Hot Chocolate Souffle

Ingredients

• Butter for greasing
• 5 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 5 eggs at room temperature, separated
• ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 ½ cups heavy cream, whipped (optional)

4 servings

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Butter a one-quart souffle dish or four eight-ounce souffle dishes.
3. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and add the sugar and vanilla. Allow the mixture to cool.
4. Whisk the egg yolks until they are pale yellow. Gradually stir them into the warm (but not hot) chocolate. The recipe can be prepared ahead to this point.
5. Beat the egg whites until they stand up in glossy peaks. Stir one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then gradually fold in the rest.
6. Bake souffle in center of oven for about 25 minutes for a large souffle, about 10 minutes for smaller ones. Remove from oven, dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve. Pass whipped cream separately.

1 hour