Chocolate Souffle

Chocolate Souffle

My day was busy and although I was out of the house most of the day, I still felt compelled to come home and make a chocolate souffle.  I started around 9:30pm, hoping to be done before 10pm.  I figured the chocoholics who live in this house would appreciate the late night surprise.  In the end, it was me who was surprised. I finished at 10:05pm calling from the kitchen for someone to come downstairs.  No response. The pleas turned to yelling as I worried no one would bear witness to the puffed up souffles.  I ran quickly upstairs to find my husband and older son already sleeping.  I gobbled up my souffle alone and enjoyed it far less than I would have imagined - not because it wasn't good, but for the mere fact I couldn't share it.  One saying came to mind: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"  Changed to mark this moment: "If a dessert is made and no one is around to taste it, is it yummy?"

Thanks to everyone who has offered to be a taste tester. I wish one of you would have been around tonight.

Ramekin greased with butter and sugar coated

Chopped chocolate

Whipping egg whites to stiff peak

Ready to be baked

Chocolate Souffles
Adapted from ZenCanCook.com

1/3 cup half-and-half
3 ounces Valhrona Manjari or your favorite bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Valhrona
1/3 cup water
8 large egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat the inside of four 1 1/2-cup soufflé molds with softened butter. Fill the mold with granulated sugar, then pour out the excess.
Pour the half-and-half into a saucepan and heat over medium high heat until bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan. Remove from the heat and make a ganache by adding the chopped chocolate. Stir well until combined and all of the chocolate has melted. Make a double-boiler by setting a large mixing bowl over a pot of boiling water. Place the ganache in the mixing bowl, add the cocoa powder and water, and whisk until very hot. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl and whip on medium speed until foamy. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and make a French meringue by adding the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and whipping the whites to stiff but not dry peaks. Do not overwhip the egg whites! You can tell the egg whites are overwhipped if they start to separate and resemble scrambled eggs.  Use a rubber spatula to gently fold about half the meringue into the warm chocolate mixture. Then fold the chocolate mixture into the remaining meringue, being careful not to deflate the batter. The soufflé mixture should be homogeneous in color, but if you still see streaks of meringue in the batter, that’s okay.
Use a large spoon to gently place the soufflé mixture in the buttered and sugared mold. Fill to about 1/4 inch below the rim of the mold. Run your thumb around the rim to remove the excess butter and sugar.
Bake until the soufflé has risen to about 1 1/2 half-inch over the rim and starts to brown on top, about 12 minutes.