This is the recipe I’ve made for Christmas dessert for years and, after resurrecting it for our blogging team’s holiday dinner over the weekend (details below), there is no question I’ll be serving souffles again for the big day this year! They were a super big hit at our dinner and let’s be honest – who doesn’t love a warm, delectable chocolate soufflé especially when it’s topped with homemade ice cream?! (Okay, is anyone else’s mouth watering here?)
Disclaimer: This recipe contains refined white sugar, which means it doesn’t technically follow our real food rules…so only enjoy in moderation!
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Our Blogging Team’s Holiday Dinner
As I mentioned the occasion for this soufflé was our blogging team’s annual holiday dinner this past Friday. We hosted all the local members of our team and their spouses…and I even broke out my formal china for this amazing group. :) Collectively this group also has a few food allergies and preferences to speak of. And since (real) food was what brought us together I thought it would be nice if we could serve a meal that everyone could eat. So on my Facebook page I recently asked this question…
The (almost 3,000) answers were quite interesting ..and some were even somewhat rude (like “get reservations” or “get new friends!”). BUT since we are a group with a sense of humor we all found the comedy in the feedback. And we even found a great dinner idea as well. One commenter suggested doing a taco bar so each guest could pick and choose what they wanted to eat. We thought this non-traditional way of celebrating the holidays sounded fabulous so it was a pretty easy decision to make. And since it was actually a “Pot Luck” dinner here is the breakdown of everyone’s contributions…
- From Amy: A black bean, avocado, corn, and tomato dip.
- From Kiran: Homemade margaritas (see outtakes at the bottom – just kidding!).
- From Shawn: Quite the salad spread that included a variety of vegetables, black beans, homemade salad dressing, and spiced pumpkin seeds.
- From Me: The main dish taco “bar” (that included Pork Carnitas, Refried Beans, Homemade Corn Tortillas, cheese, sour cream, avocado, lime, cilantro, jalapenos, and salsas) and those chocolate soufflés topped with the homemade vanilla ice cream we were talking about earlier. [FYI – The dairy free guests told me in advance this dish would be okay for them, and I served theirs with store bought coconut milk ice cream.]
- From Jason: He prepared some of the condiments and helped me do the dirty dishes. :)
How To Make The Perfect Chocolate Soufflé
Now before I leave you with the recipe as promised, I want to be sure to share an important lesson I learned when making these soufflés the other day. I happened to make the batter in advance (always a good idea if you’ll be entertaining guests and want to actually spend some time with them), but I baked 2 of the 10 soufflés right away for my daughters (I made 1.5 recipes so I could end up with at total of 10). The two I baked right away, which I checked on once by opening the oven door, are pictured on the left below. I took that picture immediately after taking them out of the oven – look how quickly they fell flat! The other batch that sat in the fridge for a few hours first and wasn’t disrupted by me opening the oven door are pictured on the right. Quite a difference! Enjoy :)
Chocolate Soufflé
Ingredients
Instructions
- Butter six 10- to 11-ounce ramekins and place on a large baking sheet.
- In a small pot over very low heat melt the chocolate chips, butter and water (or rum or coffee) together. Some like to use a double-boiler for this, but I like to skip cooking steps whenever possible so therefore I never use a double boiler (and never have a problem). I just watch it closely and stir often. Once melted remove from the heat immediately.
- Meanwhile separate the yolks and whites of the eggs. Set aside the yolks and using an electric mixer beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together until it becomes foamy and soft peaks form. Be careful not to overmix the egg whites otherwise they can become too stiff and will therefore not easily fold into the chocolate mixture. Slowly beat the sugar into the egg white mixture.
- Whisk the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture and then, using a rubber spatula, scrape it into the egg white mixture and carefully fold to combine. Be sure to not let the heavy chocolate mixture fall and stay on the bottom of the mixing bowl. Dig deep when mixing!
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared ramekins and cover and refrigerate until ready to cook (for up to 24 hours). Bake at 375 degrees F until risen and set and the tops have a hint of dark brown, about 18 to 20 minutes. Do not open the oven to check on the souffles until the last minute or so of baking to help prevent the souffles from falling. Top with homemade ice cream if desired and serve immediately.
Notes
- Recipe from Joy of Cooking.
- We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
What kind of party doesn’t have at least a few good outtakes? Keeping themselves busy while I set up the camera… :)
Can you cook this in a mason jar?
We’ve only used ceramic baking dishes.
Looks delish! Can this recipe be used as one big soufflé instead of individual ones? Thanks!
Hi there. I’ve only made these as individuals but I think it will work as a larger souffle. I have, admittedly, not had the best luck with my attempts at a full sized souffle. :)
I read in a recipe for cheese souffle that you can “reinflate” the souffle by putting them back in the oven – it’s the steam that lends the puffiness, so you just have to get the steam to be, well, steamier. Not sure how it would translate to this dessert recipe, but thought I would mention it.
I made these soufflés for Christmas dessert and they turned out great! I baked mine in 8, 4 oz ramekins (what I had on hand) for 15 minutes. They were perfectly puffed and tasted as good as they looked. Thanks for the tip about refrigerating first, I let mine sit in the fridge for 3-4 hours and think that really helped!
I have always wanted to try making a chocolate soufflé, but Julia Child’s recipe requires making, balking and consuming immediately. I love that your recipe can be done ahead and refrigerated. Timing reminds me a bit of the gingerbread man, bake for 18 iminutes, DO not open the door, LOL
This was a huge hit!!! So easy and it made me look like I had slaved over these beautiful desserts!!! Thank you and Merry Christmas!
this reminds me of a funny blog post about exactly this–these days it seems that everyone has their own food rules and sometimes it can be hard to include everyone.
http://pantrymedicine.com/blog/2013/12/10/what-nutrition-are-you
This looks so decadent. I can’t wait to try it for my holiday party. Just one question, I am having 12 people over and don’t have enough ramekins. Can I make the soufflés in one big dish instead? Will it ruin the taste?
Hello Ashfia. Lisa stated to another reader above that she thinks one souffle dish will work. The taste should not be changed at all. ;) ~Amy
That looks like a beautiful holiday recipe – and thanks so much for the tip on souffles… and I 100% agree, there is something about a warm chocolate souffle with melty vanilla ice cream that automatically makes my mouth water. I’ve honestly viewed them as too intimidating to try making on my own. Maybe a fun project for over the holidays.
Do you think one could sub Earth Balance (soy free) for the butter and get a similar result. We eat ‘real’ food, however, we have one daughter who is allergic to soy and one that is intolerant to dairy. So Earth Balance is the only ‘butter’ we can use. By no means would it count as a ‘real’ food in terms of number of ingredients but still FAR better than the other margarine options.
Hi Maleah. Our typical dairy free sub would be coconut oil. ~Amy
I’m so sorry you thought my comment was rude. It was not ment to be , or to offend. The saying …. ( the best thing I make for dinner is reservations ! ) is a little joke in our neck of the woods and must be an Indiana thing. I had enjoyed your postings so much in the past and even gotten my daughter tuned in, we chat almost daily about your sight. Rudeness wasn’t my intention , humor was, and I do apologize for upsetting you.
Hi Midge! No, no, that was meant in jest as well. We all giggled the most about that type of comment. We know we are a pain when it comes to feeding us and I promise you did not really offend anyone! :)
Happy Holidays! ~Amy
I have never made Chocolate Souffle was always a little afraid :) but I may try your recipe.
These look delicious :) I’ve never tried a souffle before, but I might give them a go :)
These look amazing! I LOVE chocolate so I will definitely be trying these soon.
Do you think these would be ok with coconut sugar and made in 1 soufflé dish?
I have not tried that personally, but I do think it would work :)
Looks delicious, bookmarked this page. You may like this homemade chocolate recipe (not my website):
http://www.homemademommy.net/2012/05/easy-homemade-chocolate.html