Dark Chocolate Souffles
My family pretty much eats dessert every night. Usually during the week, dessert consists of some fresh cut fruit and a cookie. On the weekends I like to get a little more elaborate and when I can find a great dessert recipe like this one, that is still kind to my waistline, I get really excited. The stats on this dessert, per serving, are impressive: 140 calories, 2 grams fat, 25 g carbs ....
The recipe comes from the New Dieters Cookbook from Better Homes and Gardens. I haven't bought a diet cookbook in a long time, because I find its not too hard to lighten a recipe on your own with a little experimentation, but I am really glad I decided to pick this one up. I haven't been disappointed by a recipe from this book yet.
Mario's verdict: "Wow, I'm impressed, Soufflés are hard to make".
Interesting. There are a few things fundamentally wrong with this. First, I am almost 100% certain, Mario had never made a soufflé in his life (nor whipped an egg white) so I don't think he is qualified to judge the degree of difficulty, and second... HELLOOO, he's impressed? Did he think I couldn't do it?
Dark Chocolate Soufflés
serves 8
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp instant coffee granules
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tbsp flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 egg yolks
4 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
sifted icing sugar for decoration
1. Lightly coat 8 ramekins with cooking spray. Mix 2 tbsp of sugar with the instant coffee and sprinkle all over insides of ramekins. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan, stir 1/2 cup of the sugar, cocoa powder, salt and flour. Stir in milk and cook over medium-high heat until thickened. Reduce heat and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in slightly beaten egg yolks.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine egg whites, vanilla and cream of tartar. Beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
4. Gently fold chocolate mixture into egg whites. Spoon into ramekins.
5. Bake at 350°F for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve immediately.
