Souffle - What It Is And How It's Made

What is all the madness about Soufflés? What is a soufflé anyway?

Well, according to some experts in the field, and we are paraphrasing here, a soufflé is simply a baked cake made with eggs combined with other tasty ingredients and served as a main dish or as a dessert, if sweetened properly.

Okay, so that doesn’t sound too much out of the ordinary. What’s the big deal? Well, apparently the word “soufflé” is French and loosely means, “to blow up” or “puff up.” Wow, can’t that be kind of messy? Not if it’s done right. In fact, it is absolutely out of this world (taste wise, that is), when it’s done properly. Once you’ve had one, you will never forget it.

There are so many varieties of soufflés, a different one could be eaten every day and you would still not be able to guess what’s coming tomorrow. Any kind of soufflé you can think of can be made in your own kitchen.

Chocolate soufflé, Chicken soufflé, Crab soufflé, Broccoli soufflé, Salmon soufflé, Celery soufflé, Corn soufflé, Potato soufflé, Mocha soufflé, Sweet potato soufflé, Cheese soufflé, Bread pudding soufflé, potato puff soufflé, Sausage soufflé, Mexican soufflé, Argentinean soufflé, Artichoke soufflé, Fourth of July soufflé, Asparagus soufflé, Blintz soufflé, and the list can go on and on forever.

Below is a wonderful chocolate soufflé recipe that seems to work pretty well. Remember, soufflés are supposed to “puff up.” If yours doesn’t, don’t be too hard on yourself, it happens to everyone at least once. Bon appetit.

2 Servings

Working time: About 15 min.

Total Time: 45min. (includes oven time)

You will need:

3 1/2 tbsp of butter

2 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa

3 oz semi-sweet chocolate

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

2 egg whites

2 tbsp sugar

1 pinch salt

1 pinch cream of tartar

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 16-ounce or two 8-ounce ramekins using 1 tbsp of butter. Then coat the ramekins with cocoa, patting out any excess.

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