Chocolate Souffle

For Chocolate Friday this week I decided to tackle one of the harder recipes: Chocolate Soufflé.  I've been wanting to try this for a while now, but I wasn't sure I was ready for a 3-dot recipe. 

Well, as it turns out this is probably only a 2-dot recipe, but it still didn't turn out as good as I would have liked.  The original recipe is here.  And the photo of the original is shown at the left here.  Pretty isn't it?  That's what it's supposed to look like.  That's ... ummm... not what mine looked like.

I decided to post this anyway, in the spirit of adventurous cooking, and to give you all a good laugh.  First the recipe, then the story:

INGREDIENTS:
nonstick cooking spray
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup Baking Cocoa
1/2 cup hot water
3 tablespoons French Roast NESCAFE® Gourmet Instant Coffee
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup NESTLE® CARNATION® Evaporated Fat Free Milk
3/4 cup sugar, divided
4 large egg whites
1 pinch salt
powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:
PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Spray eight 6-ounce custard cups with nonstick cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons sugar.

COMBINE cocoa, water and Nescafe in medium bowl; stir until smooth. Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in evaporated milk and 1/2 cup sugar. Cook, whisking frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Add to cocoa mixture; stir until smooth.

BEAT egg whites and a pinch of salt in small mixer bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/4 of egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten. Fold in remaining egg whites gently but thoroughly. Pour mixture into prepared cups, filling 3/4 full. Place on baking sheet.

BAKE for 18 to 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out moist but not wet. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

Ok, here's what mine looked like. 

First, it's a probably a good idea to start with the right containers.  My grocery store didn't have custard cups.  All they had was quiche tins.  The result, as you see in the picture, is a flatter, more pie-looking version with scalloped edges which I liked, but the center cooked up a bit more than it probably should have / would have if it were in a taller container.

Second, there is a difference between Carnation Evaporated milk, and Carnation Dry milk. 

Ok, quit laughing now, it wasn't that stupid of a mistake.  Evaporated ... dry... doesn't that sort of make logical sense?  Well, anyway, goofball here poured 3/4 cup of the powdered stuff into the saucepan and then stood there stirring for 3 minutes wondering what the hell was supposed to happen.  I guess I thought maybe it was going to melt.  Pfphhhh. 

I finally got wise, had a good laugh at myself, and tried to figure out what to do since I had no evaporated milk.  I improvised and just mixed up some of the powdered milk, to make 3/4 cup of liquid.  I don't know how that may have affected the recipe, but I plan to try this again with the right cups and the right milk and we'll see. 

I also had trouble with the egg white.  I couldn't seem to get white peaks, stiff or not, and I'm sure that contributed to the overall flatness of my soufflé, which after all means "to blow up" or "puff up" (from the French word soufller).

The result, even though flat, was still very tasty.  Not bad for my first attempt at one of the harder recipes.  The texture / consistency is something like a very very light brownie.  Not cake-like.  Not mousse-like.  It was not the texture of anything else I've ever eaten, except maybe lightly scrambled eggs.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I liked it, well enough to want to try again and do better.

Comments

[danielle]

hello i love chocolate as i can see so do you, well i was looking through amazon.com and i found that Leonidas chocolate is on sale for 20 dollars a pound! its really a great anniversary sale you should check it out

http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html/ref=sc_ca_r_3_3370831_2?node=13989701

keep up the delicious work!
-danielle

[keewee]

Chuckle, I laugh with you. We have all created NEW ? recipes at one time or another.
I am not sure if you know, when whipping egg whites, have them at room temp. and make sure the bowl and beaters have no oily residue on them, wipe the bowl and beaters with a paper towel soaked in a little vinegar.
This always works for me when I have to whip egg whites for a pavlova.