Melt in your mouth, delicious dark chocolate souffle recipe. This easy dessert is perfect for your next dinner party or at-home date night!
Desserts are a delicious end to a great meal. But I often find myself too full for a decadent dessert. That’s when I was introduced to chocolate souffle. It is rich but very light. My husband has perfected his chocolate souffle recipe and technique. It’s the perfect dessert for a dinner party or an at-home date night.
Souffle is a baked egg dish that originated in France. The name souffle is actually a derivative of the French word for inflate. The dish is made with egg whites, which puff up as they bake. The result is a light, fluffy dish. Souffles are either savory or sweet, so there is a variety of flavor opportunities.
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Dark Chocolate Souffle Recipe
Souffle Ingredients
- Eggs
- Heavy whipping cream
- Dark chocolate
- Butter
- Sugar
For dark chocolate soufflé, all you need is butter, sugar, heavy whipping cream, eggs, and dark chocolate. We like to use small ramekins for our soufflés. They are the perfect size for individual servings. Plus, the smaller the soufflé the smaller the chance that it will fall when you take it out of the oven.
How to Make Chocolate Souffle
First, cover the bottom and sides of two ramekins in a thin layer of butter. Then coat them with sugar.
Why Coat the Ramekin in Sugar?
Preparing the ramekin is important to help the souffle rise correctly. The generous layer of butter helps the souffle rise evenly. And the sugar helps the souffle climb up the ramekin. It provides a little texture for better grip. If you were making a savory souffle, you’d use breadcrumbs instead of sugar.
After the ramekins are sugared, boil a pot of water with a double boiler inside. If you don’t have a double boiler a glass Pyrex bowl will work. Melt 1/4 tbsp of butter and 4 oz of dark chocolate in the double boiler. Be careful not to overheat the chocolate.
After the chocolate melts, add 1 oz of heavy whipping cream. Mix it thoroughly.
In a separate bowl, separate two egg yolks from the egg whites. Set the egg whites aside for later. Add the egg yolks to the chocolate mixture. Remove the mixture from the heat and set it aside.
Preparing the Egg Whites
Egg whites are the key to a fluffy souffle. Use a handheld mixer, or KitchenAid, to beat the egg whites. Beat them until they can form soft peaks. Soft peaks mean that when you lift the mixer out the peaks will still droop a bit.
Then, add 1/6 cup of sugar to the whites and beat until stiff peaks form. Stiff peaks will not droop or fall when you remove the beaters.
Then fold your egg whites into the melted chocolate mixture.
What Does Fold Mean in Cooking?
When you fold an ingredient in it simply means combining ingredients. You typically “fold” lighter ingredients into heavier ones. Then you mix them by lifting the heavier ingredients from the bottom and bringing them over the top of the light ingredients. You are essentially folding the heavy ingredients over and into the lighter.
Pour your mixture into small ramekins and either bake immediately. Or store them in the refrigerator until it’s time for dessert.
Make Ahead of Time
A great thing about souffle is that you can prep them ahead of time! Mix all of the ingredients and pour the batter into the ramekins. Then cover them with plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This makes them the perfect dessert for holidays or large dinner parties! Prepare them in advance to reduce your workload the day of.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and bake for 15minutes. For soufflés stored in the refrigerator, bake for 20 minutes. This is due to the fact the ramekins and batter are colder.
Once the soufflés are done, sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top and serve hot! They are absolute heaven! Like a warm brownie that’s fluffy and light, like a cloud.
Dark Chocolate Soufflé
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 4 oz dark chocolate We use Hershey’s Special Dark
- 1 oz heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1/6 cup sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375
- Sugar 2 small (oven-safe) ramekins
- Melt 1/4 tbsp of butter and 4 oz of dark chocolate in 1 oz of heavy whipping cream using a double boiler
- Once melted, whisk 2 egg yolks into the chocolate mixture
- Beat egg whites with a handheld mixer (or KitchenAid) until they form soft peaks
- Add 1/6 cup of sugar to the whites and beat until stiff peaks form
- Fold egg whites into the melted chocolate mixture
- Pour mixture into ramekins and bake immediately or store in the refrigerator
- Bake 15-20 minutes. Bake closer to 20 minutes if they have been stored in the refrigerator
- Top with powdered sugar and serve immediately
