Valentine’s Day is around the corner and this Chocolate Souffle will be making an appearance! Make no mistake about that! The perfect dessert for a romantic evening, these souffles are both light and decadent at the same time!
My husband and I have never really gone overboard with super romantic candle-lit dinners in restaurants on Valentine’s Day. That isn’t really us. We’re homebodies and prefer whipping up something nice at home and enjoying a quiet evening in the comfort of our own home. Sure we may break out a candle or two and there will be delicious food, but we will more than likely be wearing our track pants. #noshame
Good food is always our priority and dessert is never overlooked! While I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, if there is chocolate involved, I have a hard time resisting. Candies and cakes may not always sway me, but chocolate is my Achilles heel. My husband has a sugar tooth that more than makes up for mine. So the way to his heart is through dessert for sure! I learned this pretty early on in this relationship and still love seeing the almost child-like excitement when he sees me baking in the kitchen!
These chocolate souffles though are the bomb. They are so freakin good I had an absolute blast testing this recipe and eating the fails. There were a few. Souffle’s are not the easiest desserts to make and can be a bit finnicky but fear not! I have learned from my mistakes and have some tips and tricks to help you achieve the best souffle possible!
Tips for making the perfect chocolate souffle
Even if your souffle doesn’t come out perfectly, who cares? It will still be so delicious, no one will turn it away! I have picked up a few tips and tricks through my own trial and errors with souffles and am happy to share what I have learned! Be sure to follow my recipe carefully and not to skip any of the steps.
Prep your ramekins!
One of the most important things to ensure a good rise in your souffle is to make sure you butter your ramekins well and dust them with sugar. This helps to ensure that the souffle rises evenly and doesn’t “stick” to the ramekin at any point resulting in a wonky looking dessert. Butter and dust them with sugar all the way up the sides of the ramekin.
Choose your ramekins wisely. You want to make sure that they are the right size, of course, but the shape of your ramekin can also impact how well it rises as well. The first time I made a souffle I used ramekins that had a slightly wider top than the base. You want a dish that has perfectly straight sides. If it is angled, even a little, the souffle will rise upwards but will also expand outwards as well and take on a weird shape. While I didn’t mind eating the souffle one bit, it didn’t turn out the way I had hoped visually.
Whip it good!
Be sure to whip your egg whites until frothy and are able to hold their shape. If you tip the bowl, they should stay put. Once you’ve whippped the heck out of the them, switch gears. Its time to be nice and super gentle with them! When you are adding the egg whites into the rest of the ingredients, use a spatula to fold them in gently. Over-zealously mixing them in will deflate the egg whites and will impact how much the chocolate souffles rise in the oven. Take your time and fold them in gently until everything is well incorporated and you are well on your way to the perfect dessert!
Temperature
Finally, be wary of the temperature throughout the cooking process. Firstly, after heating the ingredient in the saucepan (and before adding the eggwhites), allow the ingredients to come to room temperature.
Be sure to preheat your oven so it is nice and hot! I preheat my oven to 375F and once they are placed in there to cook, do not open the door! Let the oven work its magic! Opening the door during the cooking process will not only affect the temperature of the oven but may cause the souffles to deflate. No bueno.
The end result: A delicious Chocolate Souffle
Hopefully following these easy but important tips will help you make the best souffle ever on your first go! If not, no worries! While my first attempts did not come out beautifully, visually speaking, every last one of them tasted delicious. Taste is king so I’m never too worried about it! Don’t sweat the small stuff and bon appetit!
Other sweet treat ideas for your valentine:
Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies (Alfajores)
Oreo Truffles
Slow Cooker Poached Pears
Apple Roses
Chocolate Souffle
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup chocolate
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 egg whites
- 4 teaspoons sugar
To prepare ramekins
- Butter (to generously grease ramekin)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Generously grease your ramekins with butter. You will need 4 10cm (4 inch) ramekins. In each one, add a tablespoon of sugar and tilt ramekin to ensure the sugar sticks to the sides and bottom.
- In a saucepan, add 2 tablespoons of sugar, flour, salt and milk. Whisk to combine. Add the butter and heat over medium-high heat until the butter melts and the ingredients begin to simmer. Do not cook more than 30 seconds. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Whisk together to incorporate as it melts. Add the egg yolks and whisk to combine everything together. Set aside to cool.
- In a separate bowl, begin to beat egg whites with a hand mixer until they become frothy. Add 4 teaspoons sugar and continue to beat until it forms stiff peaks.
- Gradually fold the frothy egg whites into the chocolate batter using a spatula, adding the egg whites 1/3 at a time. Be careful not to vigorously mix and deflate the egg whites.
- Carefully fill the ramekins 3/4 full. Place them on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 17 minutes. This will produce a souffle with a soft, gooey center. For a well-baked souffle, cook for 20 minutes. Serve immediately as the souffle will deflate while it sits. If you wish, dust the souffles with cocoa powder or powdered sugar.
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
