Happy Valentine’s Day! Love, cyber-kisses and everything chocolate to all of you!
My Valentine’s Day present to myself is an easy yet elegant, make-ahead dessert. I don’t like scrambling around in the kitchen at the last minute so appreciate any recipe that can be assembled in advance; especially a romantic and fanciful recipe, such as Chocolate Soufflé.
This recipe is really easy to make. The only condition is the dessert should be served immediately after removing from the oven.
That’s not a big deal to me, especially since the work and mess were completed hours ago.
I’ve followed many soufflé recipes through the years, and often return to a Maida Heatter/Wolfgang Puck recipe for chocolate souffle (Maida Heatter’s Best Dessert Book Ever, 1990). I’ve made a few changes to the recipe, but I particularly appreciate her discussion regarding oven temperatures.
Higher temperatures yield a moist, creamy bite while a lower oven temperature (375˚) yields a cake-like bite. I much prefer the creamier outcome used with the higher oven temperature.
These soufflés are wonderful without accompaniment but I always have leftover heavy cream from the recipe, so I whip it and add Grand Marnier and sugar to taste. Maida Heatter’s book recommends serving the dish with a White Chocolate Rum Sauce. Both are delicious served on the side.
Other St. Patty’s Day recipes for your perusal, if desired: Corned Beef and Cabbage with Horseradish-Watercress Sauce & Irish Stew with Lamb and Stout Last spring my husband, Richard, and I rented a car to explore Ireland. We anticipated a rolling emerald landscape dotted with thatched cottages and bleating sheep, and to be regaled by the fabled Gaelic … Full recipe post »
Gong Hey Fat Choy! This Sunday night is Chinese New Year’s Eve, marking the beginning of the most important holiday for Chinese around the world. Though celebrations last about a week, traditionally it is a 15-day holiday during which drums and gongs are beaten, lanterns and firecrackers lit, and paper cutouts and calligraphy decorate doors. From … Full recipe post »
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Hi there! I'm Peggy Lampman -
Food writer by trade, curious cook by design.
The past 30 years have witnessed a raucous race from my professional to
home kitchen - persnickety customers, petulant children and piles of dirty dishes
lie in my wake. A scary ride, indeed, but I survived. And the dinnerFeeds - well - they
are my story. Welcome to my site! More about Peggy and this site...
Taste buds prickle; wanderlust triggered. An Argentine barbecue (asado)
enticed me to Patagonia. A friend gave me a vial of ground sumac berries--4 months later I was
waking at dawn to the "Call To Prayer" in Turkey. Porcini to Tuscany, and so on. Read more about my chronicles of
trips and favorite associated recipes. Browse my travel recipes...
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My Valentine’s Day present to myself is an easy yet elegant, make-ahead dessert. I don’t like scrambling around in the kitchen at the last minute so appreciate any recipe that can be assembled in advance; especially a romantic and fanciful recipe, such as Chocolate Soufflé.
I’ve followed many soufflé recipes through the years, and often return to a Maida Heatter/Wolfgang Puck recipe for chocolate souffle (Maida Heatter’s Best Dessert Book Ever, 1990). I’ve made a few changes to the recipe, but I particularly appreciate her discussion regarding oven temperatures.
Higher temperatures yield a moist, creamy bite while a lower oven temperature (375˚) yields a cake-like bite. I much prefer the creamier outcome used with the higher oven temperature.
