You know that feeling you get when you make something so delicious that your eyes roll back in your head in pure ecstasy? Well, let me fill you in on a secret…this is what is going to happen when you make this self saucing dark chocolate soufflé.
Yes, you heard me right…
This soufflé has its own built in dark chocolate sauce as it bakes. It’s Roy Yamaguchi’s famous chocolate soufflé that everyone clamors for at each and every one of his restaurants. I made it for the first time a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. What I like about this recipe is that it’s very versatile and serves double duty. What I mean by that is that you can make the batter the night before if you need to or you can make it right before you plan to serve it if you have a little extra time on your hands. The procedure is a little different with each situation, so I wanted to clarify the two.
If you plan to make this ahead of time and store overnight, make sure that you remove the soufflés from the refrigerator and allow them to come to room temperature before baking them in the oven. In his recipe, Roy does not separate the eggs and whip the whites separately, he simply whips the eggs and the yolks together, but I have found that although the whites will deflate a little bit, they still keep the batter fairly aerated so you can get a better rise.
If you are making the batter right before baking, the same procedure applies. His recipe was also too sweet originally with ¾ cup of sugar and the use of semisweet chocolate chips. I changed it to a bittersweet chocolate and reduced the sugar to a ½ cup. I also made another change that his recipe didn’t suggest. I buttered and sugared the ramekins, which is something that is commonly done for all soufflés. The total cooking time was about 20-25 minutes for a perfect soufflé texture, however, if you want to get the self saucing experience, reduce the baking time to about 10-15 minutes. You may have to play around with your oven temperature, since most ovens vary. His original recipe suggested 400°F however I used a temperature of 375°F.
Roy Yamaguchi’s Famous Dark Chocolate Souffle (makes 6 ramekins)
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
3 oz butter plus enough butter for ramekins
½ cup sugar, plus enough for ramekins
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
2 eggs, separated
2 yolks
First you need to butter and sugar each ramekin. To do this use some room temperature butter and gently grease each ramekin on the bottom and sides. Next, add some sugar and roll it around so that the entire inside of the ramekin is coated with sugar.
Add the chocolate and butter to a small pot and melt together.
In a small bowl add all of the yolks along with ¼ cup of sugar and the sifted cornstarch. Whisk together well so that there are no lumps then set aside.
Add the 2 whites to the bowl of your stand mixer and begin to whip these with a pinch of salt.
When the butter and chocolate has melted, set this aside to cool. Once the whites have become very frothy add ¼ cup of the sugar and whip until glossy. When the egg whites are ready, add the chocolate mixture to the egg yolks and whisk well.
Then add half of the whites and whisk into the mixture until it has lightened then add the rest and fold them in gently.
Pour ¾ of the batter into each ramekin and either cover and refrigerate or bake right away.
I baked mine in a 375°F for approximately 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, dust with powdered sugar and enjoy immediately by themselves or even better with a small scoop of ice cream.
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