Falling for You, Honey

My newly hired co-worked recently posed the question, “what’s your favorite dessert?,” to which I responded, “to eat or to make?” A self-proclaimed ice cream junkie, my favorite dessert to eat always has been and always will be ice cream…preferably peanut butter (also an addiction) ice cream chock full of plump chunks, may they be peanuts, chocolate chips, peanut butter or caramel swirls, peanut brittle (you get the idea). But, there are so many things I enjoy making that it was quite difficult to answer the latter. After much debated thought, I finally resolved that my favorite things to make are…soufflés.

Fantastically challenging, yet super simple to make, soufflés are fickle little things that carry an air of mystique. Delicately folded egg whites (a French meringue) into a viscous base (typically a pastry cream, chocolate, anglaise or puree), produce a highly anticipated dramatic exit from the oven that warrants a bit of fanfare. As a soufflé bakes, heat causes the air in the egg whites to expand, creating a delicate, fluffy custard bursting vertically out of its baking dish. In just a few minutes, a soufflé will transform from beautifully risen to depressingly deflated. Nevertheless, they are always a deliciously whimsical treat.

While the assumption holds that these fragile and temperamental delicacies are daunting and difficult to create, soufflés are, in reality, quite forgiving and simple to make. A chef also prides in knowing that soufflés are not completely the a la minute dessert they appear, but can actually be prepared successfully in advance and then simply baked to order.

***

Since soufflés are comprised largely of eggs, I figured it would be a perfect dessert to feature this month for The Gilded Fork’s ingredient of the month, the egg. Paired with a simple and rich Earl Gray anglaise, the result is an impossibly light, captivating dessert with the taste of tea (GF’s indulgence this month) and honey.

my final honey souffle test

As simple as my final version is, developing this honey soufflé recipe was no easy feat and required copious amounts of testing and tweaking. Though no soufflé expert (I still have a ton to learn), I have made my share of soufflés and know that a soufflé is essentially a base lightened with a meringue. As I began to read recipes, I noticed that many differed in the manner in which the base was prepared – some a typical pastry cream made with cornstarch and yolks, others with flour, a few had the egg yolks incorporated after the cream had cooled. I also knew that from the soufflés we’ve had on the menu at work (all of Deborah's marvelous recipes) – strawberry and pina colada soufflés were yolkless and used flour as thickeners, peanut butter soufflé used a peanut butter pastry cream thickened with yolks and cornstarch, and the lemon soufflé (currently on the menu) uses flour as a thickener and then incorporates the yolks raw after the base has cooled. Each method affects the stability and structure of the base differently, and I had a variety of options from which to start my testing.

Lemon Souffle

grapefruit tres leches, dulce de leche sorbet

Peanut Butter Souffle

concord grape doughnuts, milk sorbet

So I set to work in search of the best honey soufflé. I tested some with all honey, some half honey/half sugar, flour vs cornstarch, more vs less yolks and whites, cooking the yolks vs adding the yolks raw….and ended up making a total of 7 different soufflés, all in various combinations.

While my first five attempts did not hold up to my standards, in the end they were still delicious and deserved not to be wasted. Many devoured soufflés later, I was ready to tweak my recipe one last time. And finally, success. This is what I came up with…

(the souffle is unfortunately droopy after pouring on the Early Gray anglaise)

The verdict – An ideal soufflé of melting texture with a barely cooked, soft and creamy center. Impeccably light, it tastes of honey, not eggs and proudly stood tall for about 5 minutes.

I typically like soufflés to shine on their own without the addition of a sauce (as you can tell from the photo, spooning the sauce on top will deflate the beautiful summit), but the Earl Gray anglaise gave it a stunning kick, reminiscent of a mug of warm, creamy Earl Gray tea with honey.

As mentioned, souffles are typically baked in ceramic ramekins, but wanting to replicate a cup of tea, I used cermanic coffee mugs. I would have preferred preparing smaller portions in espresso cups, but, unfortunately, I don’t own any. The espresso cups most likely would have produced better results and the highest rise, as they would have cooked completely in a shorter amount of time. But, alas, the end result was still a gloriously risen and delicious honey souffle.

Photographing the soufflé presented quite a challenge, as I had to transport the risen soufflés from my kitchen down the hall to my tiny photo “studio” (which is actually a small table in the corner near my front door). I wanted to capture it at its highest peak, so to compensate for the falling soufflés, I actually baked off a few soufflés at intervals as I adjusted lighting and composition until I came up with some shots with which I felt proudly showcased the soufflés. Hope you enjoy!

***

Some soufflé pointers:
* Buttering the soufflé molds in upward strokes is a very important step to enable the soufflé to climb and rise up the sides. Inadequately buttered molds could result in a lopsided soufflé. A light dusting of sugar over the butter also encourages a healthy rise.

* Make sure to cook the pastry cream/base until it no longer tastes of starch or else your soufflé will taste the same.

* The whites should be whisked until they form peaks somewhere between medium and stiff. Too soft and they tend not to rise to their potential. Too stiff and they may begin to break down and the soufflé can split when baked. Room temperature eggs whip best. Start on low speed until they are frothy, then begin to add the sugar one teaspoon at a time and incrementally increase speed, until medium peaks form.

*Fold the whites completely into the base (in three additions) to form a homogenous mixture with no lumps of egg whites.

* When filling the molds, remember that whatever the top looks like now is what it will look like when cooked. So to achieve a flat top, smooth over with a flat offset spatula. For a slightly domed look, make sure the filling is highest in the center.

* Soufflés can be successfully made in advance, refrigerated or frozen, and just baked to order. With this in mind, it is super simple to give dinner guests an unexpected and dramatic surprise for dessert!

filling souffle molds

See more of the Pastry Princess' dessert recipes!

gilded fork, dessert, recipe, pastry, princess, Monica Glass, chef