I can't believe how little I've dabbled in the souffle world. After my first experience with it in this old blog post, you'd think I'd be trying a new recipe every week or something. But yeah, no, 4 years have gone by and I totally forgot that souffles/puddings/puds were even a thing. Mistake, you guys, big mistake.
It is so completely satisfying to whisk together a few simple ingredients and then watch the concoction just puff up into a fluffy, fruity cloud of goodness.
The dog days of winter have a lot of people down right now, which I say is 50% weather-induced and 50% post-inauguration depression. You know.
I know I've got my fair share of reasons to be down right now, but I've also got a good chunk of stuff keeping me pretty happy. With V-Day around the corner here, I thought a nice, do-able, but still impressive dessert for two might be just what we need after a really long January.
So spoon up some sugary fluff, complete with a homemade blackberry smash lining the bottom of your respected ramekins. You get some tart, sweet, and cloud-y delight to share with your boo; or you get 2 desserts to yourself. Which, in the case of a dessert that does not hold up well for more than hour and would just be annoying to halve, I think eating both helpings is the only really decent thing to do. <3
Blackberry Souffllé for Two
Yield: 2 small portions
Ingredients:
- unsalted butter, for greasing
- 3 tbsp. superfine (caster) sugar, divided
- 1 heaping cup fresh blackberries, plus extra for garnish (if so desired)
- few drops of vanilla extract
- few drops of lemon juice
- 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 egg whites
- powdered sugar, to dust
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and put a baking sheet on the top shelf of the oven. Grease 2 large ramekins with butter (7-8 ounces in volume) and dust with superfine sugar.
Put the berries and 1 tbsp superfine sugar in a small pan and simmer for 5-6 minutes until the fruit has broken up (help it by crushing with a wooden spoon). Whizz in a blender, then press through a fine mesh sieve into a large mixing bowl; discard the pips. Cool slightly, then stir in the vanilla extract and lemon juice. Put 1 tbsp purée into each ramekin. Mix the cornstarch with ½ tbsp cold water, then stir into the remaining purée; set aside.
Put the egg whites in a clean bowl and beat with an electric mixer on slow, then medium speed. When the whites reach soft peaks, scatter over the remaining 2 tbsp sugar; beat until dense and silky. Fold 1/3 of the egg white into the remaining purée, then gently fold in the rest of the egg white until combined; take care not to overmix. Divide the mixture between the ramekins, filling to the top. Smooth the surface with a knife and clean the edges with your thumb wrapped in a piece of kitchen paper, making a slight indent around the edges.
Cook on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, until well risen. While baking, feel free to get some blackberries wet and then toss in some sugar to get a "sparkly" garnish effect. Dust completed soufflés with powdered sugar and sugared blackberries, serve at once.
Sources: adapted slightly from waitrose.com
