Soufflé à la Chartreuse et coulis de fraises poivrées

( Chartreuse soufflé with peppered strawberry coulis )

This wouldn’t be a true French cookbook if it didn’t include at least one soufflé recipe. This is quite a wonderful and impressive-looking dessert and I clearly remember how dazzled I was when I first laid eyes on this fluffy, wondrous concoction. My parents took my sister and me to the Negresco, one of the most iconic and luxurious hotels on the Côte d’Azur. It was the mid-seventies and soufflés and bombe Alaska reigned supreme. I remember sitting in my velvet-covered chair, under a huge crystal candelabra, when the waiter gently rested a soufflé in front of me. I was literally stunned; it was so high and fluffy — I’d never seen anything like it.

Even now that I understand the chemistry behind it all, making a soufflé remains a truly magnificent juggling act, needing just the right balance between starch and eggs to trap the steam necessary for it to rise and set, and just the right temperature so the eggs don’t coagulate too fast. But don’t be nervous; the method is actually very simple and almost failproof if you follow the recipe carefully.

Serves 2

melted unsalted butter, for greasing

caster (superfine) sugar, for dusting

2 egg whites

100 g (3½ oz) caster (superfine) sugar

Custard base

250 ml (9 fl oz) full-cream milk

1 vanilla bean, halved lengthways, seeds scraped

55 g (2 oz) caster (superfine) sugar

3 egg yolks

25 g (1 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour

15 ml (½ fl oz) Chartreuse liqueur

Strawberry coulis

50 g (1¾ oz) caster (superfine) sugar

150 g (5½ oz) strawberries, hulled and chopped

½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

¹/₈ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

L Using a pastry brush, lightly grease two 250 ml (9 fl oz) ramekins or ovenproof coffee cups with melted butter, making sure that the brush strokes go vertically, from the bottom to the top of the dish, to help the soufflé to rise. Spoon a little sugar into each ramekin, turning the dish around so that the sugar coats the entire surface. Tip the ramekins upside down and tap them to remove any excess sugar. Place the ramekins on a baking tray and set aside at room temperature.

L To make the custard base, put the milk, vanilla bean and seeds in a saucepan and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat, pour into a bowl and set aside to cool for 1–2 minutes.

L Meanwhile, put the sugar and 2 egg yolks in a bowl. Using a hand-held whisk, whisk the sugar and egg yolks for 2–3 minutes, or until light and creamy, then whisk in the flour until smooth. Whisking continuously, gradually add the warm milk and whisk until well combined. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and whisk continuously over medium heat until the mixture comes to the boil and is thick and smooth. Remove from the heat and whisk in the liqueur, then set aside for 5 minutes to cool a little before whisking in the final egg yolk (don’t add it too soon or it will curdle). Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and set aside.

L To make the strawberry coulis, put the sugar and 100 ml (3½ fl oz) water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat. Add the chopped strawberries, lemon zest and pepper, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a small bowl and while still hot, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to cool. Using a stick blender or food processor, purée the coulis until smooth, then transfer to a squeeze bottle or pouring jug. Refrigerate until needed.

L Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Place the egg whites in a spotlessly clean bowl. Using a hand-held whisk (I strongly recommend you whisk the egg whites by hand to avoid splitting the eggs — see tip), whisk the egg whites until foamy and soft, then gradually add the sugar and whisk until the meringue forms stiff peaks. The simplest way to check if the meringue is ready is to flip the bowl upside down. If the meringue doesn’t drop on your head, it is ready! A better way to check this is to use the whisk to lift up a small amount of meringue; if it creates a stiff peak, it is ready.

L Using a large spatula, fold the meringue into the cooled custard in three or four batches. A folding motion means that you gently rotate your spatula from the bottom to the top of the mix. Never whack the spatula from side to side or the mixture will release all the air and won’t rise during baking.

L Fill the sugar-dusted ramekins all the way to the top, making sure that no mixture touches the rim, as this exposed mixture will cook instantly and stop the soufflé from rising evenly. Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until the tops are golden. Don’t be tempted to open the oven door during baking, as you need to build up steam inside the oven for your soufflé to rise properly. As soon as they are cooked, remove from the oven and poke a 2 cm (³/₄ in) hole through the top. Pour 1 tablespoon of coulis into each hole and serve immediately.

technical tip

The pressure point when making a soufflé is the meringue. If you underwhip the eggs, the soufflé will not rise; overwhip them and you will end up with a grainy and wet mess. To get it right you must first understand that a meringue rises by the act of pushing air into the elastic egg protein (albumen). As you whisk, the protein molecules weave together, trapping more and more bubbles of air, creating a shiny elastic foam. However, those molecules can only stretch so far. Overmixing will cause the eggs to ‘split’ or, technically speaking, the protein strands will separate and lose their ability to retain their water, in which case your meringue will become grainy and watery and will collapse during baking. Although this seems a little paradoxical, the golden rule is simple: when in doubt, always underwhip your meringue.