I actually really like dessert soufflés. They are surprisingly light and relatively low in calories, they feel extra special yet they are pretty darned easy to make. I don’t often see them on offer in restaurants anymore, and they seem like a throwback to the 1970’s or 80’s, but I try to make them at home 2-3x a year. Grand Marnier and Chocolate are the house favorites, but fruity soufflés are nice as well. The combination of raspberry coulis and the deep chocolate soufflé is the best of two worlds, chocolate and fruit.
When I made these particular soufflés, I joked with the kitchen crew not to make any loud sounds, banging or sudden movements and to never disturb the oven doors or even think of opening the oven doors lest the soufflés collapse. But the truth is, they aren’t that sensitive at all. Just follow this Payard recipe for the chocolate soufflé, here, taking care to use the best quality chocolate you can afford. When it comes out of the oven, serve it immediately with raspberry coulis and advise guests to puncture a crevice in the soufflé and pour in some of the coulis. Make sure each spoonful has a bit of chocolate and raspberry. Hmmm, I haven’t had a good fruit souffle in a while… maybe apricot? mango? raspberry? :)
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Always thought they were hard to make. I wonder where the notion came from. I’d like to make them but don’t have ramekins. They are a little pricey in restaurants that offer them.
Thanks for the souffle link! Will this work too even if I have an electric oven?
@zerho got my ramekins from the Salcedo weekend market vendor for 25php each late last year – a real bargain ^_^
I’ve never done this so maybe this is the right time.
Marj,it should work as long as the temperature is what you need it to be. Zerho, they have the ramekins at most Gourdo’s kitchen supply stores. Betchay, practice with a half batch first when you don’t have guests, and when you have the hang of it, bring it out as a special dessert for a snazzy dinner…
Actually the payard recipe sounds like a flourless chocolate cake. Add some butter to the mixture and bake it in a cake pan. It’ll rise beautifully and then concave. Fill the depression with cream and fruit or chocolate mouse and chocolate shavings. Yummy.
I personally find souffles made with a bechamel/roux base gives a little more stability. I once made a mandarin souffle without and it was an embarrassment as it sank immediately. I believe the original souffles were also cake sized which meant they held better once out of the oven as they retained heat and air better. It was then portioned at table.
Japanese cheesecakes which have become ubiquitous are actually souffles and they have removed much of the souffle’s mystique. Plus, they don’t sink. So those who want a foolproof souffle might want to consider adjusting a Jap cheesecake recipe in terms of cheese and flavourings/coulis.
Would dalandan and calamansi liquers be ok for flavoring the souffles?
reggie, I have never tried either, but if grand marnier (orange liqueur) works, perhaps dalandan or kalamansi would make a nice souffle as well…
“…I don’t often see them on offer in restaurants anymore, and they seem like a throwback to the 1970’s or 80’s,…” Perhaps they are being served now under a different name. In olden days, culinary flops quickly disappeared into the garbage bin, nowadays, the dishonour involved in cratered soufflé has mostly vanished, they simply unabashedly serve them as fallen cakes.
Btw, @Khew, I finally tried your suggestion to add lanka to apple pie which turned out absolutely delicious specially when baked until the crust turns fully browned as I did. Brought to mind the turrones we made as newcomers to Canada when saba was still unobtainable. We likewise paired Northern Spy apples with preserved jackfruit.
Footloose did you add fresh or preserved langka to your apple pie? Now I want to try this…
Glad it worked out, Footloose. IMO, don’t add cinnamon though.
Other ‘crazy’ jackfruit sweets I’ve done include:
– cobbler. Combined with “nian gao” but you could just as well use dodol.
– tartlet. Buttered lumpia skins layered and baked to a crisp shell. Fill with creme pattisiere and topped with poached jackfruit. Choc-brandy sauce on the side. Alternatively choc mousse or ganache instead of the creme.
– cake. Straight buttercake or a sponge and cream + jackfruit (sauteed to soften).
– ice-cream. Turned out smelling like strawberry ice-cream. Go figure!
Thai frozen jackfruit chunks sliced crosswise into strips although fresh jackfruit from Mexico are now available all year round, I am sure, would have worked equally well. Fresh is, of course, a wee bit more expensive but you get the chestnut-like seeds I adored grilled as a child.
I did skip the cinnamon. My town’s guinataan expert once told me a rule that you only use one aromatic in a dish which I have for long time transgressed. A combination of vanilla, almond extract and citrus flavouring in pound cake is just too intoxicating to ignore. Or a combination of cinnamon oil, vanilla extract and citrus flavouring is a great substitute for the wildly expensive Fiori di Sicilia required for proper panetonne.
Footloose, care to share the proportions of the cinnamon oil, vanilla, and citrus in your fiori di sicilia substitute? I’ve only seen citrus and vanilla combos for homemade fiori di sicilia, and would not have guessed the addition of cinnamon.
1/4 teaspoon each of cinnamon oil and lemon or orange oil, a teaspoon of vanilla extract. If what you have is not citrus oil but extract, use a teaspoon of it instead. I have not seen diluted extract of cinnamon available here, only oil. Remember to adjust your other liquid volume when using diluted flavourings.
Btw, a truc I picked up in Brazil with their home made panetonne for a truly moist texture that lingers for days is add a bit of potato flour (I actually use unflavoured
instant mashed potato) and granular lecithin you can pick up from the bulk store.
Thanks, Footloose, for the fiori sub and the bread tip!
where can I buy fresh raspberry in metro manila?
Justin, I have personally never seen fresh raspberries for sale in Manila. This recipe was made with frozen berries.