Chocolate Souffle

A light and puffy chocolate souffle recipe that’s rich, decadent and absolutely to-die-for! Served with a delicious vanilla and chocolate sauce and topped with a scoop of ice cream. The most perfect sweet treat for any special occasion!

Bittersweet Chocolate Souffle

This is one of those dessert recipes that’s great for entertaining. It’s a little more upscale like my crème brûlée and each guest gets an individual ramekin. Some of my other favorites to make when we have company are chocolate mousse, no-bake cheesecake or a chocolate bundt cake.

Ever since I went on the Disney cruise, I’ve been dying to make the chocolate souffle dessert I had at Palo. All of the desserts were simply AMAZING but this souffle was hands down my favorite dessert on the Disney Dream. It’s served warm with the most amazing vanilla and hot fudge sauce along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Seriously to-die-for!

Now I have to admit, making a homemade chocolate souffle does take a little bit or work (and quite a few dishes), but it’s so fun to whip up for a special occasion. And it’s even better to eat. :)

What is a Souffle?

Souffle is a French term that originated from the word “souffler,” which means “to puff up.” A chocolate souffle is a soft and puffy egg-based cake that essentially “puffs up” when it bakes. It’s typically served in individual, smaller-sized ramekins and topped with delicious sauces, such as vanilla and chocolate sauce. Souffles can actually be both savory and sweet…however I prefer the sweet, dessert-like kind. :)

What You’ll Need

This recipe actually requires very minimal ingredients. Most of them are items you probably already have on hand, such as eggs, butter, sugar, flour and milk.

• Eggs
• Butter
• Sugar
• Milk
• All-purpose flour
• Dutch-processed cocoa
• Semisweet chocolate

How to Make a Chocolate Souffle

PREPARE. Butter six 4-ounce ramekins and coat the insides with sugar.

SIMMER. Bring milk to a light simmer over medium heat. In a separate pan, melt the butter over medium heat and then whisk in the flour, salt and cocoa until smooth. Turn heat to low and cook 1 additional minute.

MIX. Slowly whisk the milk into the other pan. Then add the melted chocolate and whisk until smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes then mix in the egg yolks.

BEAT. Beat the egg whites in a bowl, then slowly add in 1 Tablespoon of sugar at a time. Continue beating until a glossy peak is formed (about 4-5 minutes). Whisk a large spoonful of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and then fold the remaining egg whites in. Don’t over mix…stir just until combined.

BAKE. Pour the batter evenly into the ramekins and then place them in a 9×13″ baking dish. Add hot water to the bottom of the dish until it covers half of each ramekin. Bake for 20 minutes.

Why Does a Souffle Collapse?

When making a souffle, you’ll want to separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Then you’ll begin whipping your egg whites in a circular motion. When you whip the egg whites, you are essentially just mixing air into them (creating air bubbles). When the egg whites are combined with the rest of the souffle mixture and are ready to bake, the air bubbles get trapped and start to expand. This causes it to rise.

They typically fall once out of the oven for a few minutes (kind of like German pancakes), so it’s best to serve them immediately. Timing is everything. However, don’t worry if they do fall. They will still taste great.

Best Way to Serve

The best way to enjoy this souffle (and how they do it on the cruise), is to take a spoon and make an indent in the center of the warm cake. Then pour the hot fudge sauce (or vanilla sauce) inside the cake. Add a scoop of gelato or vanilla ice cream on top and then finish it off with another drizzle of sauce. It is literally out of this word!

More Desserts for Entertaining

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