Sometimes you need a dessert sneak attack. I’m not talking about those days when you need to sit yourself on the couch with a tub of ice cream, or an entire cookie jar – though I totally have those days.
No, I’m talking about those times when you need to whip out a proper, grown-ups dessert on short notice. It totally happens! Sometimes you plan a whole dinner, but then dessert somehow manages to slip your mind. Or you decide on the spur of the moment to make dinner a little more special than usual. Or people somehow multiply in number come dinnertime.
Of course, no-one ever needs to have dessert. But sometimes we want it. And that’s enough for me.
I’m firmly of the opinion that you have to get your kicks in life where you can. And if it’s as easy as whipping out a few store cupboard staples and in half an hour tucking into a crazy-fancy French dessert, well then HELL YEAH, let’s do it!
That’s right – store cupboard staples. You heard correctly. Because that is the beauty of this recipe. It’s made entirely out of things which you almost certainly have in your house right now.
At the most basic level you’ll need eggs, cocoa, sugar, cornflour and milk. If you’re ready to take it up a notch, you’ll need some preserved Morello cherries (or other berries of your choice, but the cherries are ace). And if you’re at pro-level store cupboard status, you might have some dark chocolate for a decadent swathe of sauce.
I love desserts that I can whip up from things I always have in the house. I’m one of those people who tends to scoff any cool thing they buy within, like, two days of going shopping. So dreams of awesome fruit desserts are often fruitless, because I just eat that fruit whilst watching Youtube videos.
So the luxury of being able to just rummage about in the cupboard, whip up some eggs, and then pass out the spoons and dive into a delicious chocolate mess, yeah, I love that.
No-one’s still afraid of soufflés are they? Take it from me, they’re nothing. Sure, if you had to make 100 of them you might have problems, but at home, they’re a piece of cake. Really simple, especially delicious cake. Tell me, do you have a dessert that you always know you can whip up? Let me know in the comments!
xx Sarah.
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp + 2 tsps cornstarch (cornflour in Australia)
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- ¼ cup (50g) + 2 tbsp caster sugar, divided
- 1 cup (250ml) milk
- 2 egg whites
- 4 tbsp preserved cherries (or other berries)
- 4oz (100g) dark chocolate
- ½ cup (125ml) cream
- Preheat the oven to 400F/200C, and grease 4 small ramekins.
- In a small bowl, combine the egg yolks, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and ¼ cup of caster sugar and whisk together well.
- In a medium saucepan bring the milk to the boil, and then turn off the heat. Whisk the milk into the egg mixture, and then pour it all back into the saucepan and place over a medium heat. Bring to the boil, stirring and scraping the pan constantly, until the mixture is very thick. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, and set aside to cool for a few minutes (it just needs to get to body temperature - stirring will speed up the process).
- Meanwhile, whip the egg whites to soft peaks, and then slowly add the additional 2 tbsp of caster sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
- Fold ⅓ of the egg whites into the cooled chocolate mixture briskly, just to loosten everything up, and then gently fold the remaining whites in.
- Place one tbsp of cherries into each ramekin, and then divide the souffle mixture evenly between them. Place the souffles onto a tray and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until risen, but with a slight jiggle to them.
- To make the sauce, simply melt the chocolate and cream together in a small bowl in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring well between each burst.
- Pour the sauce over the souffles, and then eat them STRAIGHT AWAY!
*Closes mouth and wipes drool away* amazing post Sarah!
Thanks Matt!
YUMMY cherry season is almost here in MICHIGAN! Can’t wait to eat this!
I have been wanting to try to make a souffle – and this looks perfect! For some reason, I am scared of them, but they are my favorite dessert! i always rely on a good ole chocolate chip cookie when i need to have some dessert on hand for people coming over.
So loverly.
I can always whip up cocoa powder brownies or chocolate molten cakes. and ever since I realized this, life has been better :)
Classics!
What the what?! Heck yes!! Digging this so hard.
gurl.
Deck
ahh
dehnd.
Whoa, just whoa. Need, love, now..
I’m really digging the fact that I have dark chocolate in my cupboards!
Haha!
And I *may* or *may not* be slightly intimidated by soufflés.
Beautiful dessert!!
I would say I am always ready to whip up chocolate chip cookies!
THAT DRIZZLING CHOCOLATE. I’m dead now.
Dude, i have this all on hand. So awesome, so excited. YES!
Darn! I have everything but the cream! I guess I’m going to have to go on a shopping trip tomorrow!
Wow, can we talk about your dessert skillzzzzz in taking pics of this textbook-perfect souffle?! Giving you snaps of respect.
Woooooooow, cherry chocolate heaven! I love that it’s gluten-free and made with on-hand ingredients too :-) Pinning to try some time. Souffles are tricky to photograph, I imagine, so well done on this amazing photography!