This just might be my all-time favorite dessert. I’ll admit that it is an advanced recipe and if you don’t have experience making a soufflé, you’ll probably get the heebie-jeebies. But, I can assure you, after one or two tries, you will come to find that baking a soufflé isn’t really all that difficult. So put your apron on and try this one out – you can leave out the eggnog and substitute heavy cream, and you can leave out the liqueur and just add an equal amount of the berry puree.
7 oz bittersweet Chocolate (62% cacao maximum), chopped coarsely
¾ cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
½ cup eggnog (best quality available or homemade)
6 egg whites
2 tbsp liqueur de framboise
1 cup blackberry or ¾ cup blueberry (loose berries)
½ tsp cream of tartar
5 tbsp superfine sugar
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting (sea salt, optional)
- Puree blackberry and pass through chinois. Should end up with slightly more than 1/3 cup of puree. If fresh is unavailable, okay to use frozen berries that have been thawed.
- Butter ramekins and lightly sugar – place on shallow baking pan.
- In a heavy saucepan over lo-heat, melt chocolate and butter.
- Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Hand mix in eggnog, blackberry puree (retain a tbsp for white chocolate sauce), 2 tbsp sugar (adjust to taste), and framboise.
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- Whisk egg whites until frothy (adding cream of tartar one minute into process); add remaining 3 tbsp sugar (one at a time) until peaks are stiff and glossy.
- Fold in 1/3 of the whites into the cooled mixture to lighten it, then pour the chocolate mixture over the whites and fold gently. Load ramekins, cover bottom portion of baking sheet with boiling water and bake for approx. 12-14 minutes. Time may increase if using non-convection oven. Soufflés should be risen and set, yet still wobbly.
- Dust with confectioner’s sugar or sea salt and serve immediately with chocolate sauce.
Chocolate sauce:
8 tbsp heavy cream
4 oz. milk chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp liqueur de framboise
1 tbsp blackberry/blueberry puree from above
dash of grated nutmeg
- For chocolate sauce, combine chocolate and cream (sugar to taste, if necessary) over low-heat. Take off heat and whisk in remaining ingredients, keep warm.
Serves 6-8
