Chocolate souffle: Sweet memories
Over the past few weeks, in the run up to this year's Santa Rita/LIFE magazine Irish Restaurant Awards 2009, the Oscars for Irish chefs and restaurants, some of Ireland's leading and Michelin-starred chefs have featured on our recipe pages, sharing the recipes they cook at home after slaving away in their restaurants.
This week, last, but certainly not least, Guillaume Lebrun reveals the chocolate souffle that used to melt his heart as a boy, while Kevin Dundon tells of the family favourite that almost caused a division in his housesweet memories.
Chocolate souffles were a great treat in our house when we were growing up. My father was a baker, and he was gone early every morning, so it was my mother who did all the cooking at home. We normally ate traditional dishes, but our treat on special occasions was my mother's chocolate souffle.
When it was my sister's, or my brother's, or my own birthday, we always knew we would have chocolate souffle as a dessert that day. There would be a race home from school, and our homework and chores would be completed quickly. That was also the day that, if my mother wanted something done, it was never a problem, as we didn't want anything to come in the way of our favourite dessert. It was also the day that we didn't mind helping, or even washing up the utensils, as that gave us the opportunity to lick the mixing spoon clean of all the chocolate.
The tradition has also followed into the next generation. My children, Ciaran, Andree and Denis, love when I have my chef's hat on at home -- which is rare -- as they know what dessert I will make. Like myself, they're always more than willing to help clean, as now they get to lick the mixing spoon clean of chocolate.
Chocolate souffle
Serves 4
You will need:
Butter, for greasing souffle moulds or ramekins
Caster sugar, for sprinkling on moulds or ramekins
300ml (10fl oz) milk
3 eggs yolks
20g (1oz) cornflour
220g (8oz) bitter chocolate with at least 70 per cent cocoa solids
6 egg whites
100g (3.5oz) sugar
Icing sugar, for dusting
Pre-heat oven to 190°C, 375°F, Gas 5. Grease four souffle moulds, or ramekins, well with butter. Sprinkle with caster sugar and shake out the excess. Put the milk in a saucepan and bring it to boiling point.
Mix the egg yolks and the cornflour together to form a smooth paste and pour the milk over the mixture. Mix well.
Cook the mixture over a gentle heat for two minutes. Put the chocolate in a bowl and pour the mixture on the top. Stir it around until the chocolate melts -- the heat of the milk and eggs will melt it.
Leave it to cool.
Beat the egg whites and the sugar until stiff, meringue-like peaks are formed.
Add this to the chocolate mixture and fold it through.
Pour it all into the souffle dishes, or ramekins, and put them in the oven for nine minutes. If you are using individual ramekin dishes, you will only need to cook them for seven minutes.
Dust with icing sugar and serve.
Guillaume Lebrun is head chef and co-owner of Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, 21 Upper Merrion St, D2, tel: (01) 676-4192, or see
www.restaurantpatrickguilbaud.ie
