FOOD SPECIAL..Soufflé

Soufflé

Literally meaning puffed up, a soufflé is all about getting the ingredients and instructions right. Just follow simple recipes...

    As an enthusiastic 12-year-old when I learnt how to make a pineapple “soufflé”, it seemed like a fairly easy recipe: set finely diced pineapple slices and juice (from a can) with gelatine. Once set, whisk and blend to a creamy texture and fold in some whipped cream. Chill. Spoon up! It was a party favourite and did not take rocket science to create. What it was not was a “soufflé”. Ask a lay person and you will realise that confusion still exists between common patisserie nomenclatures. Soufflés, mousses, bavarois, and charlottes are inhabitants of a large grey area; all referring to soft, light, airy desserts made with beaten egg whites or whipped cream.

All in the Family
So before we venture any further into DIY soufflés, let’s clear the air a bit. Mousse (“froth” in French) could be any foamy dessert. Bavarios (Bavarian cream) is a gelatine-bound custard with beaten eggs and whipped cream. Charlottes, another type of French dessert, have been classically identified as either puréed apples “baked in buttered bread strips” or mousse “corseted in cake”.
    Soufflés, on the other hand, literally meaning “puffed up”, are distinguished from mousses in that no gelatine is used, they are cooked (not merely chilled), and in that the proportion of egg whites used is higher. Egg whites, when beaten properly or “aerated” can increase by up to nine times their volume, giving you an incredibly light dessert. And the first thing to remember when doing a proper soufflé is to use a (glass, please don’t use plastic) bowl deep and big enough to beat the whites to accommodate the expanding volume.

Get it Right
The thing with baking is that you need to have exact measurements for ingredients and follow instructions correctly. While doing a soufflé — where you add more egg whites, less flour and more baking soda to the mixture than in any pudding or cake — this is vital.I found a very detailed recipe for a chocolate soufflé in the blog The Reluctant Gourmet by a Wall Street bankerfoodie. A classic soufflé has two main components: a starch-thickened egg yolkrich base and whipped egg whites. For the chocolate soufflé, make the base with chocolate, coffee and vanilla essence (as in a chocolate pudding) and then fold in the egg whites for the soufflé magic. Proportions used in this recipe are: 3 tbsp flour, 3 tbsp unsalted butter, ½ tsp salt, 1½ cups milk, 12 oz chocolate, coarsely chopped, ½ cup strong coffee, vanilla essence, ½ cup granulated sugar, 5 egg yolks, 7 egg whites, confectioners sugar.
    Make the coffee before-hand and keep aside. You can also make the base and keep it in the refrigerator and do the final soufflé just before serving. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, whisk in flour, salt and milk; cook until it comes to a boil and thickens. This is a basic béchamel sauce — and a base for savoury soufflés too (you can grate parmesan cheese into this, add some mushrooms et al).
    Take the pan off heat, stir in chocolate and stir constantly until melted. Add coffee, essence and ¼ cup of sugar, whisking until smooth. One at a time, add egg yolks, whisking constantly. Cool, cover and chill the base for at least four hours and up to a day ahead. About an hour before you want to serve, butter a 2-2½ quart soufflé dish. Sprinkle 2-3 tbsp granulated sugar to cover the bottom and sides. In a dry bowl, whisk egg whites to soft peaks, and gradually whisk in the remaining ¼ cup of sugar. Continue to whisk until the peaks are stiff and glossy. Stir ¼ of the whites into the soufflé base to lighten it. Then, gently fold in the rest of the whites.
    Fill the dish all the way to the top. If you’d like, run your thumb around the top inside of the dish to clean off the rim. Some chefs say this helps the soufflé rise evenly. Bake for 35-40 minutes until it rises 2 inches above the dish and/or the top of the soufflé is golden brown. Dust with confectioners sugar and serve immediately because it will deflate in less than two minutes.

Some Like it Cold
The other type of a soufflé is a cold one — denser than the hot one and where egg whites are not added so that it does not rise. Chef Rahul Hajarnavis, executive brand chef, Shiro, who gave me invaluable tips (see Keeping it Soft), suggests a mango soufflé this season. The ingredients are: 1 litre milk, ½ litre heavy cream, 250 gm each of mango chunks and puree, 125 gm of castor sugar, 100 gm flour, 6 eggs, essence, a few sprigs of mint.
    In a saucepan combine milk, cream, half sugar, mango purée, essence and bring to a boil. Take off the flame and keep aside. Separate egg yolks from white. In a mixing bowl, combine the yolks with the rest of the sugar. Whisk well and start adding the milk mixture to this. Transfer this to a saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, over low heat till the mixture starts sticking to the back of a spoon. Essentially, what you are making is thick custard. Cool, add mango chunks and flour. Pour into individual dishes and bake for 30 minutes. Cool, take out from the dishes, sprinkle some mint and serve. Voila!

KEEPING IT SOFT
DIY Soufflé Tips by Shiro’s chef Rahul Hajarnavis  

1 Always pre-heat the oven to about 160-175º C for 15-20 minutes  

2 Don’t overbeat the batter or the soufflé will lose air and won’t be light and fluffy 

3 Once you’ve placed it in the oven, don’t keep opening and shutting it to check  

4 Butter the sides of dish & sprinkle with sugar for sweet version, use breadcrumbs with butter for savoury  

5The most important step is beating the egg whites correctly. They should form stiff peaks.

:: Anoothi Vishal , a Delhi-based food writer  ET120624