There are no special skills required to make a French liquor-based soufflé dessert. With my guidance, you will be making this popular dessert like a pro, and if you pair your creation with the little-known tea, Hojicha, well … you be the judge. This recipe makes four soufflés.
Tools
4 oven-safe ramekins measuring 3.1-inch in diameter x2.1-inch deep
Ingredients
8.5 oz whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1.2 oz all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
Meringue
4 egg whites
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Pinch salt
Garnish
2 sponge cake ladyfingers
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blueberries
Juice of half a lemon
To make the pastry cream: Add milk and vanilla to a saucepan, and heat until hot but not boiling. Combine only two egg yolks with sugar in a separate medium-sized bowl and whisk well until pale. You will use the last egg yolk later. Little by little, add flour to the egg yolk mixture and gently whisk to incorporate. You will end up with a very thick paste. Remove the hot milk from the stove. Pour just a splash of hot milk into the paste to loosen it up and whisk until there are no lumps. Gradually add the rest of the milk, constantly whisking. Pour the mixture back into the milk-heating pan and set it on low heat. Start whisking the mixture in the pan and don’t stop until you have a thick consistency. Wait for the bubbles to appear, and then cook for another minute on low heat, constantly whisking. Set aside. Cover with bioplastic wrap so that the wrap is completely touching the top part of the mixture, and set it aside at room temperature.
Prepare the ramekins: Lightly grease with melted butter, then sugar coat each ramekin by placing a tablespoon of sugar inside, and then keep turning the ramekin until the bottom and sides are completely dusted. Discard the extra sugar. Set the ramekins aside.
Cut each ladyfinger into 10-12 slices. Place into a small bowl and pour over the 1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier. Set the bowl aside.
Preheat the oven to 390F. To a large bowl add pastry cream, egg yolk, and extra Grand Marnier. Set aside. To another large bowl, add egg whites, a pinch of salt, and a small portion of the sugar. Mix on a medium setting using a hand mixer. When the egg whites start to foam, continue mixing while gradually adding more sugar in a steady stream. Gradually add the rest of the sugar while the whites thicken, and mix for a further 1 minute on a higher setting to achieve the best meringue mix. Using a spatula, add 1/4 of the meringue to the pastry cream and gently combine with the spatula from the sides of the bowl to the middle. Add another 1/4 of the meringue to the pastry cream and continue gently mixing as before. Gently fold in the remaining meringue mix. You will end up with a fluffy dough.
Last steps: Add 3 or 4 liquor-soaked biscuit pieces to each ramekin to just cover the bottom. Next, spoon the fluffy dough into the ramekins, filling only halfway. Add 3 more pieces of biscuit and then fill the ramekin with the dough to the rim. It’s important to not overfill the ramekins. Place the ramekins in a preheated oven for 12 minutes.
While the batter is becoming a soufflé in the oven, add blueberries, raspberries, and lemon juice to a medium-sized pan on medium heat. Stir a few times, wait for the mixture to bubble, mash the hot fruits with a potato masher, and cook for an additional minute. Sieve the jam using a spoon in the sieve to get all the juices from the fruit. Discard the dry leftovers.
When the soufflés are cooked, make a small cut in the middle of each, and pour in the fruit jam. Create a flavor pairing sensation by brewing a cup of Hojicha tea. The rare flavors of this tea may be new to you, but most importantly worth experiencing.
