Geoffrey Zakarian's Chile Orange Chocolate Souffle _ The Kitchen _ Food Network

**Making the Perfect Chocolate Soufflé**

As we begin making our chocolate soufflé, it's essential to understand that this dish requires patience and attention to detail. The first step is to combine 2 tablespoons of butter with 1 tablespoon of flour in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. This creates a roux, which will serve as the base for our soufflé. We add 1 cup of milk to the saucepan and continue cooking until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally.

Once the roux has formed, we remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly. At this point, we can start adding other ingredients to create a rich and decadent flavor profile. I'm using bittersweet chocolate in my soufflé, which will give it a deep and complex taste. We add 1 cup of melted chocolate to the roux, stirring until it's well combined.

To temper our egg yolks, we slowly pour some of the warm chocolate mixture into them, whisking constantly. This ensures that the eggs don't scramble when we add them to the soufflé. Next, we fold a small amount of this mixture back into the rest of the chocolate base, ensuring everything is well combined.

Now it's time to add our egg whites. We whip them until they become stiff and hold their shape, but still retain some moisture. This will be crucial in giving our soufflé its light and airy texture. To incorporate the egg whites into the mixture, we use a gentle folding technique. This involves taking a small amount of the egg white mixture and gently incorporating it into the rest of the chocolate base.

**The Art of Folding**

Folding is an essential skill when making a soufflé. It's easy to overmix or undermix, which can affect the final texture and structure of the dish. The goal is to create a light and airy mixture without deflating the egg whites. I like to think of folding as a gentle dance between the two mixtures.

To fold, we take a small amount of the egg white mixture and gently pour it into the rest of the chocolate base. We then use a spatula or whisk to gently incorporate the new mixture, working from the center outwards. It's essential to be patient and gentle when folding, as this will help preserve the air pockets in the egg whites.

**Preparing the Ramekins**

Before we pour our soufflé batter into the ramekins, it's essential to prepare them properly. We need to butter and sugar each ramekin, making sure they're well coated with a thin layer of sugar. This will help create a golden-brown crust on the soufflé as it bakes.

To prepare the ramekins, we place a small amount of granulated sugar in each one and rub it into the butter to coat evenly. We then turn the ramekins upside down onto a plate and gently shake them to remove any excess sugar.

**Baking the Soufflés**

Now that our soufflé batter is ready, we can pour it into the prepared ramekins. It's essential to fill each one about 3/4 of the way full, leaving a small border at the top for even cooking. We then place the ramekins on the middle rack of the oven and set the temperature to 350°F (175°C).

As we bake the soufflés, it's crucial to maintain a gentle heat. This will help prevent them from rising too quickly or collapsing in the oven. We also need to make sure they have enough room to expand, so we place them on the middle rack and away from any direct air vents.

**Tempering the Oven**

To ensure our soufflés bake evenly, it's essential to temper the oven. This involves baking the ramekins for a shorter period at a higher temperature, followed by a longer period at a lower temperature. By doing this, we can create a gentle heat that will help cook the soufflé evenly and prevent it from rising too quickly.

**The Finishing Touches**

Once our soufflés have baked for 18 minutes, we remove them from the oven and let them cool for a few seconds. We then run a spatula around the edges of each ramekin to loosen the soufflé and help it release from the sides.

To serve, we place each soufflé on a plate and dust it with powdered sugar. This adds a touch of elegance and sophistication to our dish. We can also serve our soufflé with a side of caramelized bananas or other fruits to add some texture and flavor contrast.

**The Magic of Soufflés**

There's something magical about soufflés – they're light, airy, and utterly delicious. When we combine the right ingredients in the right proportions, and then bake them to perfection, we create a dish that's truly special. Whether you're serving it at a dinner party or enjoying it as a comforting dessert, soufflé is sure to impress.

In this recipe, I've used bittersweet chocolate to add depth and complexity to our soufflé. The result is a rich and decadent flavor profile that's sure to satisfy even the most discerning palates. With patience, attention to detail, and a gentle touch, we can create a truly magical dessert that will leave our guests in awe.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: eni'm going to share the secret to my chili orange chocolate souffle which we didn't do with liserk so i'm going to put a pan on the fire here i have a little milk i'm making a roux so i'm going to put a little bit of salt orange zest chili pepper wow i know i know it's controversial i'm gonna stir that around pepper just pepperoncini dried pepperoncini nothing fancy and sugar okay this is gonna be the base for my roux and while that's just heating up we don't wanna get that too hot we just want to get that warm so that we're going to when the addition of the flour and butter go in the roux comes together so that's there we have egg whites try to get them as room temperature as possible uh and we've wiped the bowl with either white vinegar or you can sprinkle tartaric acid in it or cream of tartar just helps the ph and the egg white explode and get like beautiful and fluffy so we want to start this slow i start with sugar this is what we used to do and then i end with sugar in the middle you know just a little bit of sugar all the time and at the end the rest of it okay so while that's going on this is warming i'm gonna make my panad okay so i'm gonna take soft butter flour and just sort of mash that in here it's defined to us bernard jeopardy butter and flour softened and it's just it's coming together like that now you can do it in your hand you grab some butter and flour go like this throw it in the sauce and it thickens the sauce right up okay so i'm gonna put this right into the cream mixture all right and that's step one of step two so it's starting to come together i'm gonna add a little more sugar okay stir this at this point in time try to get a whisk because we're going to add eggs and chocolate to this mixture oh the smell of the the chili and the orange is fantastic so this is going to come together quite quickly and don't worry if it seems lumpy it's what you did right now is probably the opposite what i always say to do hot to hot but you see how it is right now yeah the roo's form we're going to cook it just a little longer not too much and if it gets a little thick just add a touch of milk it's fine so this is the base nice and thick it's okay it's supposed to be thick because it's it's a roux and we'd simply add the base to a pan get at room temperature and fold in this mixture then we're gonna add a little to the bowl we're gonna add our yolks so we don't scramble them like this a little tempering a little quick tempering there yeah and i'm gonna put this right in here and i'm gonna add my chocolate to the roux just like that and melt it like that just darken we're done we are done yeah what kind of chocolate are you using so this is bittersweet chocolate which is chocolate it's a little bitter really good really delicious look at that can you see that see that's like a chocolate paste so so that's like amazing to me put it right in here all right now we have our chocolate base this is what the souffle will be able to give you the cha it'll convey the chocolate to you this right here but it needs lift and the lift is the egg white so it's a very simple method and you can do it with anything so like i said this is the base you would make the flour the butter the milk and then anything you want into it and we have the chocolate which is this one so exciting it's bringing back a lot of memories good ones actually stop crying okay foldage is that a word foldage is a word now so we're gonna take a little of this in here and we're gonna really get it in there this is what you probably are taught not to do just stir it up this is gonna form almost temper the egg whites also but make it easier for me to fold the rest of this mixture in okay then we're gonna take it and plop it just in and around okay very gently yeah turning the bowl while using that pointy edge of the spatula just wanna make sure you don't over whip it but you have to get it together so now we're gonna pour really important that these are buttered and sugared what does that mean soft butter pour bunch of sugar in it turn it so everything gets really sugared really important look at that and so you know that you have enough which i do just want to put a little bit in everything then go back what's what's the goal here with the fill to the top to the top yeah and i'm gonna show you a little secret that usually works the battery is done properly cha man okay just top it off right like this and then your oven is at 350 degrees okay you don't want to kill these you have to have like a gentle heat so put them on the medium bottom rack so they have some room to expand and nothing above them obviously and then before they go in you want to give them a little wrap on the bottom so we spread them apart like you mentioned to get even heat distribution just uh like that and then take your thumb and put it in barely this helps get an even seal on the edge okay and you're just kind of creating a space between the top right yes and it makes hopefully for straighter sides very cool into the oven about 18 minutes you can open the oven that's a wives tale you don't want to keep it open but i like to turn it halfway through because some ovens aren't um even cooking yeah the back is hotter you get every oven is a little all right i thought a little bit about it watch through the oven door dish oh oh oh i think we got a bunch that are ready oh i see it dies look that be careful here we are oh chocolate that's gorgeous okay so onto a plate we don't want to mess around onto a plate oh oh a little powdered sugar oh sugar powdered sugar and this is creme anglaise which you just put in the middle like this this makes me so happy you just put it right down the center if you don't have caramel glaze melted ice cream there you have it let's souffle we try oh yes so hot that's what i love so so hot no one doesn't smile at the table when you bring it totally you're happy and for one minute you suspend everything and just enjoy the souffle youi'm going to share the secret to my chili orange chocolate souffle which we didn't do with liserk so i'm going to put a pan on the fire here i have a little milk i'm making a roux so i'm going to put a little bit of salt orange zest chili pepper wow i know i know it's controversial i'm gonna stir that around pepper just pepperoncini dried pepperoncini nothing fancy and sugar okay this is gonna be the base for my roux and while that's just heating up we don't wanna get that too hot we just want to get that warm so that we're going to when the addition of the flour and butter go in the roux comes together so that's there we have egg whites try to get them as room temperature as possible uh and we've wiped the bowl with either white vinegar or you can sprinkle tartaric acid in it or cream of tartar just helps the ph and the egg white explode and get like beautiful and fluffy so we want to start this slow i start with sugar this is what we used to do and then i end with sugar in the middle you know just a little bit of sugar all the time and at the end the rest of it okay so while that's going on this is warming i'm gonna make my panad okay so i'm gonna take soft butter flour and just sort of mash that in here it's defined to us bernard jeopardy butter and flour softened and it's just it's coming together like that now you can do it in your hand you grab some butter and flour go like this throw it in the sauce and it thickens the sauce right up okay so i'm gonna put this right into the cream mixture all right and that's step one of step two so it's starting to come together i'm gonna add a little more sugar okay stir this at this point in time try to get a whisk because we're going to add eggs and chocolate to this mixture oh the smell of the the chili and the orange is fantastic so this is going to come together quite quickly and don't worry if it seems lumpy it's what you did right now is probably the opposite what i always say to do hot to hot but you see how it is right now yeah the roo's form we're going to cook it just a little longer not too much and if it gets a little thick just add a touch of milk it's fine so this is the base nice and thick it's okay it's supposed to be thick because it's it's a roux and we'd simply add the base to a pan get at room temperature and fold in this mixture then we're gonna add a little to the bowl we're gonna add our yolks so we don't scramble them like this a little tempering a little quick tempering there yeah and i'm gonna put this right in here and i'm gonna add my chocolate to the roux just like that and melt it like that just darken we're done we are done yeah what kind of chocolate are you using so this is bittersweet chocolate which is chocolate it's a little bitter really good really delicious look at that can you see that see that's like a chocolate paste so so that's like amazing to me put it right in here all right now we have our chocolate base this is what the souffle will be able to give you the cha it'll convey the chocolate to you this right here but it needs lift and the lift is the egg white so it's a very simple method and you can do it with anything so like i said this is the base you would make the flour the butter the milk and then anything you want into it and we have the chocolate which is this one so exciting it's bringing back a lot of memories good ones actually stop crying okay foldage is that a word foldage is a word now so we're gonna take a little of this in here and we're gonna really get it in there this is what you probably are taught not to do just stir it up this is gonna form almost temper the egg whites also but make it easier for me to fold the rest of this mixture in okay then we're gonna take it and plop it just in and around okay very gently yeah turning the bowl while using that pointy edge of the spatula just wanna make sure you don't over whip it but you have to get it together so now we're gonna pour really important that these are buttered and sugared what does that mean soft butter pour bunch of sugar in it turn it so everything gets really sugared really important look at that and so you know that you have enough which i do just want to put a little bit in everything then go back what's what's the goal here with the fill to the top to the top yeah and i'm gonna show you a little secret that usually works the battery is done properly cha man okay just top it off right like this and then your oven is at 350 degrees okay you don't want to kill these you have to have like a gentle heat so put them on the medium bottom rack so they have some room to expand and nothing above them obviously and then before they go in you want to give them a little wrap on the bottom so we spread them apart like you mentioned to get even heat distribution just uh like that and then take your thumb and put it in barely this helps get an even seal on the edge okay and you're just kind of creating a space between the top right yes and it makes hopefully for straighter sides very cool into the oven about 18 minutes you can open the oven that's a wives tale you don't want to keep it open but i like to turn it halfway through because some ovens aren't um even cooking yeah the back is hotter you get every oven is a little all right i thought a little bit about it watch through the oven door dish oh oh oh i think we got a bunch that are ready oh i see it dies look that be careful here we are oh chocolate that's gorgeous okay so onto a plate we don't want to mess around onto a plate oh oh a little powdered sugar oh sugar powdered sugar and this is creme anglaise which you just put in the middle like this this makes me so happy you just put it right down the center if you don't have caramel glaze melted ice cream there you have it let's souffle we try oh yes so hot that's what i love so so hot no one doesn't smile at the table when you bring it totally you're happy and for one minute you suspend everything and just enjoy the souffle you\n"