Today's recipe is brought to you by
Lindt chocolate. Suppose to look like this from their website:
We'll see how this will go...BeaPea?
So far the ramekins have not been buttered even though they
are supposed to.
And it has been an interesting time coordinating the egg
cracking. It's apparently Saki's favourite part but Megaspoot has already
offered to take over. Apparently someone needs to cut the chocolate. Megaspoot
is not allowed as he might end up taking fingers off.
There are black specks in
the ramekins, Hera hasn't used them in a while. It's ok, it will be disguised
by the chocolate. Hera keeps wandering around whispering "it smells so good". I
think Saki is a bit scared. She is starting to talk to the eggs. You know it's
a good time when someone says "it's not that I don't trust you...". Can you feel
the trust? Uh...apparently the butter and sugar is supposed to be rolled into a
long rope? I'm pretty sure I heard that incorrectly.
Nope, did not... the
recipe calls for the butter and flour to be put 'in a bowl and knead together.
Roll into a rope and cut into small pieces.' I guess I did hear part of that
incorrectly. Hera gets to use her brand spanking new measuring cups. But she
says she's already used them already. I feel cheated. Oops, first mistake, all
the egg white went into a bowl, but one was supposed to be kept out. Guesstimations
abound! There is a lot of multitasking going on, everyone is off doing their
own part. I wonder if that means we're getting better. Or cocky. Go Icarus go!
Wait, what? To make things just a tiny bit more difficult, the bluetooth on my
tablet won't work. Hera just opened the oven. There is a wok in there. You know
you're in an Asian kitchen when... It's always good when suggestions come out after, like, "hey why don't we just make a roux instead of kneading the flour
and butter together?" According to Saki, she is making art. Or rather, 'art'?
Saki needs more surface area. For her art. 'Art'. There is contention about the
thickness of the soufflé batter...thing. At least there is no contention about
whether or not flour will thicken it more. Yes. Yes, it will. So it turns out 4
science majors and an English major with a teaching degree are not able to
follow directions. The batter looks burnt.
It's hard to tell because it's chocolate, but it's definitely chunky. We are switching tools from whisk to spatula. "When in doubt, just eat this, " says Saki. The English major is wise beyond her degree. Yay, after a restart we finally have the bluetooth keyboard connected. Unfortunately the batter is not going as well. Evidently the batter is supposed to be 'poured' into a bowl. The operative word is 'pour' as it is currently quite solid. The math is being checked and what to do is being batted around. The decision seems to be to go ahead and see what happens.
Hera has taken over the egg white whipping. She looks much more comfortable.
She just tried to tip the bowl of egg whites over Saki's head. She would not let her. She put it over her own head instead.
The egg whites are about to go in! ...and there they go.
That was relatively uneventful. The egg yolks went in. It was supposed to be one at a time. Instead of just throwing them in one at a time, Megaspoot decided to scramble the egg yolks and then estimate the yolk amount per time. Weird. Hera's spatula size is inadequate for Megaspoot's large hands apparently. The 'batter' is still exceptionally thick. All the yolks have gone in. The batter is a bit gooey-er. "Have hope and faith," says Hera. She is channeling the recent tv show that she watched but forgotten the name. The batter is starting to look more like batter.
Hera's kettle plays minuet in G major. Megaspoot's just scratched his face with chocolate fingers. He asked if there's any chocolate on his face. Saki feels this is a miscalculation on his part to trust us to tell him the truth. She may be correct. Saki is hurting by trying to help.
Hurrah! The ramekins are being tapped. Die air, diiiie! Or just be tapped out of the soufflé. Saki is attempting to do 2 at the same time.
 |
| Adding boiling water to tray to commence souffle baking! |
The soufflés are now in the oven. There is naught to do until they rise now. The waiting game begins...and the games come out. *time passes*...
The moment has arrived. The oven gloves are going on and the cameras are going out.
Megaspoot just told Hera to "give it a jiggle." How is he still alive? Moving on... Apparently the stove was still on. How long has it been? We appear to be making Hera dismantle her kitchen. At least she's organized!
Yay, the soufflés appear to be a success. All that's needed now is taste test...
Final Thoughts: it is puffy like a soufflé, but it is lacking the creaminess. Kind of like a fluffy muffin. Very fluffy muffin.
RECIPE
FROM Lindt.com:
LINDT CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉ
Yield: Eight 4 oz (120 mL) ramekins, or one 7-inch (16 cm) large soufflé form, for 8 servings
Ingredients:
¼ cup (55 g) butter
1/3 cup +2 (55 g) tablespoons flour
½ cup (125 mL) milk
40 g Lindt Excellence 70% Cacao Dark
Chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup (40 g) cocoa powder
5 egg whites
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup (65 g) sugar
Melted butter and sugar to prepare soufflé forms
1) Preheat oven to 200°C (392°F)
2) Prepare forms/form by coating the
inside with melted butter and sprinkling with sugar. Tap out any excess sugar.
3) Put the butter and flour in a bowl
and knead together. Roll into a rope and cut into small pieces.
4) Put the milk, chopped chocolate, and
cocoa powder in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring
continuously.
5) Add the flour/butter pieces and stir
until smooth and thickened.
6) Removed the saucepan from heat and
stir in one egg white.
7) Pour the mixture into a bowl and cool
until lukewarm
8) Add the egg yolks one at a time,
stirring.
9) Whip the remaining egg whites,
gradually adding the sugar until they form stiff peaks.
10) Carefully fold the whipped egg
whites into the chocolate mixture.
11) Spoon the soufflé mixture into the
prepared forms.
12) Place the forms in a large baking
pan. Fill the baking pan into very hot water up for the middle of the forms,
and place in lower third of the oven.
13) Reduce the oven temperature to 190°C
(374°F).
14) Bake 25-30 minutes to small forms or
35-40 minutes for large form.
15) Never open the oven door when making
a soufflé! (The recipe is so bossy)
16) Prepare serving plates and powdered
sugar while the soufflés are baking.
17) When finished, remove from the oven,
set the soufflé in its form on dessert plate, sprinkle with powdered sugar and
serve. A soufflé will hold its shape for a few minutes.
