Homemade Chocolate Soufflés (For Two!)

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Rich and luscious Homemade Chocolate Soufflés…for two! Oh, yes. It’s the perfect date night/special occasion dessert. These soufflés are not only very simple to make, but require very minimal ingredients and take less than an hour to make! It simply doesn’t get any better than this. Every bite is silky, luscious, oh so decadent, and perfectly chocolate-y. Served warm, fresh out of the oven and finished with a light dusting of powdered sugar, a small dollop of Chantilly Cream, and a few of your favorite fresh berries. It’s the perfect Valentine’s Day treat…or maybe just a Friday night dessert!

About The Recipe

Date night this week? Celebrating an anniversary? Getting together with friends to celebrate a Galentine’s Day? Or maybe you’re just looking for something to bake this weekend for fun. We’ve got you covered!

Honestly, can you believe that Valentine’s Day is only one week away? Time is flying! So, we knew we needed to do something super special for this Monday. I mean, how can you have Monday blues when you can be making soufflés? And, not just any soufflés, oh no… Small batch (TWO!). Chocolate. Soufflés

I don’t think it can really get any better or more special.

Though, I will admit…my mom and I have never made a soufflé before. They sound intimidating! When my mom first came up with the idea, my only thought was all the horror stories I had heard of people making soufflés and how hard they were to make!

Though, I immediately agreed because…who doesn’t want to EAT a fresh chocolate soufflé? And, since this was new to us, we had a little bit of testing to do!

The first batch, shockingly enough, came out almost perfect (Thank you Great British Baking Show for making Soufflé a technical in season 3!!).

The only problem that actually happened was…well, they sank before I could start taking photos of them! Oh, and we over baked them a smidge. A shame, really. We had to eat two warm, delectable chocolate soufflés (detect the sarcasm in my text) and make more tomorrow.

So, we did! Thankfully, I was able to take photos of them BEFORE they sank this time. Bonus? We didn’t over bake them this time! So, the whole thing was just…perfect.

And I couldn’t be more excited to share them with all of you! They’re actually really easy to make and oh so delicious.

Reasons To Make This Chocolate Soufflé Recipe

• The recipe is actually easy to make and requires minimal ingredients!
• Only makes TWO soufflés.
• The perfect date night/special occasion dessert.
• Ready in less than an hour.

Equipment Needed

• 2 Small Pots
• Mixing Bowls
• Rubber Spatula
• Hand Mixer
• Two 4 ½ Ramekins
• Sheet Pan

Ingredients

(Full ingredient amounts and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post)

• Unsalted Butter
• All-Purpose Flour
• Whole Milk
• Granulated Sugar
• Bittersweet Chocolate
• Egg Yolks
• Vanilla Extract
• Egg White

How To Make Chocolate Soufflés

Step 1: Prep the ramekins

In two ramekins, spoon in about 1 teaspoon of unsalted butter. Spread all the way across the ramekins. Sprinkle heavily with sugar.

Step 2: Melt butter

Melt the butter in a small pot. Stir in the flour and set aside.

Step 3: Heat milk and sugar

In a separate small pot, heat milk and sugar over low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Step 4: Make the batter

Pour the hot milk over the butter/flour mixture. Stir together and cook until thickened significantly. It should be about the consistency of pudding! Transfer into a glass bowl. Let cool, about 3-5 minutes.

While the mixture is cooling, melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl until smooth.

Stir the melted chocolate into the roux mixture.

Stir in the egg yolks and vanilla. Set aside.

Whip egg white in a clean bowl to soft peaks.

Add the sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.

Carefully, fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.

Step 5: Ladle into ramekins and bake

Ladle the batter evenly between the two prepared ramekins. Bake on a sheet pan at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Serve immediately!

What Chocolate To Use

Soufflé’s entire flavor is chocolate. Keep this in mind when you’re gathering ingredients. You will need a high quality chocolate to really get the most out of this recipe. We recommend Ghirardelli or Guittard.

When testing this recipe, we found the deeper the chocolate (65% or more) deepens the flavor and really rounds the flavors off nicely.

Topping Ideas

When it comes to the simplicity of a soufflé, there are so many things you can do! From enjoying it plain to really making it an indulgent dessert. Here are a few of our favorites.

• Powdered Sugar
• Chantilly Cream
• Crème Anglaise
• Vanilla Ice Cream
• Chocolate Ganache
• Fresh Berries (raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries)

Why Did My Chocolate Soufflé Fall?

• The egg whites were under whipped. This tends to be the main reason behind a soufflé falling. The meringue needs to be stiff peaks, but not dried out. Reference the photos above for help!
• Over-mixing the batter. When folding in the meringue/egg whites, you must be very careful. You can easily deflate them and that results in a flat soufflé. Always be careful to not over-mix/over-fold the egg whites!
• The ramekins weren’t prepped properly. Butter and sugar are very important to use for this recipe to grease your ramekins! The soufflé needs something it can hold onto while it makes its way…well, UP! You will need about 1 teaspoon of butter per 4 ½ oz ramekin and roughly 1/2 Tablespoon of sugar to dust around the bottoms and sides. The best way to get the sugar evenly across is to place the sugar in the ramekin after it’s been buttered and carefully shimmy the sugar all the way around the ramekin. Be sure to get the very top! Dump out any excess sugar and you’re ready to go!
• The oven was opened before the soufflés were done. I know, the temptation to open the oven to see if they’re done is awful, but you MUST keep the oven door closed. When you open an oven, you release all the heat and that means a flat soufflé. We found baking for exactly 15 minutes without opening the oven makes for the perfect soufflé every time.
• You waited too long to serve. If you read the post above, you’ll know that we figured this one out…the hard way! A soufflé naturally falls as it cools. So, learn from our mistakes and have everything ready and prepped before they come out of the oven. Soufflé(s) must be served fresh out of the oven.

How To Know When a Chocolate Soufflé is Done

This was the trickiest part of developing this recipe. It all comes down to oven temp and TIMING! Our soufflés were baked at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes and they came out perfect every time. We own a true European gas convection oven, so yours might be a bit different.

We recommend getting an oven thermometer and seeing if your oven is accurate with it’s temperatures. We’ve have so many of our own not be! This can be the cause of a lot of failed bakes. Adjust, if needed

Now that you know that your oven temperature is right, bake on the middle rack for 15 minutes. A solid 15 minutes. No peeking into the oven beforehand! After the time is up, you can open the oven and carefully, wiggle the pan. If the soufflé’s jiggle in the middle, they aren’t done and need another minute or so. If they’re stiff, take them out of the oven and you can use a cake tester to see if it comes out clean. A clean cake tester means a baked soufflé!

Expert Tips

• If making in advance, make through Step 14; then refrigerate. 30 minutes before serving, start with step 15 and finish the soufflés.
• When prepping the ramekins, use softened unsalted butter! Also, be sure to take it all the way to the top of the ramekin. Same with the sugar. Be sure it’s coated.
• The butter needs to just be melted. Not browned or boiling.
• Do NOT boil the milk! Keep it over low heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves.
• The roux/milk mixture can take anywhere from 3-5 minutes to fully thicken. Depending on your stovetop, it can take up to 10-15. You need to stir constantly to make sure the mixture doesn’t burn.
• Let the mixture cool completely in a clean glass bowl.
• A soufflé is only as good as your chocolate. Use a high quality chocolate for this recipe.
• You can melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a bain-marie. Just don’t over heat it.
• When whipping the egg whites, do NOT over whip them! The meringue should just be at stiff peaks, no more. You don’t want dried out egg whites!
• Carefully fold the meringue into the chocolate mixture! You can do it in small additions, about 2 or 3.
• Keep your ramekins as clean as possible! Try not to drip and spill the batter on them.
• We found that the soufflés will only start to rise the last 2-3 minutes of bake time.
• Do NOT open the oven until the soufflés have been in there for 15 minutes.
• These chocolate soufflés need to be served as soon as they’re taken out of the oven!

When you make these Homemade Chocolate Soufflés, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.

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