Chocolate Souffle

A French dessert that enchants the very chocolatiers. It consists of making a chocolate base to which whipped egg whites are added and then baked. It is very easy to do by following a few basic rules.

INGREDIENTS (4 people)

• 200 grams (7 oz) of dark chocolate (minimum 70%)
• 150 grams (5.3 oz)  of icing sugar
• half a liter (5 cups) of milk
• 5 eggs
• 50 grams (1.8 oz) of cocoa powder

The first thing to do is preheat the oven to 200 degrees (392 F). It is very important that it is already at the correct temperature when we introduce the souffle.

First, put a large pot of water on the fire. In a smaller pot than the previous one we introduce the chocolate tablet made in pieces with the milk and place it inside the first one (be careful not to let the water overflow). This is how we melt it, in a bain-marie. Although the amount of sugar to introduce will depend on the one that the tablet has, in principle we pour about 80 grams (2.8 oz) of icing sugar. Stir well to mix, now on very low heat.

Separate the whites from the yolks.

Beat the yolks with the rods and add the cocoa powder. We incorporate the yolks into the melted chocolate in a bain-marie, mix well and we can now remove from the heat. We set aside.

Now we are going to mount the egg whites.

We beat the egg whites with the rods and to make them mount faster we add a few drops of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Halfway through, add the remaining 70 grams (2.4 oz) of sugar. They must be very firm, so that when turning the bowl the egg whites should not fall.

Now we are going to mix the whipped egg whites with the chocolate. With gentle movements from top to bottom and using a wide palette, we introduce the whipped egg whites into the chocolate - never the other way around - until they are well integrated. We set aside.

In a silicone mold of about 20 cm (8 inches) in diameter or another very greased disposable aluminum, we introduce the mass obtained. It should be about three-quarters full so it doesn't overflow too much (it will, but it won't spill over the sides).

Put in the oven for exactly 30 minutes, not one more, not one less. And nothing to open to check how it is. If you do, it will fall apart and instead of souffle you will have a kind of brownie.

It is served immediately, it is not allowed to cool (at most it is allowed to remain at a temperature sufficient to handle it without problems).