Bittersweet Chocolate Soufflés Recipes

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE SOUFFLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with the rack in lower third. Place six 10-ounce ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush inside ramekins with butter. Dust with sugar, and tap out excess. Using kitchen twine, secure a strip of parchment paper around each ramekin so that parchment extends 3 inches above rim. Chill in freezer 15 minutes (up to overnight).
• Bring milk almost to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat; set aside.
• Put 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until pale, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour. Add about one-third of the hot milk in a slow, steady stream, beating until just combined.
• Pour yolk mixture back into pan with the remaining milk. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until thick, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in chocolate, vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. The souffle base can be made a day ahead and refrigerated, covered, until ready to bake the souffles.
• Put egg whites and a pinch of salt into a large copper bowl. Using a balloon whisk, beat until foamy. (Alternatively, beat egg whites and a pinch of cream of tartar instead of the salt in the bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.) Add 1 tablespoon sugar, and beat until soft peaks form. Add remaining tablespoon sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form.
• Using a rubber spatula, fold one-third of the egg whites into chocolate mixture. Gradually fold in remaining egg whites.
• Carefully pour batter into prepared ramekins on baking sheet, filling to just below rims. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees; bake until set, about 15 minutes. Remove parchment. Poke a hole in top of each, and pour in caramel creme anglaise. Serve immediately.

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE SOUFFLé

Steps:

• Remove wire racks from oven and place a baking sheet directly on oven floor. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter a 1 1/2-quart soufflé dish. Coat bottom and sides thoroughly with sugar, tapping out excess. For the best rise, make sure there is sugar covering all the butter on the sides of the dish.
• In a medium bowl, melt chocolate and butter either in the microwave or in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Let cool only slightly (it should still be warm), then whisk in egg yolks and salt.
• Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar at medium speed until the mixture is fluffy and holds very soft peaks. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until whites hold stiff peaks and look glossy.
• Gently whisk a quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold in remaining whites in two additions, then transfer batter to prepared dish. Rub your thumb around the inside edge of the dish to create about a ¼-inch space between the dish and the soufflé mixture.
• Transfer dish to baking sheet in the oven, and reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake until soufflé is puffed and center moves only slightly when dish is shaken gently, about 25 to 35 minutes. (Do not open oven door during first 20 minutes.) Bake it a little less for a runnier soufflé and a little more for a firmer soufflé. Serve immediately.

INTENSELY BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE SOUFFLES

Steps:

• If you're baking the soufflés right away, position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.
• Butter the 6oz ramekins and dust the insides with sugar.
• Place the chocolate, butter and milk in a large heatproof bowl (preferably stainless steel) in a large skillet of barely simmering water.
• Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
• Remove the bowl from the water bath and whisk in the egg yolks.
• (Don't worry if the mixture stiffens slightly or is less than perfectly smooth at this point.) Set aside.
• In a medium, dry bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted.
• Gradually sprinkle in the 1/3 cup sugar and beat at high speed until the whites are stiff but not dry.
• Fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg whites.
• Divide the mixture evenly among the prepared ramekins, filling each 3/4 full.
• (The soufflés can be prepared to this point, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bake directly from the refrigerator.) Place the soufflés on a cookie sheet.
• Bake until they rise and crack on top and a wooden skewer plunged into the center emerges very moist and gooey (but the centers should not be completely liquid), 14 to 16 minutes, perhaps a minute or so longer if the soufflés have been refrigerated.
• Meanwhile, make the topping: Beat the cream with the vanilla and sugar until it holds a soft shape (or stiffer, if you like it that way).
• Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate until ready serve.
• When they are done, remove the soufflés from the oven and serve immediately, with a little powdered sugar sifted over the top, if you like.
• Pass the whipped topping separately.
• NOTES: You can substitute a lower-percentage bittersweet or semisweet chocolate if you prefer a sweeter, less intense chocolate flavor; or reduce the sugar to 1/4 cup to partially compensate for the sweeter chocolate, if desired.
• There is no need to make other changes in the recipe.
• After you have buttered the ramekins, the easiest way to dust sugar on the inside is to put the 2 tablespoons of sugar in one of the buttered ramekins.
• Tilt and hold that ramekin over another as if you were going to transfer the sugar.
• Rotate the ramekin containing the sugar, allowing the sugar to coat the sides as you slowly pour the sugar into the other ramekin.
• Repeat.
• Room temperature eggs are best because a cold egg might cause the chocolate to seize, which means it gets too stiff to work with.
• If you do not have eggs at room temperature, you can hold the egg yolks in a mixing bowl over medium heat (hold the bowl over but not on the burner) to warm them up.
• Underbeating egg whites is always better than overbeating them.
• You want to beat the whites until they're no longer yellow and translucent.
• To get a bigger rise, fill the ramekins higher than suggested.
• This will mean that you will have one or two fewer soufflés.
• Don't worry about underbaking or overbaking this recipe- The souffles will still taste good.

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE SOUFFLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Spray eight 3/4 cup ramekins or custard cups with nonstick spray; coat ramekins with sugar, tapping out excess sugar.
• Stir chopped chocolate and butter in large metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water until mixture is melted and smooth. Remove chocolate mixture from hear; cool slightly.
• Using electric mixer; beat egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar, and cocoa powder in medium bowl until thick ribbons of mixture appear, about 3 minutes. Gently fold into chocolate mixture.
• Using electric mixer with clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in medium bowl until foamy. Add lemon juice to beaten egg whites and beat until soft peaks form. Fold into chocolate mixture in 3 separate additions. Divide among prepared ramekins.
• Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
• Bake souffles until puffed above edges but still soft in center, about 18 minutes. (Bake chilled souffles about 20 minutes) Serve immediately with a dollup of vanilla bean ice cream or a dollup of whipped cream.