Chocolate Souffle Recipe
Chocolate Souffle is a beautiful dessert, perfect for Valentine’s day, Mother’s day or for when you want to surprise your loved one with the best chocolate souffle ever. This easy chocolate souffle serves 4 people. Make them in souffle ramekins (9 cm / 3.5-inches in diameter and 4,5 cm / 1.8-inch high).
Sugar - In this recipe, we need sugar in three steps. First, we add sugar to the base of the souffle, with milk and flour, then we add a small amount to the egg whites and lastly, we coat the ramekins with sugar to assure the souffle will rise evenly. Use granulated white sugar. Not to worry, this souffle is not too sweet.
All-purpose flour - Always use all-purpose flour or plain flour.
Milk - Use full-fat milk or other lactose-free milk.
Butter - High-quality unsalted butter is best for this souffle recipe.
Chocolate - It is so so important to use good, high-quality chocolate (45% - 65% cacao).
Eggs - There’s no substitute for eggs in this recipe. If possible, it’s best to weight the egg yolks and egg whites for the best results.
Chocolate souffle needs love and attention, so we recommend carefully weighing all the ingredients used in this recipe.
How to bake a chocolate souffle? How do you know when chocolate souffle is done?
There are a few tricks and tips to make foolproof chocolate souffle. This is what you need to know:
1. Grease each ramekin and coat it with sugar: Before adding the souffle batter to the ramekins make sure to grease each ramekin with butter (bottom and sides) and coat with sugar (bottom and sides). If you will leave out even a small part, the souffle won’t rise evenly.
2. Level the top of the souffle before baking: As seen on the photo above, the top of the souffle is straight. Using a palette knife level off the surface, scraping any excess mixture back into the bowl with the souffle batter. The ramekins must be filled with a nice, straight edge. This way the souffle will rise evenly while baking.
3. The oven must be preheated: Before placing the baking sheet with souffles in the oven, make sure that the oven is preheated to the temperature needed. If you add the souffle to a cold oven it won’t rise. Also, don’t open the doors while the souffle is baking or the souffle will fall down.
4. Souffle Baking time: Bake for 16 minutes at 190 °C / 375 °F (or 175 °C / 350 °F - convection oven) for a nice, gooey interior OR for 18 minutes for a nice, airy and light interior OR bake for 20 minutes for well baked. We usually bake between 16 - 18 minutes.
Serve immediately, because the souffle will start falling down once out of the oven.
Why do souffles fall
The souffle is falling down because of its structure. The chocolate batter isn’t fully baked, which is also what good souffle is all about - gooey, soft, airy interior. The proteins in the batter aren’t fully baked, so they aren’t “stable”, which results in a batter falling together. It’s super important to have that in mind and serve the souffle straight from the oven because after about 5 minutes it will start falling down. However, if you overbake the souffle it won’t fall down, but in our opinion, there’s no magic in that.
What is the difference between a souffle and a molten lava cake
The ingredients are the same in chocolate souffle or in molten lava cakes (click for the recipe). The differences on the other hand are:
Souffle:
- Ingredients: same or similar
- Preparation: Souffle is made with a cooked base made out of milk and flour (in some cases also with pastry cream or creme patissiere). We add chocolate (or cheese, coffee…) to that base along with egg whites to get a nice, smooth texture that is baked.
- Texture: Light, gooey, airy interior and nice, evenly baked exterior with lovely crusty edges.
- Serve: Serve immediately, because after about 5 minutes the souffle will start falling down. Serve straight from the ramekin that the souffle was baked in.
- Storing & Freezing: You can store the cooked base (without the egg whites) in the fridge for up to 5 days. Freezing sadly isn’t possible.
Molten Lava Cake:
- Ingredients: same or similar
- Preparation: All the ingredients are mixed together in a bowl, there's no cooking.
- Texture: Soft, rich and runny interior, and an evenly baked “cakey” exterior.
- Serve: Serve immediately or in about 10 minutes after you removed it from the oven or the interior won’t be nice and runny anymore. You can either serve the lava cakes straight from the ramekins or transfer them to a nice serving plate.
- Storing & Freezing: You can freeze the molten lava cake batter. Fill the ramekins with the batter and freeze for up to a month. Once you decide to bake them, place the frozen ramekins to the preheated oven to bake.
Can chocolate souffle be prepared in advance
You can store the cooked base (without the egg whites) in the fridge for up to 5 days. Freezing sadly isn’t possible.
How to make Easy Chocolate Souffle (recipe video)
METHOD
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dry ingredients
Add dry ingredients to a saucepan: sugar, all-purpose flour, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine. Add the milk and stir to combine using a whisk.
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cook the ingredients
Place the saucepan over high heat and add the butter, cut on small cubes. Using a whisk, stir until the butter is completely incorporated. Make sure you stir on the bottom of the saucepan as well to prevent the mixture from sticking to the pan. Bring to a boil, then cook for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat. Add the chopped chocolate, incorporate using a whisk. Add the egg yolks and incorporate them as well using a whisk.
TipAt this point, you can store the mixture in the fridge for up to five days. -
prepare the souffle ramekins
Preheat your oven to 190 °C / 375 °F (preheat to 175 °C / 350 °F if you are using a convection oven). Grease your souffle ramekins (9 cm / 3.5-inches in diameter and 4,5 cm / 1.8-inch high) generously with butter. Add a tablespoon of sugar to each ramekin. Coat each ramekin (bottom and sides) with sugar, turn the ramekin after coating to get rid of any excess sugar. It’s super important to grease and coat the ramekins evenly or the souffle will not rise evenly while baking.
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beat the egg whites
Beat the egg whites until you get stiff peaks. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed. When the egg whites become frothy, add the sugar and beat until the egg whites have a stiff peak. Fold third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Then gradually gently fold in the remaining whites using a spatula. The mixture has to be light, airy and smooth.
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fill the souffle ramekins
Fill the ramekins to the top. Using a palette knife level off the surface, scraping any excess mixture back into the bowl with the souffle batter. The ramekins must be filled with a nice, straight edge. Clean the edges of your souffle ramekin with a kitchen towel for a prettier presentation later.
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bake and serve
Place the ramekins onto a large baking sheet and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 16 minutes at 190 °C / 375 °F (or 175 °C / 350 °F - convection oven) for a nice, gooey interior OR for 18 minutes for a nice, airy and light interior OR bake for 20 minutes for well baked. We usually bake between 16 - 18 minutes. Serve immediately. Optionally sprinkle your chocolate souffle with cocoa powder or serve with vanilla bean ice cream or homemade vanilla sauce.
