Chocolate Souffle, much improved!

Ghirardelli in the double boiler, egg whites in the mixer, and D asking for Duncan Hines yellow cake to no avail...it all can only mean one thing: chocolate soufflé. That's right folks, I'm at it again.

Major differences between my first attempt and this recipe were the amounts of egg whites, milk, cream, and chocolate. Specifically: for the same amounts of butter, sugar, and egg yolks, recipe 2 had half the cornstarch, double the egg whites, 3x the chocolate, no cream, and 5x the whole milk instead. Yes, obviously the more chocolate, the better; but I'd also guesstimate that less cornstarch means less cake-y; more egg whites means lighter; more whole milk and less cream, again, lighter. In short, this is the kind of soufflé I've been craving all along. And hey, it only took one mess-up to hit the jackpot!
I was a bit concerned that when I was ready to fold in the egg whites, the chocolate mixture was still warm. (If you add egg whites to a warm batter, the air that you've whipped into the whites can quickly escape, leaving you with flat, heavy batter.) However, my fears did not materialize, and the soufflé held its volume quite nicely. The result was light, fluffy, warm, and ever so sinfully chocolate-y. So to all those who think souffle is this uber-delicate little gem never to be tampered with, ha! It can handle the heat.
Truthfully, people. There's almost nothing like taking the first bite out of a chocolate soufflé and watching the rest "relax" in the ramekin. Try it yourself; it's not as hard and scary as you might think. And, if it's not clear from my enthusiasm, the results are worth one or two mess-ups.

Chocolate Souffle

from Epicurious
serves 6.
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
  • 10 1/2 ounces (10 squares) extra-bittersweet chocolate
  • 1 1/3 cups whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 3 large egg yolks, room temperature, lightly beaten
  • 6 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup sugar; more for soufflé ramekins

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter and sugar six 6-ounce soufflé ramekins. Place on a rimmed baking sheet; set aside.

2. In a double boiler over medium heat, melt the chocolate until smooth. Remove from the heat and keep warm. (I found I had to stir it around with a fork every so often to keep it from getting chunky, but that will depend on your chocolate. The higher percentage of cocoa, the more you may need to stir.)

3. In a medium heavy-bottom saucepan combine milk and cornstarch. Stir well with a wooden spoon to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring continuously, until thick.

4. Remove milk mixture from the heat, remove any skin that may have formed on top, and stir in warm melted chocolate. Let cool slightly. Add a bit of this mixture to the egg yolks to temper them, then add the lightly beaten egg yolks back into the milk mixture and stir until well combined.

5. In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, whip egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar and increase speed to high. Whip until shiny and stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.

6. Using a whisk, lighten the chocolate mixture with about 1/3 of the beaten egg whites. Stir until well-combined. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in remaining egg whites until just incorporated.

7. Spoon mixture into prepared souffl
 ramekins; the mixture should come up to the top of the ramekin. Transfer filled soufflé ramekins on rimmed baking sheet to oven. Bake until risen, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.