Posted on Saturday, 8th May 2010 by Grace Massa Langlois

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The last few days have been a whirlwind, errands, appointments, the phone has been ringing of the hook, the house has been full with friends and family visiting to celebrate my birthday and among all the chaos I decided to make Chocolate Soufflé.  Liana and Matt cooked me a beautiful dinner, grilled tenderloin, baked potatoes on the barbecue and a tossed green salad, it’s one of my favourite meals. What more could you ask for on your birthday, feeling so special and loved.

A close up photo of a Hot Chocolate Souffle in a red ramekin on a white plate.

The inside of my house is starting to feel like spring.  I received two beautiful flower bouquets, one from my dear friend Denise and her family and my brother Gabe and his family.  I only wish the weather would cooperate.

A photo of a bouquet of flowers in a vase.

Yesterday was just dreadful, we had a terrible thunderstorm and it was so cold.  My little pup, Kisses, was absolutely terrified of the lightening and cracks of thunder, she didn’t leave my side the entire day.

A close up photo of a mixed flower bouquet.

I wanted something to warm up the insides and decided I would, once again, try my hand at soufflé but this time I tried Gordon Ramsay’s Recipe for Hot Chocolate Soufflé.  I was flipping through one of my favourite dessert books, Le Cordon Bleu, Dessert Techniques, it’s a great book to learn basic technique and it is full of tips, recipes and beautiful photos of some amazing desserts.  It also has a great deal of step by step instructions and teaches you how to incorporate different variations into a basic recipe.  I wanted a refresher lesson on the tips of making a good soufflé.

A close up photo of 2 Hot Chocolate Souffle in red ramekins on a white plate.

They suggested baking the soufflé in fruit containers instead of the usual ramekin. The other day, when I was at the market, I picked up some perfect sized oranges that would do the trick, plus the colour was such a deep orange, I thought they would look amazing.  I proceeded to slice a third off the top of the orange and removed the flesh.  I reserved the flesh and the juice and ran it through my food mill and replaced the milk in the recipe with equal amounts of the orange juice, I also added a few teaspoons of Cointreau.  As you can see from the pictures in this post, no photos with the orange cups, what a disaster, most of the soufflé mixture ended up outside of the orange than in it.  Thank goodness for the back up plan, I also made some using the usual ramekins, much better!

A close up photo of 3 Hot Chocolate Souffle in a red ramekins on a wooden platter.

Even though I had a mess up with the cups the soufflé was a major success, warm with chocolatey goodness, silky and light, it definitely hit the spot.  They poofed up beautifully, we tried so hard to capture it in the photos but unfortunately as you can see we had a difficult time snapping the perfect picture.

I doubled the batch and was grateful Matt had the boys over last night, the soufflés disappeared quickly and with all the oohs and aahs I heard coming from the basement they obviously enjoyed them.

A close up photo of 2 Hot Chocolate Souffle in red ramekins on a white plate.

Gordon Ramsay’s Hot Chocolate Soufflé

For the Baking Dishes

  • 25 g (1¾ tablespoons) unsalted butter, for greasing
  • finely grated chocolate

For the Crème Pâtissière

  • 16 g (2 tablespoons) plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 9 g (2 teaspoons) caster sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 medium egg yolk
  • 1 medium whole egg
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream, 35%
  • 25 g (about 1 ounce) good-quality dark chocolate, preferably 70%, coarsely chopped
  • 6 g (1 tablespoon) unsweetened cocoa powder

For the Egg Whites

  • 6 medium egg whites
  • 85 g (1/3 cup + ¾ tablespoon) caster (superfine) sugar

For the Ganache

  • 60 ml (¼ cup) heavy cream, 35%
  • 50 g (1¾ ounces) good-quality chocolate, preferably 70%, finely chopped
  • 6 g (1 tablespoon) unsweetened cocoa powder
  1. Take four 200 ml (6¾ ounce) soufflé dishes and brush them completely with softened butter. Chill the dishes for 5 minutes, then, as an insurance policy so the soufflé doesn’t stick to the dish, apply a second coat as before.  Tip a little grated chocolate into each dish, roll the dish around tilting it as you do so it is evenly lined all around.
  2. For the crème patisserie, mix the flour, sugar and cornstarch.  Put egg yolk and whole egg into a bowl, stir, then beat in half of the flour mixture to give a smooth paste.  Tip in the rest of the flour mixture and mix well.
  3. Pour the milk and cream into a pan and bring just to the boil.  Remove from the heat.  Add chocolate and beat until it is melted and smooth with no lumps.
  4. Gradually stir hot chocolate mix into paste.  Return to pan.  Cook, stirring, over a medium-low heat for 5 minutes to a smooth, thick paste.  Remove from the heat.  Leave until cold, beating occasionally with a wire whisk.
  5. Make the ganache; slowly warm the cream in a pan.  Just before it boils, take off the heat and add chocolate.  Beat constantly to a velvety texture, gradually sprinkling in the cocoa as it dissolves. Allow to cool.
  6. Heat oven to 190° C (375°).  Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks with an electric whisk. Sprinkle in the sugar as you are mixing.  Keep whisking to give stiff, firm peaks to give volume to the soufflés.
  7. Mix crème patisserie and ganache in a large bowl.  Stir in 2 tablespoons of egg white. Carefully fold in a third of the rest, cutting through the mixture. Fold in another third (take care not to lose the volume); fold in the rest.
  8. Spoon the mixture into the dishes to fill them by three-quarters, then gently press a spoon in to make sure it fills all the gaps.  Fill the dishes to the top with the mixture, then bang each dish on to the surface so the mixture fills the sides.
  9. Take a palette knife and pull it across the top of each dish so the mixture is completely flat. Take a little time to wipe any splashes off the outside of each dish, or they will burn on while cooking.
  10. So mixture won’t stick to the top of the mould, and to give a straight finish, go around the top edge of the mixture with your finger.  Sprinkle a little grated chocolate in the centre, then bake the soufflés for 15-17 minutes.
  11. The soufflés should have risen by about two-thirds of their original height and jiggle when moved, but be set on top.  To serve, make a small dip with a spoon in the centre of each, then pour in single cream or add a spoonful of ice cream.

Gordon Ramsay’s description of a soufflé, “very sexy pudding”.

A close up photo of a Hot Chocolate Souffle in a red ramekin on a white plate.

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Posted in Baking & Pastry, Baking Mise en Place, Custards, Creams & Mousses, Eggs, Fillings, Frostings & Dessert Sauces, Pastry Doughs & Batter, Recipes

Comments (5)

5 Responses to “Gordon Ramsay’s Hot Chocolate Soufflé”

  1. Frozen Hot Chocolate - My birthday at Serendipity 3 in NYC! - How to & Recipes Says:
    May 9th, 2010 at 7:45 am

    [...] Gordon Ramsay's Hot Chocolate Soufflé | La Mia Vita Dolce [...]

  2. Eddie@CulinaryStudio Says:
    May 10th, 2010 at 6:53 am

    I’ve never made a souffle before, but you’re tempting me to give it a try. Those dishes you used, look great!

  3. Grace Says:
    May 10th, 2010 at 7:25 am

    Thank you Eddie

  4. Marly Says:
    May 10th, 2010 at 1:51 pm

    These look beautiful and how perfect for your Birthday! Sounds like you had a wonderful day and I’m so happy for you. You deserve it!

  5. Grace Says:
    May 10th, 2010 at 3:51 pm

    Thank you Marley, had a magnificent day!

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