I’ve been on a soufflé binge lately, which is funny because until a couple of weeks ago I’d never even eaten a soufflé, and had never considered baking one! But for some reason I had my heart set on making them the focus of my monthly “Food for Thought” column in Yummy Northwest, and fell in love. (I was going to add a simple French phrase here, telling you how MUCH I love them, but Google confused me. Je les aime? Je les adore? That is why I took good old no-nonsense Spanish in school!)

Making soufflés was so much easier than I expected, and the best part of experimenting with them is you have to eat them right away!  All of them, because they don’t last long without collapsing. When there are only two people in the household, this means gorging on warm chocolate fluffiness so they don’t go to waste. Yep, I’ve been a complete martyr to the cause. You’re welcome.

My concept of S’mores Soufflés worked perfectly – they turned out great and tasted just the way I imagined them. But…the pictures I took weren’t as cooperative. The chocolate soufflés look like they have an egg baked into them. Please look past this – because that is actually a toasty marshmallow. The great thing about this recipe is, when the marshmallow looks perfectly toasted, the soufflé should be ready too.

But wait, there’s more! These soufflés don’t deflate right away like most of them do. I had two taste testers this time. I dragged invited one of my husband’s friends into the kitchen as a guinea pig and did my usual grab-the-hot ramekins-and-scurry-to-the-table-where-the-plate-and-spoon-were-ready-for-action routine, waiting for the inevitable collapse, and it never happened! Two hours later I checked the remaining ramekins, and the brave little soufflés still held their own – not quite as tall and proud, but still attractive.

For my S’mores Soufflé, I took my recipe for Chocolate Mocha Soufflé (for three yummy soufflé recipes, click on this link: Yummy Northwest) and added crushed graham crackers in the bottom of the ramekin and a marshmallow in the center. I also added a little cornstarch to the hot mixture to stabilize it a bit so the marshmallow wouldn’t just melt into oblivion. Here’s the recipe:

My only words of wisdom are these:

• Use squeaky clean utensils, and whip the room temperature egg whites until they’re stiff and a little glossy.
• Use a light hand when folding the egg whites into the base mixture.
• Preheat the oven well, and don’t open the oven door while the soufflés are baking.
• And unless you have a few people ready and waiting to eat them, you might want to fill some of the ramekins, cover them tightly, and put them in the freezer; they can go right into the oven whenever you want a quick dessert!

 

Don’t let these little delights intimidate you! Once you let a bite of soufflé melt in your mouth, you’ll be a believer. I already have two holiday soufflé ideas spinning around in my head, and you can be sure they’ll demand to be tested this fall.
Until then, bises a tous!