Mr. Peaches totally called me out on our date night on Friday.
We exit the door, turn the padlock, and continue to march down the stairs.
“Oh NO!!!” I cry. “I forgot my PHONE! Did I bring my phone?!!”
(This is an emergency, obviously.)
I hastily pat my jacket and feel a hard rectangular block in my pocket.
Relieved… “YES. Yes I did, yes I did.” PHEW!
He smiles, takes one look at me and says, “Meg, you are a walking meme.”
What can I say?
I’m such a girl. 🙂
You know what other girl-y stereotype I’m TOTALLY guilty of?
Take a guess…
Ding, ding! You’re right.
I’m completely and utterly obsessed with CHOCOLATE.
I dreamt about these fluffy chocolate soufflés for weeks, waiting for the perfect opportunity to whip out the new ramekins I purchased a few weeks ago after begging Mr. Peaches to drive me to Sur La Table in the middle of a violent snowstorm.
He scrunches his nose. “Sur La What?”
“You know. Sur La Taaaab!” I retort matter-of-factly.
“Alright, well I don’t know what a ramekin or Sur La Taaaaab is but if it makes you happy I’ll take you there.”
And that made me a very happy girl, of course.
Ladies out there: take a few minutes to celebrate your inner lady-hood and your straight-from-the-womb love of cocoa, and MAKE THESE SOUFFLES.
Chocolate Soufflés
Adapted from Saveur and Mark Bittman, NY Times
Serves 3
Butter, for greasing ramekins
2 egg yolks
3 egg whites
3 Tbsp. milk (I used low-fat)
4 Tbsp. + 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar, plus additional for dusting ramekins
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I use Lindt Swiss Bittersweet)
Confectioners’ sugar
Preheat oven to 375°.
Butter three small 4” ramekins or one large 6” ramekin. Coat the inside of each ramekin with granulated sugar, invert it and tap to remove excess sugar. Set aside.
Crack 3 eggs and separate yolks from the whites, placing in two separate medium-sized nonreactive (glass or stainless steel) bowls. Discard 1 yolk so that you are left with 2 yolks in one bowl and 3 whites in the other.
Place milk in a small saucepan and stir over medium-low heat for about 45 seconds. Stir in chocolate and cook until melted, 1–2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, use a hand mixer to beat the 2 egg yolks with 4 Tbsp. sugar until very light and very thick; mixture will fall in a ribbon from beaters when it is ready. Mix in the melted chocolate until well combined; set aside.
Wash and dry your beaters well. Beat egg whites until foamy, then sprinkle in remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.
Use a spatula to gently combine one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in remaining whites, one-third at a time. Do not overmix. Spoon batter into ramekin(s). *Tip from Mark Bittman: At this point, ramekins may be covered with plastic wrap and put into the fridge until ready to bake. They won’t get quite the same height but you probably won’t notice, and if you’ve got better things to do after dinner than beating eggs in the kitchen, then this is the way to go.
Bake until puffed, 20-23 minutes for individual soufflés or 25-30 minutes for one large soufflé. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately with spoons. (Soufflé will begin to deflate after 2 minutes.)
au revoir,
peaches & cake
peaches & cake 
These look fabulous, Meg! I can’t wait to try them. 🙂 Mark Bittman is the best–his “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” is my cooking bible, and if you don’t have it yet, track down the original (i.e. not vegetarian) version of “How to Cook Everything”…His instructions are so no-nonsense, and I adore the flexibility of his recipes; they almost all come with tons of variations that give you the confidence to experiment in the kitchen!
Thanks! You should try them!
I sort of did a variation of his recipe and Saveur Magazine’s recipe — I didn’t use the 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar like Mark did, but it’s a pretty similar result. Mine had a flaky crust at the top, which was nice to spoon through.
Haha. We are definitely sisters. You’d think we live next door to each other, because we think/do the exact same things! And I will definitely make these chocolate souffles. I’ve done these as a “make ahead” recipe from cooks illustrated “best make ahead recipes” and it comes out really well putting it in the fridge beforehand. love you!