The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (363 page)

SERVES 6 TO 8

Make the soufflé base and immediately begin beating the whites before the base cools too much. Once the whites have reached the proper consistency, they must be used at once. Do not open the oven door during the first 15 minutes of baking time; as the soufflé nears the end of its baking, you may check its progress by opening the oven door slightly. (Be careful here; if your oven runs hot, the top of the soufflé may burn.) A quick dusting of confectioners’ sugar is a nice finishing touch, but a soufflé waits for no one, so be ready to serve it immediately.

1.
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 1¹⁄
₂
-quart soufflé dish with 1 tablespoon softened butter. Combine ¹⁄
₄
cup sugar and cocoa in small bowl and pour into prepared dish, shaking to coat bottom and sides of dish evenly. Tap out excess and set dish aside.

2.
Whisk flour, ¹⁄
₄
cup sugar, and salt in small saucepan. Gradually whisk in milk, whisking until smooth and no lumps remain. Bring mixture to boil over high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and mixture pulls away from sides of pan, about 3 minutes. Scrape mixture into medium bowl; whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons butter until combined. Whisk in egg yolks until incorporated; stir in Grand Marnier and orange zest.

3.
Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip egg whites, cream of tartar, and 1 teaspoon sugar on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip whites to soft, billowy mounds, about 1 minute. Gradually add half of remaining sugar and whip until glossy, soft peaks form, about 30 seconds; with mixer still running, add remaining sugar and whip until just combined, about 10 seconds.

4.
Using rubber spatula, immediately stir one-quarter of whipped whites into soufflé base to lighten until almost no white streaks remain. Scrape remaining whites into base and fold in whites, along with grated chocolate, with whisk until mixture is just combined. Gently pour mixture into prepared dish and run your index finger through mixture, tracing circumference about ¹⁄
₂
inch from side of dish, to help soufflé rise properly. Bake until surface of soufflé is deep brown, center jiggles slightly when shaken, and soufflé has risen 2 to 2¹⁄
₂
inches above rim, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve immediately.

If you do not have espresso beans, substitute an equal amount of instant espresso powder, adding it along with the milk in step 2 so that it dissolves.

Omit orange zest and substitute Kahlúa for Grand Marnier and 1 tablespoon finely ground espresso beans for shaved chocolate.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

“Chilled lemon soufflé” can be interpreted in many ways, from cooled baked pudding cake to lemony, eggy foam. But no matter what the desired outcome, what typically results is a dense, rubbery mass or a mouthful of tart egg white foam. The delicate balance of ingredients is hard for home cooks to get right. We wanted to perfect the unusual marriage of cream and foam, sweet and sour, high lemony notes and rich custard. A starting recipe of egg whites, gelatin, sugar, and lemon juice had none of the creaminess we desired, so we cooked a custard base of milk, egg yolks, and sugar. To our custard we then added lemon juice and gelatin (to stabilize the mixture so it would set up while chilling). Because this was to be a soufflé, not a pudding, we lightened the custard with whipped cream and beaten egg whites. The egg yolks and dairy tended to mute the lemon flavor, so for more citrus punch we included grated lemon zest. Now we had the balance of flavor and texture that we sought: a satisfying but light custard with bright lemon flavor.

SERVES 4 TO 6

To make this lemon soufflé “soufflé” over the rim of the dish, use a 1-quart soufflé dish and attach a foil collar; to make the collar, secure a strip of foil that has been sprayed with vegetable oil spray around the soufflé dish so it extends 2 inches above the rim (do this before the dish has been filled). Tape the foil collar to the dish to prevent it from slipping. For those less concerned about appearance, this dessert can be served from any 1¹⁄
₂
-quart serving bowl. For the best texture, serve the soufflé after 1¹⁄
₂
hours of chilling. It may be chilled for up to 6 hours; though the texture will stiffen slightly. The soufflé can be garnished with fresh mint, raspberries, confectioners’ sugar, or finely chopped pistachios.

1.
Place lemon juice in small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over top and set aside.

2.
Heat milk and ¹⁄
₂
cup sugar in medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until steaming and sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, 2 tablespoons sugar, and cornstarch in medium bowl until pale yellow and thickened. Whisking constantly, gradually add hot milk mixture to yolks. Return milk-egg mixture to saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until mixture thickens to consistency of heavy cream and registers 185 degrees, about 4 minutes. Pour mixture through fine-mesh strainer into bowl; stir in lemon juice mixture and zest. Set bowl with custard over large bowl of ice water; stir occasionally to cool.

3.
While custard cools, use stand mixer fitted with whisk to whip egg whites and cream of tartar on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip whites to soft, billowy mounds, about 1 minute. Gradually add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and whip until glossy, soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. (Do not overwhip.) Remove custard from ice-water bath; gently whisk in one-third of egg whites, then fold in remaining whites with rubber spatula until almost no white streaks remain.

4.
Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip cream on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Fold whipped cream into custard until no white streaks remain.

5.
Pour custard into 1-quart soufflé dish fitted with aluminum foil collar or 1¹⁄
₂
-quart soufflé dish. Chill until set but not stiff, about 1¹⁄
₂
hours; remove foil collar, if using, and serve.

Add 2 ounces chopped white chocolate to warm custard before adding lemon juice mixture and zest. Stir until melted and fully incorporated.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Having taken the mystique out of soufflé making, we wondered if we could take our expertise one step further. If we could make a soufflé in a skillet, we would guarantee that this great dessert was in the realm of everyday cooking. We theorized that the heat on the stovetop would activate the batter and ensure an even rise from the egg whites. We opted for an uncomplicated base of whipped egg yolks. A little flour kept the soufflé creamy rather than foamy. We decided that lemon would shine through the eggy base well; lemon juice and zest provided bright, natural citrus flavor. We beat the egg whites separately, adding sugar partway through, folded them into the egg-lemon base, and poured the mixture into a buttered ovensafe skillet. After a few minutes on the stovetop the soufflé was just set around the edges and on the bottom (and the crust that eventually formed on the bottom was a bonus our tasters applauded), so we moved the skillet to the oven to finish. A few minutes later our soufflé was puffed, golden on top, and creamy in the middle—and ready for the weeknight table.

SERVES 6

Do not open the oven door during the first 7 minutes of baking, but do check the soufflé regularly for doneness during the final few minutes in the oven. Be ready to serve the soufflé immediately after removing it from the oven. Using a 10-inch traditional (not nonstick) skillet is essential to getting the right texture and height in the soufflé.

1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip egg whites and cream of tartar on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip whites to soft, billowy mounds, about 1 minute. Gradually add ¹⁄
₃
cup sugar and salt and whip until glossy, stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Gently transfer whites to clean bowl; set aside.

2.
Using stand mixer fitted with whisk (do not wash bowl), whip egg yolks and remaining ¹⁄
₃
cup sugar on medium-high speed until pale and thick, about 1 minute. Whip in lemon zest, juice, and flour until incorporated, about 30 seconds.

3.
Fold one-quarter of whipped egg whites into yolk mixture until almost no white streaks remain. Gently fold in remaining egg whites until just incorporated.

4.
Melt butter in 10-inch ovensafe skillet over medium-low heat. Swirl pan to coat it evenly with butter, then gently scrape soufflé batter into skillet and cook until edges begin to set and bubble slightly, about 2 minutes.

5.
Transfer skillet to oven and bake soufflé until puffed, center jiggles slightly when shaken, and surface is golden, 7 to 11 minutes. Using potholder (skillet handle will be hot), remove skillet from oven. Dust soufflé with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately.

Grating the chocolate fine is key here; we find it easiest to use either a rasp-style grater or the fine holes of a box grater.

Substitute 1 tablespoon grated orange zest for lemon zest and ¹⁄
₃
cup orange juice for lemon juice. Gently fold 1 ounce finely grated bittersweet chocolate into soufflé batter after incorporating all whites in step 3.