Sweet Eggs

I finally made a souffle. Souffles are one of those things that I've talked about baking for years, but never have attempted - there's SO much expectation of the "perfect souffle", how difficult the process is, and on and on. So, ashamedly, I have never attempted... until now.

Egg Tech 2 = sweet eggs. One of the first days of school, I remember finishing the sanitation lecture (or something as boring as that) and Geri, the Natural Gourmet's secretary, was enjoying a beautiful creme caramel made by one of the classes above - I thought I would never be able to make that. We started egg 2 by making meringues. I've made meringue to put on top of banana pudding more times than I can remember, so I guess this wasn't quite that difficult for me. Egg whites and maple crystals whipped until stiff peaks, piped onto parchment paper, and baked for an hour or two... Simple enough. We used maple crystals because they are much more natural than highly processed, refined, and chemically-dyed white sugar. Though not tangibly "healthier" than white sugar, the more natural and less refined a product is, the more health-supportive it will be.

The maple crystals also imparted a sort of "toasted" flavor - a slight hint of coffee to my palate. Extremely delicious...
After meringues, we moved on to egg custards and creams... creme caramel and creme anglaise.

Fresh sliced strawberries on top of a dollup of creme anglaise is a perfectly rich, but light summer dessert. Hot milk is tempered in to the beaten egg yolks and sugar, often flavored with vanilla or liqueur. Classically made with heavy cream or whole milk, we exchanged almond milk to create a more healthy, tolerable cream. The almond also gave an extra depth of flavor.
And last but not least, we attempted the souffle. Souffles are one dessert that cannot be revamped as "healthy". The science behind the ingredients is exact, and the souffle won't "souffle" if you change things... So we melted chocolate, tempered in egg yolks and milk, and then beat the egg whites until stiff peaks (but not as stiff as meringues). It's helpful to add a small bit of the whites into the chocolate mixture to "loosen" it up. Then, gingerly, we added the rest of the whites into the chocolate mixture, carefully folding in an up and over motion. Mixing until the whites are just barely folded in, we quickly scooped the batter into greased souffle cups and into the oven they went.

It's imperative not to open the oven while the souffles are cooking. Opening the door will let out heat, let in cool air, and change the convectional flow that is helping to cook and lift the dish. As soon as a "chocolatey" smell fills the room, the souffles are done. They should be tall and fluffy, crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside. (of course, you won't be able to determine to inner texture until you dip into the souffle)

If you want a richer, more decadent dessert (which of course we did), it's okay (and delicious) to poke a small hole in the top and pour a bit of the freshly made cream anglaise into the center of the souffle. To cover the whole, a sliver of dark chocolate or a fresh berry would be beautiful!

The one thing about a souffle, though, is that they don't keep! You MUST serve them immediately or they will fall and become dense, thick cakes, and they will not live up to their decadent expectation that all souffles provoke. (not that they aren't very tasty pulled from the refrigerator as a midnight snack (not that I have experience... :))