbles contract when they hit cooler air. That's why you need to serve them immediately after baking. But as long as you don't overfold the whites, and you resist opening the oven door until the last few minutes of baking, your soufflé will rise gloriously before the dramatic and expected collapse. • You can prepare any soufflé batter ahead, but you will probably lose some volume. Assemble the soufflé in its dish, then set it aside in a warm place without drafts for up to four hours. Julia Child recommends turning your largest soup pot over the soufflé, and that would work. But any draft-free space is fine. A draft could deflate the foam.
• This savory soufflé is as classic as can be, with beaten egg whites folded into a rich cheese-laden béchamel for flavor and stability. Gruyère is the traditional cheese used for soufflé, but a good aged Cheddar would also work nicely. This makes a great lunch or brunch dish.
• Once you've mastered more basic soufflés, try this very light recipe, adapted from Julia Child, which uses a base of syrupy fruit to flavor the egg whites, without the addition of fats or starches. A combination of raspberries and strawberries makes it marvelously pink.
• Savory soufflés are usually served by themselves, but sweet soufflés often have a sauce on the side, to be poured into the center of the soufflé after you've dug in your spoon. Or opt for ice cream, which provides a thrilling hot-cold contrast. Either will deflate the soufflé, so add it after your guests have had a chance to admire it. This creamy custard, made from egg yolks and milk, is a great sauce for any sweet soufflé, including chocolate, fruit and Grand Marnier. You can flavor the sauce with a dash of liquor, some lemon zest or a pinch of cinnamon or another spice.A versatile choice, caramel sauce is lovely with all kinds of sweet soufflés, be they flavored with simple vanilla bean, chocolate or fruit.A perfect match for fruit soufflés, this can be as simple as a lightly sweetened purée of fruit, or a more elaborate fruit-flavored custard or curd.A chocolate sauce accentuates the richness of chocolate soufflés. You can use the same type of chocolate in the sauce as you've used in the soufflé, or try mixing it up, using a darker and more bitter chocolate to cut the sweetness, or a milk chocolate to step it up.
• Photography Food styling: Alison Attenborough. Prop styling: Beverley Hyde. Additional photography: Karsten Moran for The New York Times. Additional styling: Jade Zimmerman. Video Food styling: Chris Barsch and Jade Zimmerman. Art direction: Alex Brannian. Prop styling: Catherine Pearson. Director of photography: James Herron. Camera operators: Tim Wu and Zack Sainz. Editing: Will Lloyd and Adam Saewitz. Additional editing: Meg Felling.
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• Omelet

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with the rack in lower third. Place six 10-ounce ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush inside ramekins with butter. Dust with sugar, and tap out excess. Using kitchen twine, secure a strip of parchment paper around each ramekin so that parchment extends 3 inches above rim. Chill in freezer 15 minutes (up to overnight).
• Bring milk almost to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat; set aside.
• Put 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until pale, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour. Add about one-third of the hot milk in a slow, steady stream, beating until just combined.
• Pour yolk mixture back into pan with the remaining milk. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until thick, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in chocolate, vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. The souffle base can be made a day ahead and refrigerated, covered, until ready to bake the souffles.
• Put egg whites and a pinch of salt into a large copper bowl. Using a balloon whisk, beat until foamy. (Alternatively, beat egg whites and a pinch of cream of tartar instead of the salt in the bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.) Add 1 tablespoon sugar, and beat until soft peaks form. Add remaining tablespoon sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form.
• Using a rubber spatula, fold one-third of the egg whites into chocolate mixture. Gradually fold in remaining egg whites.
• Carefully pour batter into prepared ramekins on baking sheet, filling to just below rims. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees; bake until set, about 15 minutes. Remove parchment. Poke a hole in top of each, and pour in caramel creme anglaise. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Prepare ramekins: Brush ramekin with butter to evenly coat the entire interior, from the bottom of the ramekin to the top of the rim. Add a few tablespoons of sugar to the ramekin, then spin the ramekin around to coat the bottom and the walls, pouring the excess into a mixing bowl. (The sugar coating provides a rough surface for the soufflé to adhere to as it bakes, allowing for a taller rise.) Repeat with other ramekins. Chill until ready to use.
• Preheat the oven to 375 F. Prepare a double boiler: Add enough water to a 1-quart saucepan to fill halfway, and bring to a simmer. Fit a heatproof glass bowl snugly on top of the saucepan, making sure the bottom of the bowl isn't touching the surface of the water. Add chocolate to the bowl and allow it to melt, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together the milk and cornstarch. Pour mixture into a small saucepan over low heat and whisk; once the mixture is simmering, continue to whisk until thickened, about 1 minute. When the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the saucepan. Slowly add the milk-cornstarch mixture into the melted chocolate, whisking constantly, until it's thoroughly combined. Add egg yolks and whisk until thoroughly combined and shiny. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add egg whites and a pinch of salt. Starting on low then coming up to medium speed, whip until soft peaks form; then continue whipping as you slowly add the sugar in a steady stream. Once medium peaks form, 1-2 minutes later, turn the motor off and remove whisk. Finish whisking by hand to form medium-stiff peaks. (This prevents the machine from over-whipping, which can cause the soufflé to fall.)
• Use a rubber spatula to stir ⅓ of the whipped whites into the chocolate mixture. Then very gently fold in the rest of the egg whites, being careful not to overmix; the goal is to make sure the egg whites retain their airiness. When the chocolate and egg whites are just mixed, fill each ramekin to the rim. Run the tip of your thumb around the inner rim of the ramekin to wipe off the butter and sugar from the top ¼ inch. This prevents the soufflé from sticking to the rim as it bakes, allowing it to rise straight up.Place ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then into the oven. Bake until the soufflés have risen about ½-1 inch above the rim, 7-9 minutes.
• When soufflés have fully risen, remove from oven. Dust with powdered sugar, if using. Shape quenelles of unsweetened whipped cream (optional): Pass about a tablespoon of whipped cream back and forth between two spoons, smoothing and shaping it until you have formed an egg-shaped dollop, or "quenelle." Make a small opening in the top of the soufflé and nestle the quenelle into the hole. Serve immediately. (Note: Soufflés will fall quickly as they cool, so work quickly once they are out of the oven!)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Brush bottom and sides of 2 (5-ounce) ramekins lightly with 1 teaspoon melted butter; cover bottom and sides right up to the rim. Add 1 tablespoon white sugar to ramekins. Rotate ramekins until sugar coats all surfaces. Pour off extra sugar.
• Place chocolate pieces in a metal mixing bowl. Place bowl over a pan of about 3 cups hot water over low heat. Do not let water boil or come to a simmer.
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour. Whisk until flour is incorporated into butter and mixture thickens, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to low. Whisk in cold milk until mixture becomes smooth and thickens, 2 or 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Transfer mixture to bowl with melted chocolate. Add salt and very small pinch of cayenne pepper. Mix together thoroughly. Add egg yolk and mix to combine. Leave bowl above the hot (not simmering) water to keep chocolate warm while you whip the egg whites.
• Place 2 egg whites in a mixing bowl; add cream of tartar. Whisk until mixture begins to thicken and a drizzle from the whisk stays on the surface about 1 second before disappearing into the mix, 2 or 3 minutes. Add 1/3 of sugar and whisk in. Whisk in a bit more sugar about 15 seconds; whisk in the rest of the sugar. Continue whisking until mixture is about as thick as shaving cream and holds soft peaks, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer a little less than half of egg whites to chocolate. Mix until egg whites are thoroughly incorporated into the chocolate, 1 or 2 minutes. Add the rest of the egg whites; gently fold into the chocolate with a spatula, lifting from the bottom and folding over. Stop mixing after the egg white disappears. Divide mixture between 2 prepared ramekins. Place ramekins on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven until scuffles are puffed and have risen above the top of the rims, 12 to 15 minutes.

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut a parchment collar about 20 inches long by 6 inches high. Brush the top half of one side with butter. Butter sides only of a 1-quart souffle dish; coat with an even layer of sugar; set aside.
• In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together 1/4 cup sugar and milk. Bring to a boil; remove from heat.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup sugar, the flour, and egg yolks. Slowly pour the hot-milk mixture into the egg-yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
• Transfer milk-and-yolk mixture to saucepan. Whisk over medium-high heat until mixture thickens, about 40 seconds. Make sure to whisk along side of pan to prevent scorching.
• Remove pastry cream from heat, add chopped chocolate, and whisk until melted. Add cocoa powder; whisk until combined. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
• Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine egg whites and cream of tartar on low speed until frothy. Increase to medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add 2 tablespoons sugar. Increase mixer speed to high, and whisk until stiff but not dry peaks form.
• Whisk chocolate pastry cream to loosen and release steam, add 1/3 of the egg-white mixture, and whisk vigorously until mixture is combined and lightened.
• Using a rubber spatula, lightly stir remaining egg-white mixture to loosen; this will keep you from overmixing the souffle. Fold remaining egg whites into lightened chocolate cream.
• Transfer souffle mixture to prepared dish, and smooth top with a spatula. Secure parchment collar around dish with kitchen twine so that the collar extends 3 inches above the dish. Place in oven, and bake for 10 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, and cook for 20 minutes more for a creamy center or 25 minutes more for a slightly drier center.
• If desired, dust souffle with confectioners' sugar; serve immediately.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 6-cup soufflé dish and coat with additional granulated sugar, knocking out excess sugar. Butter and sugar a 6-inch-wide doubled piece of foil or wax paper long enough to fit around dish. Fit prepared dish with collar extending 2 inches above rim.
• In a bowl whisk together flour and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. In a small bowl whisk together egg yolks and 1/4 cup milk and add to flour mixture, whisking until smooth.
• In a heavy saucepan heat remaining 1 1/4 cups milk over high heat until it just comes to a boil and whisk into yolk mixture in a slow stream. Transfer mixture to pan and cook over moderate heat, whisking, until it just comes to a boil. Cook mixture at a bare simmer, whisking constantly, until very thick, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in vanilla and chocolate until custard is smooth. Transfer custard to a large bowl.
• In another bowl with an electric mixer beat egg whites with salt until they just hold soft peaks. Beat in remaining sugar in a slow stream, beating until meringue just holds stiff peaks. Stir one fourth of meringue into custard to lighten and fold in remaining meringue gently but thoroughly. Spoon mixture into prepared dish. Soufflé may be prepared up to this point 1 hour ahead and chilled, covered with a paper towel and plastic wrap. Do not let paper towel touch surface of soufflé. Put cold soufflé in preheated oven. Bake soufflé in middle of oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until firm and set in center.
• Carefully remove collar from soufflé dish and sift confectioners' sugar over soufflé. Serve soufflé immediately with whipped cream.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter two 1 1/4-cup ramekins and coat the inside of each ramekin with granulated sugar, knocking out the excess. In a small metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water melt 4 ounces of the chocolate and 1 tablespoon of the butter with the espresso mixture and 1 tablespoon of the Kahlúa or rum, whisk the mixture until it is smooth, and remove the bowl from the heat. Let the chocolate mixture cool for 5 minutes and whisk in the yolks, 1 at a time. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the whites with a pinch of salt until they just hold stiff peaks, whisk about one fourth of them into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, and fold in the remaining whites gently but thoroughly. Divide the batter between the ramekins and bake the cakes in the middle of the oven for 17 to 20 minutes, or until they are puffed and a tester comes out almost clean. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins on a rack for 3 minutes.
• While the cakes are baking, in another small bowl set over the pan of barely simmering water melt 2 ounces of the remaining chocolate with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter and the heavy cream and whisk the sauce until it is smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon Kahlúa or rum.
• Pour half the sauce onto each of 2 dessert plates, run a thin knife around the edge of each ramekin, and invert a cake onto each plate. Top the cakes with the whipped cream and garnish them with the grated chocolate.