Valentine's Day Desserts: Chocolate Souffle with Chambord Creme

Isn't it wonderful that we have an entire day devoted to love, romance, and chocolate!  And since I LOVE chocolate, here's a tribute to my Valentine; deep, dark, rich chocolate!

Soufflés have always intimidated me. As I have learned, soufflés are not difficult. AND they are simply lovely, fluffy, delightful bites of heaven. You can try any sort of topping for this dessert. It's perfect hot out of the oven with just a drizzle of heavy cream... but I wanted something special and really romantic for all of you celebrating Valentine's Day at home... so break out the chocolate, the whipping cream and the Chambord. Doesn't that just sound like a party?

Soufflé au CHOCOLATE

Makes 4 individual servings

Prep: 20 minutes Bake: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon cocoa

1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for the ramekins

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped finely

3 large egg yolks, room temperature

6 large egg whites, room temperature

1/16 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375. Butter each ramekin. Dust with the cocoa and sugar. Set aside.

Carefully melt the chocolate over simmering water. Chocolate burns quickly so don't leave it unattended. Stir until just completely melted then remove the chocolate from the heat. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, gently whisking them together with the chocolate. Sit aside.  

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with salt on medium speed until they are shiny and form soft peaks. Then turn the mixer on high and add the sugar, a little at a time until the egg whites will hold stiff shiny peaks.

Next, begin to incorporate the egg whites into the chocolate. This is an important step. You do not want to deflate the egg whites, but you do need to make sure there are no visible whites peeking through. Use a large spoon, spatula, or whisk; work gently. Add about a cup of the egg whites to the chocolate to smooth out the chocolate a bit. Then add the rest, 1/3 at a time, spooning up and over, very gently, to incorporate. It should be very light and fluffy, but make sure you have no threads of white peeking through the chocolate.

Spoon into the prepared ramekins- leaving about 1/2 inch at the top.

You can let these sit for up to 30 minutes before baking or you can bake them immediately.

CHAMBORD (RASPBERRY) CREME

Make this a few hours ahead.... and the white chocolate step is optional if you are short on time.

1 cup fresh raspberries

1/2 cup Chambord (raspberry liqueurl) plus 2 Tablespoons

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream plus 2 Tablespoons

1 Tablespoon Confectioner's sugar

2 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped

First, put raspberries in the Chambord and let them soak to absorb the flavor.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, stirring to make sure it does not burn. Add 2 Tablespoons heavy cream or whipping cream to make the mixture smooth. Set aside.

Make whipped cream as usual.... Mix on medium, incorporate the sugar and 2 Tablespoons Chambord. Turn up to high and whip until stiff peaks form. With a whisk, add the whipped cream to the white chocolate. Refrigerate until serving time.

When the souffle comes out of the oven, top with the cream and raspberries. Drizzle a litle of the liquid from the raspberries over each. You can omit the cream and just use the raspberries! It's good that way, too!