Chocolate Soufflés

What could possibly be more rewarding than a warm soufflé, with it's risen tops and almost spongy interior, oh yes, not forgetting a light dust of icing sugar to top it off!

Last week I made chocolate soufflés, and it was a rather spontaneous decision, considering my mum had just purchased some new ramekins for me!! Cute small yellow ones and classic white ones, to be precise. I was delighted, as I had been wanting to make soufflés ever since I was introduced to them by a friend. 

I would have to say that my biggest challenge was probably the technique of making soufflés, as it is tricky!! There are several crucial steps/ rules you have to adhere to STRICTLY, or else your soufflés won't rise. Ultimately it is all worth the effort, and to be honest, it isn't that difficult!! 

1. When buttering your ramekins with a brush, ensure that you brush the butter on in an upward motion. This way, your soufflés will be "encouraged" to rise upwards!

2. Make sure you preheat your oven in advance, to ensure it's HOT when you put your soufflés in.

3. When folding the stiff egg whites into the other mixture [varies with the recipe] (this combination of two mixtures is a standard across all types of soufflés - be it sweet or savory), be careful not to be too vigorous in incorporating them! You do NOT want to beat all (or fold) all the air out of the mixture - if you do, your soufflés won't rise.

This is a picture of my chocolate soufflés:

I was very happy with the result!! After all, it was my first attempt :)

As you may have read in the introductory paragraph, these soufflés were oh-so-yummy, all fluffy and risen! The tops were slightly crunchy (??) and provided a nice contrast to the spongy centre of the rest of the soufflé. p.s. A TIP FOR YOU: Make sure your guests who are going to be eating the soufflés are all ready to eat BEFORE the soufflés are done in the oven. Serve immediately after a quick dusting of icing sugar.

Thanks for reading!! 

- J