Impress anyone with this decadent Dark Chocolate Soufflé. It’s crisp on the outside, and moist on the inside, with an intense chocolatey taste. Once you find out the secrets to tall, fluffy soufflés, it’ll surely become one of your go-to desserts! [Go straight to recipe]
Soufflés might seem like fancy desserts that require years of experience to make.
Indeed, soufflés are notorious for being tricky. From time to time, we hear stories about soufflés collapsing or not rising at all.
Believe it or not, soufflés are actually easy to tackle as long as you adopt the right techniques and timing!
This Dark Chocolate Soufflé Recipe is not complicated to make, but will certainly impress anyone. It’s moist, rich, and chocolaty, with an irresistible soft and gooey centre.
Once you find out how to make each component the right way, you can start baking with confidence!
The chocolate base is made by simply combining an egg yolk with flour and a chocolate-butter mixture.
Knowing when to add the egg yolk, however, is important. Doing it when the sauce is still hot will cook the yolk and badly affect the texture of your soufflés.
To avoid it, ensure that the chocolate-butter mixture is cool enough before adding in the yolk. If it’s too hot to touch, it’s too hot for the yolk!
You can prepare the chocolate base up to 3 days before making the soufflés. That way, the whole process will become much faster and easier.
Make sure that your bowl and beaters are perfectly clean before starting to whip the egg whites. Any trace of yolk or dirt will make it impossible for them to form stiff peaks.
Although we’re using cream of tartar in a very small amount (¼ teaspoon), it highly affects the outcome.
Cream of tartar, or any acidic ingredients, keeps water from seeping out of the egg whites and helps the meringue hold its shape.
If you don’t have any cream of tartar, replace it with double the amount of lemon juice (½ teaspoon).
To know if the meringue is ready, lift the beaters up. If a firm/stiff peak forms and doesn’t disappear after a while, you’re ready for the next step.
Read more: Soft, Medium, Firm, And Stiff Peaks | A Visual Guide To Whipping
Fold the meringue gently into the chocolate base and do not overmix. Doing this step carefully will guarantee fluffy, tall soufflés with a pleasant light texture.
Deciding whether or not your soufflés are done could be tricky, especially if you’re making soufflés for the first time.
To be safe, do not open the oven door until you reach 80% of the total baking time. In this recipe, it should be around 8 to 10 minutes.
Doing this any earlier will make your soufflés collapse due to the temperature drop. And if you do not bake your soufflés sufficiently, the centres will be too moist once they’re out of the oven.
After passing this time frame, watch your soufflés closely—you don’t want them to burn!
When the tops look perfectly risen and browned, it’s time to take them out. Overbaked soufflés won’t have that gooey centre; they might even collapse in the oven.
Your soufflés shouldn’t wobble too much when they’re out. Soufflés are best served straight out of the oven, so get everyone ready to dig in!
Here are some foolproof tips for tall, fluffy souffles. These are guaranteed to help you avoid the most common soufflé mishaps!
Don’t skimp on the butter and sugar for coating the ramekins. This helps the soufflés to “climb” up and get a nice, tall structure.
This is important for giving your soufflés maximum rise since cold eggs don’t whip well. Room-temperature ingredients blend better too.
Wondering how soufflés at restaurants get their perfectly flat and smooth tops? Simply swipe an offset spatula over your ramekins before baking!
Your soufflés won’t rise properly if the temperature is too low, but a temperature that’s too high will create unwanted large air pockets inside.
An oven thermometer helps to ensure that the temperature in your oven is just right and your soufflés will bake up nicely!
Coat your ramekins generously with butter and sugar to help the soufflés rise.
For prepping ramekins
unsalted butter
granulated sugar
Chocolate base
60g dark/baking chocolate
40g unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
Pinch of salt
6g cake flour
Meringue
2 egg whites
45g granulated sugar
¼ tsp cream of tartar
To serve
Confectioners’ sugar (for dusting)
Chocolate base
Meringue
Making soufflés is all about time, technique, and temperature— just like any other baked good.
Don’t get too intimidated by it! Certain ovens can be a little finicky to grasp; if you’re afraid that your first batch doesn’t turn out as well as you’d like—over-baked/under-baked, we’d recommend baking one ramekin first to figure out the right timing for your oven!
Follow the recipe carefully and apply our foolproof tips above. Before you know it, you’ll get some seriously tasty chocolate soufflés ready.
Ramekins are small individual baking dishes that come in white, or a multitude of colours, suitable for whipping up individually-portioned desserts and food such as lava cakes, soufflés, creme brulees, and even mac and cheese.
While small, they are able to take the heat, and hence are oven-safe. Besides functionality, they’re also gorgeous pieces that’ll brighten up your kitchenware collection.
Check out our range of ramekins, available in Baby Blue Matte, Midnight Black Matte, Powder Pink Matte, Teal Green Matte, Glossy Baby Pink, and Glossy Baby Blue.
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