"How To: Grand Marnier Soufflé "by Zoe W

            I feel like the soufflé is the perfect dessert for a romantic Christmas.  It’s warm, very light, and has an ethereal feeling to it- it’s like you’re eating clouds! Soufflés are often expensive when they’re sold in restaurants or cafés, and the media makes them seem like a challenge to make! In reality, it’s fairly easy once you know what you’re up against.  The soufflé is one of my favorite desserts to eat and make and I’ve made them countless times, especially around Christmas.  Below is an in-depth recipe that I’ve come up with after trial-and-error.

For 3 8-ounce ramekins

Ingredients*:

*all measurements are approximate

·         Preparation:

o   some room temperature butter

o   some white sugar

·         Batter:

o   10 teaspoons melted butter

o   10 teaspoons app-purpose flour

o   ½ cup cold milk

o   3 egg yolks

o   2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest

o   2 tablespoon brandy-based orange liqueur (Grand Marnier) [may substitute with orange juice]

o   Less than 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

·         Meringue:

o   3 egg whites

o   ½ cup white sugar

o   1/8 cream of tartar (optional)

·         Garnish

o   Powdered sugar (optional)

Prep:

Normally, the first thing recipes would tell you to do is to preheat your oven, but we are going to do this later.  The first thing you should do is to wash and dry 3 8-ounce ramekins.  Take a stick of butter (preferably room-temperature so that it spreads easier) and smear the bottom and the sides of the ramekins with the butter.  Then, take about a tablespoon of white sugar and put it in one of the ramekins.  The mission: cover the sides and bottom of the ramekin with sugar.  To do this, simply tilt the ramekins to coat it with sugar.  The butter should allow the sugar to stick easily.  Dump the excess sugar into the next ramekin and repeat to all ramekins.  The importance of this step is so ensure that the soufflé rises straight-up and it also increases its life-span (slightly) before it deflates when taken out of the oven. 

Making the batter:

            The soufflé is one of those unique desserts that are actually cooked twice- kind of- over the stovetop and then in the oven.

In a trusty saucepan, melt 4 teaspoons of butter over medium-low heat.  Once the butter has melted, stir in the 10 teaspoons of flour. Keep stirring the mixture until it smells fragrant (like buttery-goodness) and turns a light golden color (this takes about 2-3 minutes).  Lower the heat and pour in the milk slowly (to prevent burning and the revival of the splash zone).  Return the heat to normal and resume stirring the mixture until all combined.  It should look like a smooth, thick paste that begins to lump together (doesn’t stick to the sides of the pan anymore).  Turn off the heat.  Congratulations, you just made béchamel (fancy word that just means a white-sauce base) J

            Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl.  Mix in orange zest, orange juice, vanilla, egg yolks until all smooth.  Set aside.

Meringue (kind-of):

            Whenever bakers hear “meringue”, they either have a really positive response or a really negative one.  Making a meringue should be simple and easy- in theory- but it is equally easy to screw up badly even before you start. 

            Some pointer tips:

o   Make sure that your bowl is NOT plastic or made of wood. 

o   Make sure that your bowl and utensils are free from any grease/oils.  It has to be sparkly clean!! If you’re not sure or want to be cautious, try rubbing a slice of lemon over the inside of the bowl (but make sure the bowl isn’t wet when you use it). 

o   Your eggs, preferably, should be room-temperature.  If they are fresh from the fridge, it’s harder to whip them up to potential volume.  If your eggs are not room-temp, a quick way to improvise is to submerge the eggs in a room-temp water bath and leave them there for about 10 minutes. 

o   Meringues are sensitive to the cold.

o   When separating the whites from the yolks, it’s okay for some whites to be with the yolk, but it is NOT okay for some yolk to mix with the whites.  If there is even a speck of yolk in the whites, the whites WILL NOT whip for the life of the unborn soufflé.  The only thing you can do is to discard the whites and start all over.

In a meringue-friendly bowl, whip the egg whites (normally, I would use a hand-mixer, but if you have guests or a date over that you want to impress (or maybe you want a workout?) you can whip the mixture by hand, although it would take longer).  Add in cream of tartar if you have some.  When it starts to become frothy, gradually add in ½ cup of sugar in portions while mixing.  BEWARE not to overmix; stop mixing when the mixture consistency is like shaving cream.  You do not want soft-peaks or stiff-peaks (terminology used to describe which of the two commonly used stages in whipping cream or egg whites.  At stiff-peak stage, the egg whites would be considered to be a meringue). 

Final Stage:

            You may take this moment to preheat the oven to 400°F. 

            In the next steps, the rubber spatula will be your best friend.  Take a quarter of the kind-of meringue mixture and mix it into the batter mixture.  Take another quarter of the meringue and fold it into the batter (mixing and folding are different! In folding, try not to deflate the meringue’s volume- in other words, be gentle!!).  The reason for these two steps is to lighten-up the batter so that it will be easier to mix in the rest of the meringue.  FOLD in the remaining meringue.  The result should be a very light and voluminous mixture. 

            Distribute the batter among the 3 ramekins and stick them into the oven for about 15 minutes (depends on the oven) or until lightly brown and risen.  Keep a close eye on the soufflés after 12 minutes because you want to catch them when they’re nicely golden. 

            Remember, soufflés deflate VERY quickly after taking it out of the oven even with all precautions.  If you plan to garnish it with powdered sugar, have that ready near the table it will be served.  To nicely garnish, take about a tablespoon of powdered sugar and sift it onto the soufflé.

            Have your camera ready when it’s just out of the oven to catch its moment of maximum fluffiness.