Everyone is afraid of making souffle, but it's really not that difficult. I had some time to kill the other day when I was making dinner and I already had all of the ingredients, so I whipped up a few individual souffles. Cook's Illustrated (thanks for the book, Kara!) has a good recipe for make-ahead souffles where you assemble them and then just put them in the freezer until you want them. They were really chocolatey and rich and perfect with a scoop of ice cream. There's still one in the freezer - maybe I'll eat it tonight. This would be great to do the night before you have people over, then just throw them in the oven 15-20 minutes before you want dessert.
Serves four
Ingredients:
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces plus 1/2 tbsp softened
2 2/3 tbsp sugar, plus 1/2 tbsp
4 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (I used my favorite, Belgian chocolate, Cote d'Or - it's the best. It's hard to find in the US, but I just found that the Garden of Eden on my street sells it, so I'm thrilled. Another point for Brooklyn Heights.)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
3 large eggs, separated, plus 1 large egg white
2 tbsp powdered sugar
pinch cream of tarter
