Raspberry soufflé

I hope you had a good Mother's Day!  For us, this past weekend started with a deluge of rain all Saturday, but somehow, I had a feeling Mother's Day would turn out nice if history was any indication.  Sure enough, the sun was shining most of the day...what a nice gift for us moms.  

I spent Mother's Day morning relaxing and enjoying breakfast in bed.  It's become something of a tradition and a lovely treat.  I took my time enjoying it but then I got up and started the day because I realized a while back that if I spend too much time relaxing or doing nothing, it starts driving me crazy.  So I took some time savoring my breakfast, then I got up to do what I like to do best - you know cooking/baking was involved!

My husband bought me some delicious raspberries; I devoured a good chunk of it at breakfast but managed to save some for a few soufflés. I had spotted a pretty straightforward recipe from French Country Cooking that I've been wanting to try...I finally managed not to eat all the raspberries before getting a chance to use them in this recipe!  

I can now tell you I'm really happy I tried this recipe because it worked very nicely and the result tasted light, sweet, airy - everything good about a glorious soufflé!  And it wasn't difficult to make.  

In this recipe, you simply crush the raspberries and whisk them into the soufflé base. In other words, there's no pureeing raspberries, cooking them down with lemon juice, then straining the mixture in order to make a raspberry syrup to start with that you often see in other recipes.  In fairness, you won't end up with as even a pink hue as you would expect if you were to do that but I think it's a fair exchange for the ease here.  

While the raspberry soufflés were baking, the kitchen started smelling like cotton candy!  I loved how they rose steadily in the oven and didn't split and spill overboard like they sometimes do.  Of course, the very best part is that moment when you dig your spoon into the warm soufflé, and taste it...it's like a warm egg custard with a punch of sweet raspberry flavor.

I think soufflés are always a treat and this raspberry version (that's not at all complicated to make) was no exception.


This recipe, using 3 eggs, yields more than enough batter to fill 4 (7-ounce) ramekins. I only had 3 ramekins of that size so I used them and another slightly smaller one. Had I known I'd have more than enough batter, I would actually have taken another slightly larger ramekin to fill the fourth.  Incidentally, the recipe called for prepping the ramekins by buttering and then coating them with flour...the flour was unusual and I decided to stick with buttering and coating the ramekins with sugar instead.  

You need 5 ounces of fresh raspberries.  Simply crush them well with the back of a fork.  You will later whisk that - seeds and all - into the base of milk, thickened with some flour and cornstarch, eggs yolks and vanilla bean seeds.

I was a little worried about this rough raspberry puree, wondering if it would be too heavy for the soufflés to lift off with and whether it would provide enough raspberry flavor.  Happily, neither of the concerns panned out.   

Once I folded in stiffly beaten egg whites, I filled my prepared ramekins almost all the way to the top, smoothing it evenly.  Then I like to run my thumb around the inner rim of each, which I once read helps soufflés rise more evenly during baking (I always figure it doesn't hurt).  

Into the oven for they go for about 15 minutes.  I was very excited to watch the soufflés in progress!  They start to climb after 4-5 minutes...

...rising steadily, I wondered if they would split as they sometimes do...

...but they kept climbing pretty neatly and were ready to be pulled out of the oven at this point below!

Though with very shaky hands, I managed to take them out of oven without incident.  I worked as fast as I could, settling each onto a plate, placing a decorative fresh raspberry on top, and dusting it with confectioners' sugar.  

You feel such a sense of accomplishment pulling soufflés out of the oven at home.  It's as close as I'll get to doing magic tricks and once again, you have to appreciate one of my all-time favorite ingredients - the egg!  My smile widened when we sat down and tasted these (dessert came early this past Sunday).  They were far better than cotton candy!  I love the firmer set edges as well as the steaming warm soft, cloud-like, center.  The raspberry flavor is lovely. 

On another weekend note...we also took a trip to our local farmer's market on Sunday morning.  It's so nice to walk around and see what's available and be inspired to cook accordingly.  We picked up some scallops, asparagus and things, and I ended up whipping up this seared scallops with angel hair pasta for dinner (the little guy might have had pizza).  The scallops were amazing!

So now I'm out of the clouds of Mother's Day but enjoying this beautiful bright week we're having.  Temps are going way up and I think allergy season may be on its way out so my husband and the little man can hopefully breathe easier.  There's still plenty of raspberries to eat (love how all our favorite fruits are coming into season!), meals to make, and treats to bake.  Hope you have a happy, productive week doing many things you enjoy!

Recipe:

Raspberry Soufflé
Adapted from French Country Cooking by Mimi Thorisson

- For 4 individual soufflés - 

2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter, plus more for ramekins
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (195 ml) whole milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved
3 large egg yolks
5 ounces (150g) fresh raspberries, crushed with a fork, plus a few whole raspberries for serving
3 large egg whites
Pinch of fine sea salt
3 tablespoons sugar (plus more for coating ramekins)
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Butter 4 (7oz/210ml) ramekins and coat them with sugar, tapping out the excess.  Place ramekins in the refrigerator until ready to use.  

In a medium to large saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat.  Whisk in the flour and cornstarch.  Immediately add the milk and vanilla bean seeds, and continue whisking constantly until mixture thickens like a custard that coats the back of a spoon, about 3-5 minutes.  

Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the egg yolks, then the crushed raspberries.  

Beat egg whites using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  When the egg whites being to look foamy, add salt.  Continue whipping on high speed, gradually adding the sugar, until the whites hold stiff peaks.  Gently fold the egg whites into the raspberry mixture until just incorporated, trying not to deflate the whites too much.  

Remove the ramekins from the refrigerator and set them on a baking sheet.  Fill each with batter nearly to the top, smoothing over the surface.  Take your thumb and run it around the inner rim of each ramekin (optional, this is supposed to help the soufflés rise more evenly while baking).  Place baking sheet into the oven and bake until risen and golden brown on top, 15 minutes.  

Carefully remove the soufflés from the oven, place each on a plate.  Garnish each with a raspberry on top and a light dusting of confectioners' sugar.  Serve immediately and enjoy!