Michel Roux

June 23, 2012 Iced Berry Souffle

Michel Roux Jr’s Iced Red Berry Soufflé

Continuing with my soufflé obsession, here we have an iced soufflé. Unlike a chilled soufflé which uses gelatine to stabilise the dish, a frozen soufflé can be much lighter because it’s obviously frozen. The obvious drawback in the average kitchen, I would suggest, is that you need enough free shelf space to sit the dishes for 12 hours.

On the plus side, you can make it in advance, and can actually use up those bags of frozen fruit we all seem to have in our freezer. Use the space you free up to set the soufflés! The perfect summer dinner party dish, if we ever get enough sun to truly call it summer…

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December 16, 2011 Chocolate

Michel Roux’s Chocolate Soufflé [also for Thermomix]

Chocolate souffle – the ultimate hit of chocolate, but without the guilty stodge… You can almost convince yourself that this doesn’t count… This is the joy of soufflés, they satisfy without making you feel as though you’ve eaten a whole tart… Would be delicious served with pistachio ice-cream…

Ingredients
40g softened butter, to grease dishes
40g caster sugar, to coat dishes
50g cocoa powder, sifted
240g plain chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped into small pieces
10 medium egg whites (this is the equivalent of 330g of egg white)
40g caster sugar

For the pastry cream:
350ml milk
80g caster sugar
4 medium egg yolks
30g plain flour

To finish:
icing sugar, to dust

Method:

Butter four individual 10cm soufflé dishes and coat the insides with the sugar.
To make the pastry cream, put the milk and two-thirds of the sugar in a small pan, and bring slowly to the boil. Whisk the egg yolks and remaining sugar in a bowl to a ribbon consistency, then incorporate the flour. Pour the hot milk on to the yolks, stirring continuously with a whisk. Return to the pan and whisk over a low heat for 1 minute, then pour into a bowl, cover with cling-film, and cool slightly.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6 and put a baking sheet inside to heat. Measure 280g of the pastry cream and delicately mix in the cocoa power and the chopped chocolate using a whisk. (Keep the rest of the pastry cream for another use.)
Beat the egg whites to a thick foam, then add the 40g sugar and continue to beat until the form soft peaks. Fold one-third into the pastry cream using a whisk, then delicately fold in the rest with a large spoon; the mixture will be fairly loose.
Divide the mixture between the soufflé dishes, to come level with the rim. Stand on the hot baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes. Serve the soufflés as soon as they come out of the oven on warm plates, dusting with a little icing sugar.

Thermomix Version:

Butter four individual 10cm soufflé dishes and coat the insides with the sugar.
Chop your chocolate in the Thermo bowl and set aside.
Put all the pastry cream ingredients into the bowl and cook for 7 minutes at 90C, speed 4. Give it a quick whizz at the end to ensure it’s smooth, then pour into a bowl and cover with cling film until it’s cool. This stops a skin from forming. You can also leave the Thermo on stir mode, until you’re ready to use it.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6 and put a baking sheet inside to heat. Measure 280g of the pastry cream and delicately mix in the cocoa power and the chopped chocolate using a whisk. (Keep the rest of the pastry cream for another use.)
Put the egg whites into a clean Thermomix bowl, and beat the egg whites to a thick foam on Speed 4 / 6 minutes before adding the sugar. Whisk for a further 3 minutes until the sugar is fully dissolved. Fold one-third into the pastry cream using a whisk, then delicately fold in the rest with a large spoon; the mixture will be fairly loose.
Divide the mixture between the soufflé dishes, to come level with the rim. Stand on the hot baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes. (I think this should be closer to 13 minutes, but that might be the size of my soufflé dishes!)
Serve the soufflés as soon as they come out of the oven on warm plates, dusting with a little icing sugar.

Soufflé Tips:

One of the key factors in achieving a perfect soufflé is to ensure that all of the ingredients are at the same temperature. If you’ve chilled the creme patisserie, bring it back to room temperature before you make the soufflés
I now double line my soufflé dishes – let’s face it – it takes no more time and gives a more consistent result. You could use caster sugar on the first layer, and grated chocolate on the second, if you’re prefer. I’ve found the sugar layer is best as the first layer as the granules allow the soufflé to elevate evenly. Chill the dishes in-between lining them
When filling your dishes, fill roughly half way first, and rap the dishes down onto a board to ensure that the mixture is evenly distributed over the base of the dish – this ensures an even rise… Air pockets can throw the soufflé off track and make it shoot out in strange directions
Always, always, smooth the top of your soufflé with a palette knife to ensure a flat surface. Then take your thumb and run it around the inside edge of the soufflé dish – this frees the mixture and allows it to soar!

December 16, 2011 Mango

Michel Roux’s Vanilla and Mango Soufflés with Passion Fruit Coulis

Ingredients
40g softened butter, to grease dishes
40g caster sugar, to coat dishes
8 medium egg whites
80g caster sugar
1 very ripe mango, about 400g, peeled, stoned and finely diced

For the pastry cream:
350ml milk
70g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
7 medium egg yolks
50g plain flour

For the passion fruit coulis:
30g caster sugar
juice of two oranges
2 passion fruit, halved

Preparation:
Butter 4 individual 10cm soufflé dishes and coat the insides with the sugar. To make the coulis, boil the sugar and orange juice until reduced by one third, pour into a bowl and let cool. Scrape the passion fruit seeds into the cold syrup and set aside.

For the pastry cream, put the milk and 40g sugar in a small pan, scrape in the seeds from the vanilla pods and bring slowly to the boil. Whisk the egg yolks and remaining sugar in a bowl to a ribbon consistency, then incorporate the flour. Pour the hot milk on to the yolks, stirring continuously with a whisk. Return to the pan and whisk over a low heat for 1 minute, then pour into a bowl, cover with cling-film, and cool slighty.

Preheat the over to 200oC/Gas 6 and put a baking sheet inside to heart. Beat the egg whites to a thick foam, then add the 80g sugar and continue to beat until the form soft peaks. Fold one-third into the pastry cream using a whisk, then delicately fold in the rest with a large spoon, scattering in the mango as you go.

Divide the mixture between the soufflé dishes, to come level with the rim. Stand on the hot baking sheet and cook for 8 minutes. Serve the soufflés as soon as they come out of the oven on warm plates, with the coulis in a sauceboat. Invite guests to make a small well in the middle of their soufflés with a little spoon, and pour in a little of the coulis.

Serves 4