Decadent Dark Chocolate Souffles
Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 15 mins | Makes: 4 serves
Ingredients
Chocolate souffle:
- 170g dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3 egg yolks
- 5 egg whites
- Approx. 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
Créme anglaise:
- 1 cup vanilla ice cream
Who doesn't love a good soufflé? Perfect as a light & decadent treat that is bound to impress anybody, this dark chocolate soufflé recipe is one you'll want to savour for more than one time!
Using no-fuss baking ingredients, most of which you can find in the pantry, this soufflé is pleasantly simple, resulting in a delightful blend of sugary crispy crust, soft & fluffy souffle, and a warm comforting vanilla cream.
It's perfect to close off the evening for family-wide dinner gatherings, or even a sweet surprise for a select few. This is a recipe you can enjoy in any occasion, any time of day, with whomever you love.
Recipe inspired by Bon Appetit Kitchen
Method
1. Melt the chocolate
-
Preheat oven to 220ºC. Place 170g of dark chocolate and 1 tbsp butter into a tempered glass mixing bowl. Place it over a saucepan with simmering water underneath over low-medium heat. Stir gently.
-
Once the mixture is smooth, add 2tsp of vanilla extract and 3 egg yolks. Stir again and let cool.
2. Butter the ramekins
-
Using a pastry brush, brush the inside of the ramekins with room temperature unsalted butter. Tip: On the inner walls of the ramekins, make straight upward strokes to get an even flat surface. Then, coat the buttered area with sprinkles of granulated sugar. Tap away to remove the excess.
3. Make batter
-
Once oven is preheated, chocolate mixture is cool, and ramekins are coated, in a separate bowl, whip together 5 egg whites using a hand mixer (slow setting at first). Add 1tsp of salt and increase the mixer speed until you reach soft peaks. Then, add 7 tbsp of sugar. Continue to mix until you reach stiff peaks.
-
Put 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture. Stir together with a spatula until the colour lightens. Push in the rest of the egg whites and stir well. Tip: Use big, long spatula strokes that scrape around the bowl and fold the batter back into itself.
-
Fill the batter into your ramekins until it reaches the top. Scrape any excess off the top of the ramekin with a flat scraper. Gently tap to remove air bubbles.
-
Sprinkle some granulated sugar over each batter. Then, gently scrape the rims of the ramekin by moving your thumb around the inner top edge.
4. Time to bake!
-
Place it into the oven and drop the temperature to 200ºC. Bake for 13-15 minutes.
While waiting, melt vanilla ice cream in a small bowl or measuring jug.
-
Pull out the souffles. Make a hole using a spoon in the middle of its top surface, and fill it in with melted vanilla ice cream. Voila! Your dark chocolate souffles are ready to taste.
FAQs
How do you get the souffle to rise evenly?
The trick is to make upward brush strokes around the inner of your ramekin to 'tell' the batter to rise up evenly! It plays a huge difference and helps you avoid an uneven or domed shape.
What are soft peaks vs stiff peaks?
'Peaks' refer to the moment you pull your mixer out of a your whipped egg whites or cream. 'Soft' peaks indicate the moment where you lift the mixer and it leaves a 'lump' on your mixture — but the peak does not hold its shape and flops over immediately. 'Stiff' peaks are much firmer and can stand straight up as a 'dollop' of mixture once you lift the mixer out.
Can I use other types of chocolate?
Absolutely! There are plenty of ways to modify this recipe. We recommend putting in less sugar if using milk chocolate. You can also add coffee or rum into the recipe according to your preference of taste.
