Thanks to motivation from having this blog, I made my first soufflé back in June. That lemon soufflé was really good - I can tell you for sure since I've made it a couple of times since just to make sure it wasn't a fluke. One of the things I learned is that it's actually pretty easy to make a soufflé at home. So it was only a matter of time before I try a chocolate one. Well...now the weather is cooler, schedules have slowed down a bit, and we had a relaxing Sunday dinner ahead of us. The stage was set for my attempt at a chocolate soufflé with orange crème anglaise.
The whole orange crème anglaise thing might sound a little fancy but seriously, this custard cream sauce is easy to make. I love to stir things over a stove and it's just that kind of recipe. Plus, I keep thinking back to that apricot soufflé we had back at the Four Seasons restaurant those years ago where we poured the sauce over our piping hot soufflé. And then David Lebovitz posted his recipe for this orange crème anglaise (I love his recipes) and for some reason, it just called out to me and I had this crazy urge to make it. So here we are.
My husband and I thought the sauce was the best part of this dessert and really made it special. If you like the combination of orange and chocolate, you know what I'm talking about. The chocolate really made the orange flavor in the crème anglaise pop. It's smooth and creamy without being too thick or too rich or sweet at all. The cold sauce is a great contrast against the steaming hot soufflé. And in case you're interested in the opinion of a six year old boy, he preferred digging into the soufflé itself though he did give his "ok" to the sauce.
If you don't want to make the crème anglaise, this soufflé could certainly be served plain or with some whipped cream or ice cream. Some melted vanilla ice cream would make an easy mock-crème anglaise in a pinch too.
There's something about a soufflé that makes you roll your eyes up and say "mmm...." It must be that fluffy, soft, pillowy bite that still manages to pack a lot of flavor. It's a special treat that's really not all that hard to make.
