The Easiest Soufflé: Elegant and Delicious
The word soufflé conjures up feelings of anxiety in even a few of the most confident chefs. But this one is not technically a soufflé, as it’s frozen rather than baked, so there’s very little fear of The Collapse. It requires a little pre-planning as it needs at least 5 hours to set before serving, but Kimpton Armory Executive Sous Chef Eva Wong’s version with fresh berries, heavy cream, sugar, and whipped egg whites comes together fairly easily to create this very elegant, light and airy, sweet-but-not-too-sweet dessert.
MAKES 4 (6-OUNCE) RAMEKINS
2 pints fresh raspberries
1½ cups heavy cream
¾ cup sugar, divided
4 egg whites
Garnish: Powdered sugar, lightly toasted and chopped pistachios
Wrap inside of ramekins with a parchment paper collar that extends about 2 inches above the rim and place in the freezer to chill.
Reserve a handful of raspberries for garnish and then blend the rest in a blender. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl and set aside.
Whip the cream along with ½ cup sugar to a medium peak—the cream will be thick enough to hold its shape but still pliable so the peak “dips” when the whisk is removed. Set aside.
Fully whip the egg whites with remaining ¼ cup sugar to a hard peak (about 5 minutes on high speed in a stand mixer with whisk attachment).
Gently fold the egg white mixture into the bowl of raspberry purée, adding ⅓ of the mixture at a time. Fold the whipped cream into the mixture in the same way—⅓ at a time. Scrape bottom and sides of the bowl.
Use a piping bag or spoon to fill the prepared molds, and use the back of a spoon to smooth the batter as flat as possible. Let freeze overnight, or at least 5 hours until serving.
When ready to serve, peel the parchment paper collar and let the “soufflés” sit out for 5–10 minutes to soften before serving.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and garnish with chopped pistachios and fresh raspberries.
