Soufflés always intimidate, but they are not difficult. These individual chocolate soufflés are fluffy, delightful bites of chocolate heaven. And so easy! They will be a favorite... serve them warm out of the oven with just a drizzle of heavy cream... or ice cream, or whiskey sauce, or whatever you have around.
INDIVIDUAL CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉS
Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon cocoa
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for the ramekins
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped finely
3 large egg yolks, room temperature
6 large egg whites, room temperature
1/16 teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Butter four oven-proof ramekins. Combine the cocoa and 2 tablespoons sugar. Dust the ramekins with the cocoa and sugar mixture. Set aside.
Carefully melt the chocolate in a heat-proof glass bowl over simmering water. Chocolate burns quickly so don't leave it unattended. Stir until just melted then remove the chocolate from the heat. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, gently whisking them together with the chocolate. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with salt on medium speed until they are shiny and form soft peaks. Then turn the mixer on high and add the sugar, a little at a time until the egg whites will hold stiff shiny peaks.
Next, begin to incorporate the egg whites into the chocolate. This is an important step. You do not want to deflate the egg whites, but you do need to make sure there are no visible whites peeking through. Use a large spoon, spatula, or whisk; work gently. Add about a cup of the egg whites to the chocolate to smooth out the chocolate a bit. Then add the rest, 1/3 at a time, spooning up and over, very gently, to incorporate. It should be very light and fluffy, but make sure you have no threads of white peeking through the chocolate.
Spoon into the prepared ramekins- leaving about 1/2 inch at the top. Bake for 15 minutes or you can bake up to 18 minutes to make them more cake-like.
You can let these sit for up to 30 minutes before baking or you can bake them immediately. Makes 4.
