Light Chocolate Soufflé

📝 Ingredients

• 100 g dark chocolate 70%
• 60 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 4 eggs
• 40 g caster sugar
• 10 g unsalted butter (for the ramekins)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

🍴 Utensils

• 4 ramekins (10 cm)
• Small saucepan
• 2 mixing bowls
• Electric hand mixer
• Silicone spatula
• Pastry brush

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C with the shelf in the lower third. Butter the ramekins with a pastry brush, using upward vertical strokes towards the rim, then add 10 g of the sugar, rotate them to coat the sides and tip out the excess.
2. Crack the eggs, carefully separating the whites from the yolks: the slightest trace of yolk will stop the whites from whipping. Put the whites with the pinch of salt in a large, spotlessly clean and dry bowl, and the yolks in a small bowl.
3. In a small saucepan, mix the cornflour into the cold milk until smooth, then heat over medium heat for 1 to 2 min, stirring constantly, until the mixture simmers and thickens. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate broken into pieces and stir until melted and smooth.
4. Pour the chocolate into the second bowl and leave to cool slightly for 2 min, then beat in the yolks one at a time with the spatula, mixing well after each addition, until you have a thick, glossy cream. If too hot, the chocolate would cook the yolks.
5. Whisk the whites with an electric mixer on medium speed until frothy, then on high speed, adding the remaining 30 g sugar in 3 additions. Stop when they are firm and glossy and form a peak on the end of the whisk that doesn't droop.
6. Briskly mix a quarter of the whites into the chocolate cream to loosen it. Add the rest and fold in gently with the spatula, lifting the mixture from the bottom upwards while turning the bowl, until no white streaks remain.
7. Fill the ramekins to the brim and level the top in one stroke with the back of a knife. Run your thumb around the inside edge to make a small 5 mm groove: this is what helps the soufflé rise straight up.
8. Bake immediately for 12 min without ever opening the oven door, until the soufflés have risen by 3 to 4 cm and the tops are dry, with the centre still wobbly. Dust with cocoa and serve at once: they sink within minutes.