Vanilla Soufflé

I fell in love with Soufflé when I had my first taste of it at the cafe many years ago. What attracted me was the fluffy 'collar' rose above the rim of the ramekin. The sweet 'mousse-like' texture was light and airy when I made spoonfuls into my mouth ... slowly, gently and carefully cos it was hot. Well, shouldn't that to be the way to enjoy the delicate dessert ? Hee ... hee..

When I learn to bake, Soufflé is definitely on my 'to-bake' list.  Like chiffon or baked cheese cakes, I know baking Soufflé may not be as easy and perhaps need some practices to perfect it.

After watching many times the video tutorial, I finally decided to give a try ... a basic Vanilla Soufflé.

The sunken souffle when I was half-way through ...
see the mousse-like texture.

Recipe adapted from Eugenie Kitchen
Vanilla Soufflé
For 2 1-cup-ramekins or 4 1/2-cup-ramekins

Ingredients
1 tablespoon softened unsalted butter (14g)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (10g)
1/2 cup milk, hot (120 ml)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons caster sugar (30g)
2 eggs, medium-sized, seperated
Pinch of salt
Confectioners’ sugar, to serve (I used Snow powder)
Additional butter and caster sugar to prepare the ramekins

Directions
1. PREPARE RAMEKINS
Brush the ramekins with softened unsalted butter. Brush from bottom upwards. This will make the soufflé to rise evenly. Then, coat the ramekins with sugar. And shake out any excess; set aside.

2. BECHAMEL SAUCE (white sauce)
Over medium heat, add butter in the sauce pan and melt it. Add in the flour and cook for 1 minute stirring with a wooden spoon. This is white roux.

Remove the pan from the heat, gradually add hot milk, and stir until smooth and combined. Back to medium heat stir constantly until it comes to a boil. The sauce should form ribbons. This is white sauce. Remove from the heat.

Add in salt and vanilla extract and stir until combined. Separate the eggs and add in the egg yolks one by one and stir to combine. The sauce pan is still warm, so pour the sauce into a separate bowl to prevent unwanted evaporation; set aside.

3. MAKE FRENCH MERINGUE
Whisk egg whites. It is not mixing. It is incorporating the air. Keep whisking until firm peaks form. Add gradually sugar while slowly whisking. Keep whisking until soft peaks form. This is French meringue. It takes about 20 minutes with hand.
(I used an electric stand mixer,  beat at medium to high speed for about 3 minutes)

4. COMBINE (2) AND (3)
Add about one third of the French meringue into the white sauce and whisk until homogeneous. Then, pour all white sauce into meringue and whisk until just combined. Be careful not to crush the delicate meringue.

5. BAKE
Spoon the mixture into ramekins. Run thumb around inside of rim. This will help the soufflé to rise straight. Bake in the oven preheated to 390° F. (200° C.) for 12 to 15 minutes, or until well risen. {Mine took 14 minutes}

6. SERVE
Place on a plate because ramekins are very hot. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately out of oven.

Well, they rose high above the rims when inside the oven. Once taken out, they were ... gosh ! slightly lopsided ... hee hee !

Girl : Mom, are you done with the photos snapping?
Mom : No, I need to dust some snow powder on it ... and decorate with raspberries ... and ...
Girl : Mom, QUICK !  Looks like it's sinking !
Mom : Okay!  Done in 5 minutes !

Although not perfectly rise evenly, the top crust is golden and firm, the texture tasted good.
Hmm ... yummy ! Enjoy our Soufflé ^-^!

Girl : Mom, next time you try bake Chocolate Soufflé.
Mom : Easy, just add some cocoa powder ...
Girl : No, to pour chocolate sauce into the center of the baked Soufflé ... I show you the recipe.
Mom : Huh ?! Gosh ! That’s the advanced stage ... I'm not there yet !

Have a blessed week !