Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Hot Fudge Soufflé



This is the first soufflé I ever made, and I made it for New Year’s Eve 2013 for a special dinner with Tova and Carlos.

Before dinner I prepared the baking dish, mixed together the dry ingredients in a saucepan, and beat the egg yolks with the vanilla.  Near the end of dinner I prepared the rest of the soufflé and put it in the oven.

This recipe creates a light soufflé with a “hot fudge sauce” a little bit like our family favorite pudding cake.
Vegetable oil spray
2 teaspoons granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup, plus 1/3 cup
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
 Pinch of salt
1 cup cold skim milk
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 egg whites
½  teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon powdered sugar 

1.      Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 

2.      Coat a 9 inch casserole dish (or deep pie plate) with vegetable oil spray. Dust with 2 teaspoons sugar. Set aside. 

3.      In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1/3 cup sugar, the cocoa, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Slowly whisk in the milk until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly over medium heat, until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. 

4.      In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and vanilla. Whisk the hot chocolate mixture into the yolks until smooth. Set aside. 

5.       Beat the egg whites until frothy (I did this in my Cuisinart, or you can use a hand-mixer).  Add the cream of tartar, and beat until soft peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the rest of the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until firm (but not dry) peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. 

6.       Stir about one fourth of the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Then use a large spatula to fold the chocolate mixture into the whites until just incorporated.   My chocolate/egg mixture was marbled, which was fine.

7.      Spoon the soufflé into the prepared dish and bake 15 minutes or until the soufflé is almost doubled in height and feels firm around the edges but still somewhat jiggly in the center. 

8.       Dust the top of the soufflé with powdered sugar and serve immediately by spooning onto dessert plates or into small bowls.

 REALLY don’t worry if the inside seems jiggly!  This is the magic of the hot fudge inside the soufflé!  This recipe served 4 generous portions.  

Based on a recipe from the American Medical Association Family Cookbook (Barnard & Dojny).  SO sorry I didn't take a photo of this beautiful dessert :(