Egg White Recipe: Easy Chocolate Souffle - Food Faith Fitness (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to a soufflé? ›

Heat matters. Make sure the oven is preheated; that initial hot blast expands the air trapped inside the bubbly foam of batter, which makes it rise. Having the soufflé base hot or warm when you fold in the egg whites helps the temperature rise quickly, too.

Simply beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight). This will take 4 to 5 minutes total.

Make sure the bowl you whisk the egg whites in is free from any greasy residue. Make sure that no egg yolk is in with the egg whites. Egg yolks are very high in fat and will hinder the whisking process. Cream of tartar is an acidic powder extracted during winemaking.

According to La Varenne Practique (a timeless masterwork you should consider owning if learning more about classic French cooking appeals), there are only a few critical points to perfecting a souffle: a base of the right consistency, stiff egg whites, and the careful folding of the base and the beaten whites.

If the egg whites are not mixed enough, they will be too heavy to rise, but if they are over-whipped they will collapse in the oven. Finally, and most problematically, any cross-contamination between yolks and whites will cause the whole concoction to collapse, which is the bane of many dessert chefs' days.

Any amount of oil or fat of any type left over from previous use will keep the whites from setting up. Chill your bowl and beater first. This really helps as does adding a small amount of cream of tartar. Any amount of egg yolk that gets into the egg whites will keep them from fluffing.

Make sure the bowl and beaters are scrupulously clean and dry before using them. Add 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar for every 2 egg whites to maximize volume and prevent them from drying out. Beat on high speed until soft peaks form, add sugar gradually, while beating to stiff peaks.

For optimum volume and smoothest texture, sugar should be added gradually, beginning only after the whites have been beaten to the foamy stage (about double in volume). Adding some or all of the sugar before you begin beating the egg whites will result in less volume.

If your whipped egg whites become curdled and dry, they have gone too far. After excessive whipping, the proteins can get so close to each other, they essentially suffocate and expel the water contained within their circle, causing your foam to separate.

You've reached stiff peak stage when the egg whites are smooth, moist, shiny, and the tips can stand straight up. This is what they should look like just before they are folded in with other ingredients.

Can you overcook egg whites? ›

The resulting network of proteins captures water, making a soft, digestible gel. If you keep the heat turned up too high or too long when you cook an egg, the proteins in the egg white form more and more bonds, squeezing some of the water out of the protein network and making the egg white rubbery.

Why Are My Egg Whites Not Whipping? The most common reason is because there is some sort of fat (egg yolk, grease/oil/butter) present. This can happen if you get egg yolk into the whites, or there is residue from past cooking or baking projects on your bowl or the beaters.

Meringue powder is most commonly used in recipes that call for egg whites that aren't baked or cooked.

Some souffle dishes have a collar, and some people add one with tin foil in order to make the souffle rise higher. If your dish has a collar, fill it all the way to the top of the pan. If it doesn't have one, three quarters of the way will do. Those souffles that collapse when a pin drops are too dry.

Place the ramekins on the hot baking tray (to give them an immediate burst of heat) in the top of the oven and bake for 8–12 minutes until well risen and cooked, but still uniformly wobbly when lightly shaken. Serve immediately. There should be about 1 tsp undercooked soufflé mixture in the centre.