I chose Chocolate Soufflé for my very first recipe because it is a classic example of French cooking and because it relies almost solely eggs for its volume and texture. With a rich chocolaty taste and airy, melt-in-your-mouth texture, Soufflé is a perfect egg-based dessert.
Here is a link to the recipe I used: https://food52.com/recipes/26514-chocolate-souffle
The main steps of making a Soufflé involve melting chocolate and making a chocolate-sugar mixture, and then carefully combining that with stiffly whipped egg whites to create a very aerated final batter before sticking it in the oven. When the soufflé bakes, the whipped eggs in the mixture retain all of the air and cause the dessert to puff up, giving it its delicate texture.
Here are some photos of the baking process:
I used greased ramekins to make smaller, individual-sized soufflés, which is traditional.
I forgot to take photos of the two different components (the chocolate mixture and the stiffly whipped egg whites), but this is the batter after the final step of folding the two components together. This is probably the trickiest and most difficult part of the process, because you have to try to fully combine the egg whites with the chocolate so there are little to no white flecks left, while simultaneously keeping all of the air you whipped into the egg whites intact. If you fold or stir too vigorously, you risk deflating the eggs and removing all the air from your soufflé.
Here is what the Soufflés looked like right after they came out of the oven. They had puffed up quite a bit, but I didn’t get as much rise as I would have liked. I think my folding technique might have deflated the egg whites a little bit and so the mixture was not able to retain as much air. But they still looked great!
As the Soufflés cool down, they start to sink right away and lose their puffiness. So just a sprinkle of powdered sugar, and they were ready to eat.
Here’s what the texture inside looked like:
I thought they were super delicious, with a light, airy texture and deep chocolate taste. They also weren’t overly sweet, which made it easier to appreciate the delicate texture. I had a couple of my friends and Professor O’Hara try them out for me right in the kitchen. Here’s what they thought:
“I like that the edges are crispier than the middle” – Scout
“It’s moist in the middle” – Emma
“I like the different textures” – Emma
“It has a nice crackly top” – Scout
“Not super sweet – that’s nice” – Professor O’Hara
“If it was risen more it would be airier instead of layers collapsing a bit” – Scout
I think that overall, the texture provided by the stiffly whipped eggs put a lot of air into the Soufflé (although not quite as much as anticipated). This gave the dessert a light, soft texture in the middle with a crackly, easily broken top and melt-in-your-mouth experience. I would definitely like to make this recipe again and adjust my folding technique to make sure the eggs are able to do their best work to aerate the batter while it is in the oven.
