Chocolate delight

Chocolate Souffle Cookies

These cookies satisfy your sweet tooth with less guilt and are a sure crowd pleaser.  They are light and fluffy from the meringue and have a light crunch from the hazelnuts.  Grab one quick before they're gone!

Chocolate Soufflé Cookies Recipe

adapted from pastrystudio

Makes about 20 1 1/2" cookies

6 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
2 large egg whites @ room temperature
1/8 t cream of tartar
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 C sugar
3/4 C finely chopped hazelnuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silpats.

Chop the chocolate into very small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. Melt the chocolate over a bain marie, making sure the bowl is not touching the water. Take off the heat and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until they are opaque and soft peaks form. Continue whipping and gradually add the vanilla and sugar until the egg whites hold stiff peaks but are not dry.

Gently sprinkle the nuts and pour the cooled chocolate over the whipped whites. Fold the mixture together until the color is just about uniform, doing your best not to deflate the egg whites.

Immediately drop level teaspoons of batter onto the baking sheets, leaving at least 1” spacing between the cookies. Bake until cookies are shiny and cracked, about 10 to 12 minutes. They should be firm on the outside but still gooey inside when you nudge them.

Transfer the cookies to wire racks and cool completely.

Tarty Souffle

Lemon and Raspberry Souffle

Light, fluffy, tart and sweet.  Simply delicious.

 

Lemon and Raspberry Souffle Recipe

Recipe courtesy Gale Gand

Ingredients

Souffle Base:

• 1 egg
• 4 large yolks
• 2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut up

Lemon Souffle:

• Butter and sugar, for preparing the ramekins, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup souffle base
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 lemon, zested
• 4 egg whites
• 2 pinches cream of tartar
• Heaping 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 teaspoons raspberry or blackberry coulis or jam
• 12 fresh raspberries

Directions

Whisk together the eggs and yolks. Boil milk and sugar. In a small bowl stir together flour and cornstarch. Add 2/3 of the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Temper the eggs with 1/4 of the hot milk then return the milk to the heat. Add the rest of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and whisk well. Add another 1/4 of the hot milk and whisk well. Reboil the remaining milk and whisk into the egg/flour mixture to thicken and self-cook. It will thicken on its own. Whisk in the butter chunks until melted. Press plastic wrap against the surface and refrigerate. The base will keep for 3 days. 

Heavily butter 6 individual 4-ounce ramekins or 1 large souffle dish and coat with sugar all around the inside. Whisk together the base with the lemon juice and rind. Whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks. Add the sugar and continue whisking until stiff and glossy, about 30 seconds. Whisk a small amount of the whites into the base to lighten it. Fold in the remaining whites. Spoon the mixture into ramekins, filling half way. Put 1/2 teaspoon of berry coulis and 2 raspberries onto the surface of the mixture, and then top with more souffle mix. Tap the ramekins down on the counter, level the tops with a spatula, and ring the rim with your thumb to create a moat. Chill, if necessary, up to 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated 425 degree F oven, in a water bath, until firm to the touch and risen, about 11 minutes for individual souffles. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes if making a large souffle.