From French Classics Made Easy By Richard Grausman,
Founder & Chairman, C-CAP
Prepared by Mehdi Chellaoui
This is an extremely light chocolate soufflé made from my basic chocolate mousse recipe with the addition of orange zest and Grand Marnier. A plain chocolate soufflé can be made by omitting them. The soufflé mixture can also be baked in a water bath (bain-marie) for a little bit linger, to give you a pudding au chocolate, a wonderful, dense fallen soufflé dessert.
Chocolate Souffle with Grand Marnier
[Soufflé au Chocolat et au Grand Marnier]
Serves 4
Ingredients
Butter and granulated sugar, for the soufflé mold
4 ounces (115g) Guittard semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick; 60g) unsalted butter
4 eggs, separated
Grated zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 475°F with the oven rack in the lowest position. Butter and sugar a 4-cup soufflé mold.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the chocolate and butter and melt over low heat. Remove from the heat, whisk in the egg yolks, and pour into a large bowl. Stir in the grated orange zest and Grand Marnier.
3. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.
4. With a whisk, fold one-third of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the remaining egg whites with a rubber spatula. Pour into the prepared soufflé mold and level the surface with a spatula. Run your thumb around the top of the mold to clean off any excess batter. (The soufflé can be prepared ahead to this point and refrigerated then baked or served as a mousse.)
5. Bake the soufflé for 5 minutes. Lower the temperature to 425°F and bake until the soufflé has risen 3 to 4 inches above the top of the mold and is springy to the touch, another 4 to 5 minutes.
6. Dust the soufflé with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately with Chocolate Sauce.
Variation
Fallen Chocolate Soufflé
(Pudding au Chocolate)
A French pudding is basically a fallen soufflé. Follow the soufflé recipe through step 4, buttering a 4-cup soufflé dish or charlotte mold. Pour the soufflé mixture into the prepared mold. Place the mold in a deep roasting pan and fill with enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the mold. Place in the oven, reduce the temperature to 400F, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. (The inflated puffed portion will drop back into the mold.) To serve, unmold onto a platter. The pudding can be served warm or cold and can be accompanied by Crème Anglaise.
Chocolate Sauce
[Sauce au Chocolat]
Makes ¾ cup
Ingredients
4 ounces (115g) Guittard semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup water (see Note)
Preparation
1. In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate with the water over medium heat, about 2 minutes. When the water and chocolate come to a boil, stir gently with a whisk until smooth.
2. If the sauce is too thin, cook it longer. If it is too thick, add more liquid and stir to blend well. 3. Remove the sauce from the heat and serve hot or cold. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Note: Use only 1/4 cup water for a thick sauce.
