Peach & White Chocolate Soufflé
This soufflé just melts in the mouth. The texture is very similar to that of a Japanese cheesecake - soft, airy and so so tender.
Sometimes a moment calls for something that’s not rich, heavy and oozing chocolate - which has it’s moments too, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes the feather light texture of a soufflé is all you need to finish off an incredible meal - light and sweet, pared beautifully with fresh, juicy ripe peaches. In fact, I found this recipe to be an amazing way to showcase the incredible peaches that are in season right now as the soufflé didn’t overpower their flavour - just divine!
Now, you might be right in thinking that the common soufflé has a bad reputation for being a bit tricky in the rising, and more specifically, in the falling department. I assure you that with this recipe you will find yourself treated with the most pillow-y soft "‘cake’ you’ve ever created. It’s a true feeling of achievement once you take this soufflé from the oven, still wobbly and tall. And an even bigger sense of pride to peel back the baking paper 15 minutes later to see that it hasn’t fallen into a sloppy puddle on your oven tray. Spoken from experience - can you tell?
The key to success with this recipe is to make sure you are very vigilant with the greasing of your dish. By doing so, you eliminate the chance of the soufflé becoming stuck to the sides and therefore not rising or cracking completely. The other tip, try to reign in your pancake batter whipping arm - this is a very delicate light batter and over-mixing in your egg whites will leave you with the previously mentioned sloppy puddle. So leave your muscles at the kitchen door for this one, call on them for another day!
You can pair this dessert with any fruit of your choice. A handful of fresh berries scattered over the top would be magical, or even a drizzle of the class favourite - dulce de leche. Really, this soufflé is a blank canvas for any pairings as it is so mild in taste.
So, enough with the babble - put on your favourite playlist, gather your tools and throw on your apron! Get ready because you’re about to impress the world with your own culinary soufflé genius!
Peach & White Chocolate Soufflé
Ingredients
- 120g good-quality white chocolate
- 120g cream cheese
- 3 eggs, separated
- 1-2 ripe peaches (or any fruit of choice)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 170°C and place a large, shallow baking tray on the bottom shelf of the oven. Grease and line with baking paper the base and sides of a roughly 17cm medium soufflé dish or spring-form pan. If possible, allow the baking paper to stand straight up the sides of the dish - this allows the soufflé to rise without over-flowing.
- Melt the chocolate in a medium bowl placed on a saucepan over simmering water (bain-marie). Remove from heat and add the cream cheese. Stir until completely smooth. Don't worry if at the first the mixture separates, it will come together. Stir through the egg yolks and set aside.
- Fill your kettle and boil while you complete the next step.
- Whisk the remaining egg whites on high speed with a mixer until stiff peaks form. Add 1/3 of the egg whites and spread through the chocolate mixture. Gently fold through the next 1/3 of egg whites and when only a few lumps remain, fold in the last of the whites. A few lumps are fine in the batter.
- Pour mixture into the prepared dish. Pour the boiled water into the tray in the oven to create steam. Place the soufflé in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 150°C and bake for a further 15 minutes.
- Turn the oven off and leave the soufflé in for another 15 minutes before removing and carefully turning onto a serving platter. Dust generously with icing sugar before garnishing with fresh peaches.
- Serve whilst warm.
Notes
This recipe is an adaptation from the WellBeing EatWell magazine - Issue 40, pg89.