Chocolate Soufflé (Lactose Free!)

Welcome back to another delicious lactose free recipe. For this weeks recipe we are dipping into French cuisine and making a notoriously difficult recipe.  Chocolate soufflés are known around the world for being notoriously tricky. One misstep and you end up with a deflated sad dessert. With the knowledge in this recipe, you will be able to defeat this tricky recipe.

It took me a while to learn and apply all the tricks I have learnt to make a beautiful soufflé. I have made soufflés of all shapes, sizes. Some were big, some were mushroom topped, some had a beautifully flat and others looked like something out of a nightmare.

Always remember that if you fail it is a learning experience and not the end of the world. Baking is something that takes practice. Failures give you an opportunity to look at what went wrong and why. That knowledge and experience is so important for any baker regardless of skill level. Everyone starts somewhere.

The recipes here have been tested with lactose free ingredients multiple times to ensure their success and deliciousness. As always, this recipe is lactose free providing you use the right ingredients. Always make sure your ingredients are safe.

Chocolate

You can choose whatever kind of chocolate you like for this recipe.  The choice of chocolate will reflect how sweet it is.

The chocolate used in this recipe was from a brand called Sweet William. The dark chocolate buttons are dairy free, nut free, lactose free and gluten free. I have used their products in icing, cookies, ganache, panna cottas and cakes, and have found no issue with the quality.

Margarine / Butter

Normally you would use a butter for this recipe however as there are no good, reduced salt lactose free options I opted to use Nuttelex Original instead.

Nuttelex Original is a plant-based spread made with sunflower oil that is dairy free and vegan. While I have had troubles working with other Nuttelex products in the past, the Original spread still remains my go to lactose free substitute.

Eggs

Use good quality fresh eggs for this recipe. Egg yolks are used to add a richness to the chocolate base and the egg whites are whipped up to create the lightness that makes soufflé the so airy.

Tips

• Bring the eggs to room temperature before starting this recipe. This will ensure a smooth consistency.
• When you separate the yolks from the whites make sure there is not a single speck of yolk in the whites or the whites will not whip up properly.
• Place the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl. If there is any grease or water residue in the bowl the whites to not whip up properly.
• When you prepare the bain-marie make sure the top saucepan is not directly touching the boiling water underneath. You want to gently heat the chocolate mixture so that is melts well and doesn’t burn.
• Whip up the whites at a medium speed rather than a high speed. When you whip them at a high speed it forms larger bubbles that are fragile and will deflate easily. Medium speed is the best for smaller air bubbles which results in a lovely airy mousse like base.
• Whip the egg whites until they reach stiff peaks. This is when you lift the beater out of the bowl the meringue peaks should stay upright and stiff.
• Fold the meringue into the chocolate in batches to keep the soufflé light and fluffy.
• Cream of tartar acts as a stabilizer for the meringue, allowing it to keep fluffy for longer.
• The soufflés should be cooked at the bottom of the oven on a baking tray that has been preheated with the oven. Cooking the soufflés from the bottom up helps to create that rise.
• Avoid opening the oven door. It will affect the rise of the soufflé.
• Handle the mixture gently. The air bubbles trapped in the meringue are what gives the soufflé the rise, if they collapse the soufflé will collapse.
• Prepare the ramakins well. As the soufflé rises the mixture needs something to hold onto or they will deflate. Therefore, it is important to grease the ramakins and dust them with sugar.
• Move your thumb around the rim of the soufflé so create a channel between the batter and the ramakin. This helps the soufflé to rise and keep its shape.