Easy hot chocolate soufflés with chocolate & cardamom sauce
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Author:
Jane Lovett
servings
6
cook time
8 minutes
These little soufflés are failsafe and therefore ideal for impressing your guests at a dinner party, with no anxiety on your part at all! Just pop them into the oven after the main course and hey presto!

ingredients
-
butter, for greasing (spreadable butter is handy for this)
-
1tbsp caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
-
100g (3 1/2ox) plain chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids
-
200ml (7fl oz) good-quality ready-made vanilla custard
-
4 egg whites
-
pinch of salt
-
icing sugar, for dusting
directions
1. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F) Gas 7. Grease 6 (125 -150 ml / 4 – 5 fl oz) ramekins with butter, coat with caster sugar then turn upside-down and tap hard to remove any excess sugar. Put onto a baking sheet and set aside.
2. Gently melt the chocolate in a large bowl suspended over a pan of hot water. Heat the custard a little, but not to boiling point, and stir into the chocolate.
3. Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they are stiff. Add 1 tablespoon of caster sugar and whisk again to incorporate. Stir a spoonful into the chocolate mixture to soften it, and then carefully fold in the rest of the whites.
4. Divide the mixture between the ramekins and wipe any spillages from the rim.
5. Run your thumb or the point of a sharp knife around the edge of the mixture. This helps it to rise and form a ‘hat’.
6. Cook in the pre-heated oven for 8 – 10 minutes, or until puffed up and well risen. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately with the hot chocolate sauce handed separately, or a little poured into a hole made with a spoon in the middle of the soufflés.
Recipe Note
Get-Ahead:
The soufflés can be made the day before up to the end of Step 4, cooled, covered and kept in the fridge. Bring back to room temperature and hour or so before cooking. If making in advance on the day, they don’t need to be refrigerated.
Hints & Tips:
Add another tablespoon of caster sugar to the egg whites for sweeter soufflés.
Serve with double cream instead of the chocolate sauce. A few fresh berries would be good too.