Normally when we have people for dinner, it's 8 people, the maximum that comfortably fits at the table, so I try not make things that require me to do a lot of last-minute preparation because it's too chaotic. Especially desserts- after a little wine and what have you, the last thing I want to do is mess with some tricky dessert thing.

Not so tonight! We only had TWO friends over, and their lovely little girl. They requested something with dark chocolate. So I felt compelled to make souffles. Again, I would never do this for more than 4 people, but with four, and an otherwise leisurely day to prep, it was easy as pie. Easier, in fact. I mean, many people are intimidated by souffles, but in truth they are actually simpler in many ways than a lot of other things that might seem easier.


Put a napkin on the plate, or else it's too slidey.

This is from a super-modded epicurious recipe that's for 8 people, which I rough-cut in half. I am recalcitrant about cutting it in half and writing down the half recipe since you will notice there are odd amounts (5 egg whites, 3/4 cup milk, etc) and since I eyeballed a lot of stuff. So I'm going to go ahead and give you the recipe for 8- and suggest that you make the chocolate base, split it in half, and invite 2 people for Saturday night and 2 more for Sunday. That will also give you a chance to perfect your souffle-baking technique, in case it doesn't go so well the first time! Plus you will get to eat them 2 times. Yum!

How do you make 2 1/2 egg whites? There are a couple of ways. You could assume the recipe is working with large eggs, and either buy small eggs and use 3, or buy super extra grande eggs and use 2. Or, you can do what I did, which is separate a large egg, and spoon approximately half of the white into the trash (or a separate bowl if you will be saving the other half for day 2.) Then use 2 other whole whites. Voila! Magic.

It's an old pastry chef's trick to use a little bit of coffee to make dark chocolate taste more chocolatey and rich. You don't even need to use the coffee extract- it wasn't in the original recipe. I used something called Trablit, which is a sweet syrupy extract of super dark coffee, but I don't think you can buy it in the U.S. (and a quick search of the web just seemed to show you can't easily buy a small quantity online, either. I bought my little bottle at Le Bon Marche in Paris about 4 years ago, and since you only need a tiny bit it lasts for quite awhile.) But no matter.  You could use a little bit of espresso, a pinch of espresso powder, a little leftover coffee saved from the morning- especially good if you use a French press and let it sit in the press all day! And if you DO happen to go to Paris someday, go to the food section of Le Bon Marche (in the 7th Arrondissement), which is coincidentally one of the happiest places in the Karenverse, and buy yourself a bottle for the future- it's great for tiramisu as well. Also it is one of the only things you will both be able to afford AND transport from Le Bon Marche food section. But I digress.

Also, you don't need to make the sauce, but it was pretty easy, and fun to make a wee hole in the top of the souffle and pour in the sauce. It makes it extra molten and chocolatey. You might want to have milk and/or vanilla ice cream on hand, because the thing is damn chocolatey, especially with the sauce. I made up the sauce, so the measurements are not going to be exact but with only a couple ingredients you should be OK. It should look like Hershey's syrup in terms of consistency and color and texture, more or less, but taste like dark chocolate and not corn syrup.


Dark Chocolate Souffles with Dark Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients:

• 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used some Trader Joe's 72% bars, and just broke them on their little break lines, because I hate chopping chocolate and I hate cleaning the cutting board afterwards, and it was fine.)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon coffee extract or 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder or 1 teaspoon strong brewed espresso (optional)
• 4 egg yolks
• 5 egg whites
• 2 large pinches salt

Method:

• Place chocolate and butter in medium bowl.
• In another smaller bowl, whisk 1/4 cup sugar, flour, 1 large pinch salt, and cocoa powder.
• Put milk and vanilla (and coffee, if you're using it) to boil in heavy small saucepan.
• When it boils, pour it slowly into the sugar/flour/cocoa mixture and whisk to blend. Return mixture to saucepan.
• Cook over medium-high heat until thick paste forms, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. It should be about the texture of ketchup and should make large bubbles for around 30 seconds- you have to cook the flour.
• Scrape mixture into bowl with chocolate and butter and whisk until chocolate and butter are melted. It might look kind of grainy, but it's OK as long as the chocolate and butter are melted.
• Add egg yolks and whisk until mixture looks shiny and creamy.
• The base can be prepared 1 day ahead- but make sure to put plastic wrap pressed onto the surface so a skin doesn't form. If you will be using it within 4 hours or so, just leave it out, but if longer, refrigerate and bring to room temp before the next step.
• About 20 minutes before serving, preheat oven to 350.
• Butter 8 souffle cups (just grab a knob of butter and rub it all over the bottom and sides) and then dust the inside with sugar. Set on a baking sheet.
• Using a whisk attachment on a mixer, beat the egg whites and a large pinch of salt until frothy. Add 3T sugar and beat to soft peaks.
• Fold about 1/3 of the whites into the chocolate to get the chocolate mixture closer in texture to the whites. Then, add the chocolate into the whites bowl and gently fold the egg whites in just until blended. DO NOT OVERMIX! It's better to have a few white streaks than to deflate the mixture.
• Bake until souffles puff above the rim of the dish, the tops are flat, and the edges are set and not smooshy, about 12 minutes. Serve immediately.

Dark Chocolate Sauce
Here's a secret for you: most chocolate sauces consist of heating up some cream until it just bubbles, turning off the heat, and adding in chocolate and stirring it until it melts- and then adding butter for richness, OR extract or liqueur for flavor, OR sugar for sweetness. That's it! It makes a beautiful dark glossy sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of heavy cream or half and half
• a big handful of dark chocolate chips or chunks
• a dash of coffee extract, espresso powder, or strong brewed espresso, if desired
• powdered sugar, if desired

Method:

• Heat the cream in a small saucepan until small bubbles form around the edge. Turn off the heat.
• Add chocolate and whisk until glossy and dark. If it looks milk chocolate color, add more chocolate.
• Add extract and whisk. Taste and if it's too bitter (as mine was) add a teaspoonful of powdered sugar and whisk in. Keep tasting and adding more teaspoonfuls until it's the appropriate sweetness.
• Pour into a pitcher and serve with souffles.
• You can make this lickety-split while the souffles are in the oven.