Your Weekly Voilà: The art of making a chocolate soufflé 😋🥣🇫🇷

A few eggs. A bit of butter. A handful of chocolate shavings. Voilà! You have a soufflé. Making one is not the challenging task you were lead to believe. Think an easy-peasy chocolate mousse recipe that you happen to put in the oven. In fact, the recipe I use for my chocolate mousse is the same recipe for my chocolate soufflé. This might be mind-blowing for some. But it's true.

Soufflés are these beautiful light and fluffy baked concoctions based on beaten egg whites. Their texture is divine. The spoon dips right in and the warm morsel almost melts on the tongue. It is a sensual French dessert that everyone needs to partake in at least once.

For all this deliciousness, there are two main components: A flavorful base mixed with glossy beaten egg whites. The word itself comes from souffler, meaning "to puff" or "to breathe." This is exactly what the egg whites do to the base once they hit the oven's heat.

Your base can be made either sweet or savory. Let your imagination run free with flavor options: cheese, spinach, chocolate, vanilla. Add bits of bacon, mushrooms, or seafood to a savory soufflé for a light dinner or as a first course. Fold in chocolate, crushed praline, or liquor-soaked fruit for an unforgettable dessert. For brunch, you can use Julia Child's recipe for Soufflé Vendôme, in which a cold poached egg is tucked into the center of the unbaked soufflé mixture. After baking, the eggs warm and release their creamy yolks when the soufflé is broken.

Each region of France has its own version. My family in Alsace use a bit of kirsch (cherry) schnapps. In Provence, you'll find eggplant. In the southwest, it will be goat cheese.

There is only one main rule to follow when you're preparing a soufflé: "The diner waits for the soufflé; the soufflé never waits for the diner." The dish must go directly from oven to table and be eaten immediately. If serving a soufflé for the first course, be sure to have everyone seated at the table a few minutes prior to removing it from the oven.

My recipe uses less sugar than most and foregoes the milk but makes up for it in the amount of butter. If you prefer a dessert that is less intense in flavor, substitute milk chocolate or add a bit of warm milk to the melted dark chocolate, and pull back on the butter. Top with whipped cream or ice cream to complement the dark chocolate.

Classic Chocolate Soufflé

1/3 c. (70 gm.) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for coating dishes
4 tablespoons (50 gm.) granulated sugar, plus more for coating dishes
8 ounces (227 gm.) quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 eggs, separated, at room temperature
Pinch of fine salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (200 C). Move oven rack to its lowest position. Butter four 1¼-cup ramekins or a larger soufflé mold. Then, coat thoroughly each dish with sugar and tap out excess. The sugar is what the batter grabs onto as it rises. (For a savory dish, use bread crumbs or grated cheese.)

2. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler over low heat. When chocolate is melted, remove from heat to cool slightly. Note: Some recipes call for either a bit of espresso coffee or a teaspoon of vanilla extract. I don't add either. I'm not a coffee lover although it can bring out wonderful qualities in the chocolate. The vanilla flavor comes from my whipped cream or ice cream placed on the top of a scoop of soufflé. But see what works well for you. Add the ingredients at this step.

3. Whisk into the warm chocolate mixture, the egg yolks, one at a time.

4. Using an electric mixer, whisk egg whites and a pinch of salt. You can add 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar if you have it but it's not used here in France. The salt does the trick to get your room temperature egg whites to stiff peaks. Start beating at low speed and raise the speed gradually as the egg whites mount. When whites are opaque and beginning to stiffen, very gradually add remaining sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and continue to beat until stiff peaks form and the mixture looks glossy.

5. Gently whisk a quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining whites in two additions. The goal is to work quickly and use a light touch. Stop folding when the streaks of white have just about disappeared. A few white streaks are preferable to overfolding, which deflates the batter. Remember: Soufflé is all about the addition of air.

6. Ladle batter into prepared molds and rub your thumb around the inside edge of the dish to create about a 1/4 inch gap between the dish and the soufflé mixture. A proper French soufflé dish will have a groove that you can follow with your thumb. This step helps the soufflé rise. If you are of the Julia Child mindset, go with a natural top. If you desire a flat top, use a knife or the back of a spoon to smooth the mixture.

7. Transfer the dish to a baking sheet and immediately reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees (190 C.) and bake for 25 minutes or until the soufflé is puffed and the center moves only slightly when the dish is shaken gently. You do want a bit of softness at the center. I watch for the soufflé to rise above the rim of the dish and is nicely browned on top. If you prefer your soufflés creamy at the center, remove them from the oven a bit sooner. Never open the oven to monitor the soufflé. You want all that heat to stay where it is. All soufflés fall within minutes of coming out of the oven because the hot air bubbles contract when they hit cooler air. That is why you need to serve immediately.

8. Accompany with whipped cream, créme anglaise, or vanilla ice cream.

Note: As long as you don't overfold the egg whites and you resist opening the oven door until the last moment of baking, you should have good results before the dramatic and expected collapse.

"The soufflé is the epitome and triumph of the art of French cooking."

- Julia Child

Monsieur Marie-Antoine Carême is credited with perfecting and popularizing the soufflé in 1815. As their popularity grew, so did the number of variations. Initially, Carême made his soufflé in stiff pastry casings called croustades that were lined with buttered paper. But soon after, dishes were made just for soufflés. Every kitchen needs at least one. They are deep with straight sides and help with the tallest rise. They go from oven to table in that much-needed instant.

French vintage porcelain or ceramic molds hold the heat evenly so the center cooks at nearly the same rate as the edges and the sides. It directs the expanding air upward to give the most rise. You can use a shallow oven-safe dish (I'm cringing right now) like a gratin dish or a skillet. The soufflé won't rise as high but it will still puff up and taste delicious. It will cook faster so watch it carefully.

A few favorite finds for your soufflé recipes
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The soufflé is a bit of French magic. Nothing more than ordinary eggs whipped into a puffy masterpiece that collapses with the first bite. If perchance your chocolate soufflé falls, call it your grandmother's warm chocolate mousse recipe and move on. It will be delicious and no one will be the wiser. Not feeling like turning on the oven in this heat? Then spoon the batter into vintage jam jars and place in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Top with whipped cream and a tiny meringue cookie and Voilà - you have the best French chocolate mousse.

Do something daring in the kitchen this weekend.
Karen 😋🥣🇫🇷

1/3 c. (70 gm.) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for coating dishes 4 tablespoons (50 gm.) granulated sugar, plus more for coating dishes 8 ounces (227 gm.) quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped 6 eggs, separated, at room temperature Pinch of fine salt 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (optional)

1/3 c. (70 gm.) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for coating dishes
4 tablespoons (50 gm.) granulated sugar, plus more for coating dishes
8 ounces (227 gm.) quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 eggs, separated, at room temperature
Pinch of fine salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (optional)