- Learn how to make the best tall
and fluffy chocolate souffle.
Check this out.
(upbeat music)
Hey everybody, it's Natasha of Natasha's kitchen.com.
Today we're making chocolate souffle.
This is easier than you think.
A lot of people are intimidated by a chocolate souffle
but we're gonna share all of our secrets
to get it to rise beautifully.
It's really simple.
You're gonna love it and we're recreating this
based on our favorite steakhouse chocolate souffle
which is like $15 for one serving,
this is way less expensive.
To make it at home, we're gonna make six of them
all at once and you can even make this ahead
if you really wanted to,
to make your Valentine's day or any special occasion
just that much easier.
So let's get started.
And if you haven't already, make sure, make sure, make sure
you subscribe to our channel and click that little bell icon
so you to get notifications every time we post a new recipe.
We'll start with some quick prep.
You'll need to generously butter six eight-ounce ramekins.
When buttering the sides, make sure to use upward strokes.
This'll help the souffle to climb up and out of the dish.
Once those are generously buttered,
you're gonna wanna coat them with sugar.
Add some sugar to each dish, turning the ramekin to coat,
then tap out the excess.
You wanna make sure to get an even coating of sugar
all the way to the top of the dish.
Set those aside then preheat your oven
to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
with a rack in the bottom position of the oven.
I do like to use an oven thermometer
to make sure my oven is fully preheated
to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
I will link to that thermometer
and all of our favorite tools in the notes.
You're gonna need a water bath to make the souffle.
Place a sauce pan on the stove with two cups of water
and bring it to a simmer.
In a large rimed heatproof mixing bowl,
you're gonna need eight ounces of bitter sweet chocolate.
You can either chop that up or break it into small pieces
so that it melts faster.
You'll wanna get a chocolate bar
that has 60 to 65% cocoa content.
This will give you intense chocolatey flavor.
Also, cut up and add eight tablespoons
of softened unsalted butter.
You can see our water is just at a simmer
and you'll wanna adjust the temperature
to keep it at a simmer place.
The mixing bowl over the steam,
making sure that it's on the steam
and not touching the water.
Stir that together until the chocolate and butter
are melted and well combined.
Also be sure not to get any steam or water inside the bowl
which can break the chocolate mixture.
As soon as the chocolate is melted,
immediately take it off the heat
and let it rest for five minutes.
Meanwhile, separate your eggs.
You'll need six large room temperature eggs.
Add the egg whites to a large mixing bowl
and once the chocolate mixture has been resting
for five minutes, you're gonna add the yolks.
Whisk the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture
along with one teaspoon of vanilla extract
and a quarter teaspoon of salt.
I love using my homemade vanilla extract.
It's just two ingredients
and I will link to it in the notes.
Whisk just until the yolks are incorporated,
then set it aside.
Next, we're gonna beat six egg whites
with half a teaspoon of cream of tartar.
This helps to stabilize the egg whites
once they're beaten for the best rise in the oven.
Using an electric mixer, beat that on medium speed
until soft peaks form or about two minutes.
With the mixer on, gradually add the sugar
in a steady stream, then increase to high speed
and beat until you see stiff peaks form
and the mixture looks glossy and shiny.
This takes another two to two and a half minutes.
As soon as you see those stiff peaks, stop mixing.
You also don't wanna over mix or it will become dry
and difficult to incorporate into the chocolate.
Fold one-third of the egg white mixture
into the chocolate to lighten it.
Use a spatula to fold gently.
You don't have to be overly careful,
you just want it to be really well incorporated.
Once the whites are incorporated and you have an even color,
add enough other one third of the egg whites.
Continue folding, scraping from the bottom of the bowl
until the egg whites are well blended.
You can see the color and texture of the mixture
are getting lighter.
You're gonna add that last one-third of your egg whites.
At this point you're mixing gently,
scraping you again from the bottom of the bowl
to make sure everything is really well incorporated.
And just as soon as you don't see
any more streaks of egg whites, stop mixing.
A souffle relies on the volume of the egg whites
to rise properly in the oven,
so make sure you don't over mix.
That mixture looks really fluffy, smooth and so creamy.
We're gonna transfer that to the prepared ramekins.
Divide the mixture evenly between your prepared cups,
and I do like to use a trigger release ice cream scoop
for even portioning
and it keeps the process a little cleaner.
Make sure to use every bit of that chocolate mixture
and fill these up almost to the top.
To ensure these rise properly in the oven,
one last very important tip,
run your thumb around the inside edge of the ramekin,
creating a little border about one-fourth inch deep
at the edges.
This encourages the souffle to rise nice and tall
in the center.
You can use a paper to towel to wipe the dish clean
if it got messy.
Transfer that to the very bottom rack of your preheated oven
and immediately reduce the heat down
to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake without opening the door for 13 to 16 minutes.
Once they've risen, it's safe to take them out of the oven.
You also don't wanna over bake
because they're more likely to crack on top.
Since souffles are best enjoyed fresh,
while they're baking, I like to make the topping
so they're ready to go.
To make a chocolate sauce,
in a small sauce pan combine one-third cup
of heavy whipping cream,
one tablespoon of granulated sugar
and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Add two ounces of semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
and stir until the chocolate is melted.
The restaurant version is also made
with a Grand Marnier whipped cream.
In a large mixing bowl,
combined one cup of heavy whipping cream
with two tablespoons of granulated sugar
and two teaspoons of Grand Marnier.
This adds great flavor but if you don't have it,
you can also use half a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Beat that together on medium speed until you see soft peaks
then increase to high speed and continue beating
until medium stiff peaks form.
Our toppings are are ready
and we're gonna check on those souffles.
These have puffed beautifully,
it's time to take them out of the oven and serve.
All right, my favorite time of the day, the taste test
and you wanna have everything ready to go.
So as soon as these are out of the oven,
you wanna serve them right away
while they have that nice puff cause as they stand,
they do tend to sink down a little bit.
So I've got my whipped cream, my chocolate sauce
and we are ready to serve.
So let's do this.
You can create a little well in the center
so that you can pour the chocolate sauce inside
but I'm just gonna drizzle it on top
but it is a fun way to serve because it kind of gives it
like a chocolate surprise inside.
Okay, and be generous with that chocolate sauce
'cause it is good and it just makes these
over the top decadent restaurant style.
I love when some of it is dripping down the side.
Okay, and then our freshly whipped cream.
You can pipe it on but I find when you're making souffle,
nobody has time for that.
So just give it a big generous dollop of cream.
Yum.
But wait time to dig in.
But wait, there's more.
Okay, I'm gonna take a bite because, uh,
little chocolate on my finger, I don't mind one bit.
I'm excited.
I love chocolate. Okay, here we go.
Oh, and the texture.
I mean it's so soft and airy and fluffy.
It's hard to believe there's no flour in this.
It's amazing.
Oh.
I mean
chocolate supreme.
This is so good.
It's just such a treat.
Wow, the texture, it is intensely chocolatey.
I think that's the best way to describe this.
And it literally just melts in your mouth,
just cloud-like, such a dream dessert.
All right, I'm gonna go enjoy the rest of this in private.
I'm out.