Soufflé au chocolat — French chocolate soufflé
Soufflé au chocolat is a hot French dessert whose lightness comes from aerated egg whites, not from an underbaked liquid centre. Here the chocolate flavour is carried by a cooked milk-and-cornstarch base with 70% dark chocolate, then lifted with a glossy French meringue. The result should rise visibly above each ramekin, with a set top and a tender interior that still reaches the 71 °C safety endpoint.
The ramekin preparation matters almost as much as the batter. Butter and sugar need to form a continuous coating up the straight sides, and the rim must stay clean so the batter can climb without catching. A short cooling period for the cooked chocolate base is equally important: folding egg foam into a hot mixture wastes the air that drives the rise.
Timing is the final control. Once the whites are folded in, the batter should go into a fully heated oven without delay, and the oven door stays shut until the rise has set. These soufflés are portioned into six 240 ml ramekins so the fill level, baking time and serving basis are all consistent.
