Always wanted your own cookbook, but never got around to writing one? Chocoholic.com is compiling an on-line collaborative chocolate cookbook. Now not only gain world wide fame and recognition, but if your recipe is chosen for the recipe of the month, you get a ** $20 Gift Certificate ** good for purchases on the Chocoholic.com site. So send in your favorite chocolate recipe, along with your name, city, state and e-mail address and share your secrets with fellow chocoholics.
The October 2006 Recipe of the Month Chocolate soufflè A great treat for cooler evenings (or anytime, really) and not too difficult if you have a nice soufflè dish. We thank Charlotte Braunschweig of Pittsburgh PA, for this pretty recipe. Great for dinner parties, just be sure to serve it when it comes out of the oven, as soufflès do indeed fall if left alone.
Ingredients 3 Tablespoons butter 2 Tablespoons flour 1 cup milk 1/4 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup sugar 1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla 3 ounces good quality unsweetened baking chocolate (or use four ounces semi-sweet, but you must therefore reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup --Ed.) 5 eggs, separated Directions You will need a soufflè dish for this, so that the soufflè can bake and rise correctly. If your dish is too small to accommodate high-rising batter, you can add a foil collar (folded over aluminum foil, folded the long way, and paper-clipped at the ends as it fits around the top edge of the dish, to make an "extension" of your dish's height.) You will also need a second bowl to whip the egg whites in. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and then sugar-dust the inside of the soufflè dish and also the optional foil collar (best to this before you attach it to the rim). This helps the soufflè climb, and it also adds a bit of flavor to the "edges" of the soufflè. Over medium or medium-low heat, melt butter and flour together in a saucepan, stirring to make a roux, it should smell nice, and be thickened a bit. Now, add the milk, and stir well to make it smooth and keep it from clumping, and add the vanilla. Stirring, add the chocolate, and keep stirring until it is melted and smooth. Cool the chocolate mixture a bit, because you will be adding the egg yolks at this point (save some calories and use just four egg yolks, not five... it will also be lighter in weight, rising a little higher). If the mixture is too hot, the egg yolks might clump up before you have a chance to finish stirring them in. Stir the egg yolks in, mixing until smooth. Set this aside for a moment. Using clean egg beaters and a clean bowl, whip the 5 egg whites until firm but not stiff. Scrape the chocolate mixture into a large bowl. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in about three additions, folding but not collapsing the soufflè. Pour into the prepared soufflè dish. Bake 20 to 25 minutes (do not check until the 20 minutes has passed. The top should be floating a bit, and look neither soggy nor over-done). Serve immediately...with whipped cream, cold, heavy cream, or on its own!   Serves 6 to 8 adoring fans