Dark Chocolate Souffle with Raspberries!

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I have a deliciously easy souffle recipe that has an extra dash of summer. I first posted this in December 2014 but it's perfect for our summer berries, so I'm reposting!

But first, some pictures of current happenings. 

This is "LuLu" on her baptism day! Lulu is Cassey and Noe's new baby. You might remember them from the post on savory pumpkin rolls! Robert is now six, Franny (our godddaughter) is two, and Lulu is four months. We just love this little family and I love seeing out old babysitter being an amazing mother to her own babies. 

I snapped this pic on the way to the baptism. Spring is so pretty around Dayton, Washington.

So, here's the chocolate souffle recipe!

You'll need:
7TBS sugar
1 cup raspberries
5 TBS unsalted butter
6 oz good chocolate
1/2 tsp vanilla
5 large eggs, plus two more egg whites
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
powdered sugar for dusting

YUMMY. The kids wanted to gobble these so badly, but I was strong and sent them away. (But they did get the leftovers.)

Gratuitous chocolate picture. I'm a Lindt fan, so I just picked up a bar at the grocery store.

Melt the butter and chocolate over medium-low heat. When it's all melted, add the vanilla. Butter the ramekins and preheat the oven to 375F.
                                    
Beat the egg yolks and 3 TBS of sugar on medium speed until thick and fluffy.
                                                     
Fold the chocolate mixture into the eggs yolks.
                                         
Whip the eggs whites into stiff peaks with the pinch of salt and cream of tartar, adding the 3 TBS of sugar near the end. Carefully fold the egg whites and chocolate together.

Fold the chocolate and the egg yolk mixture together.
I know, there's a lot of folding and beating, but not in that order. I think the key to a good souffle is understanding that the beating is serious business. And the folding is serious business. And never the twain shall meet...

Until the ramekin. Here 'tis, filled with sugared raspberries. It's been buttered, and then dusted with sugar. Mmmmm.... I could eat it just like this. A bite of chocolate, a bite of raspberry. That's all. But that's not very festive and the guests might appreciate more of a presentation. We'll keep the chocolate/raspberry noshing to visits with good friends.

So, spoon (not beat or fold, that's a relief) the mixture into the ramekin.

Run your finger along the edge. This makes it form that little "top hat" when it's cooking. So much prettier. And remember, we're trying to be presentable. Little known fact: souffles can be chilled in the fridge for up to one whole day. So, this is a good dessert to pop into the oven while everyone is having their main course (and you're not standing in the kitchen). Then they come out pretty and warm and ready...

Set the ramekins in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. You can poke the top to see if it's done, but with the raspberries inside, it's hard to tell, so it's best to wiggle them a little and see if the center jiggles. If it's puffed up and the center jiggles just a little, they're done!

Don't overcook. They'll still be edible, but the edges will be harder and crustier. We want light and fluffy.

And a picture of the bottom layer. I thought the raspberries might not cook enough but the were perfectly melded into the chocolate. What a pairing!


 So, that's my post for this week! I hope everyone is having a wonderful post Memorial Day weekend (only two days, how terrible) as we head into summer. Be sure to drop by my author page at Mary Jane Hathaway, or my other author page at Virginia Carmichael, or my blog at The Things That Last! All my newest book news and musings is there, including anything silly that strikes my fancy!

Dark Chocolate souffle with Raspberries, plus Posadas!

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I have a deliciously easy souffle recipe that has an extra dash of summer. Right in the middle of December, it was a real bright spot for our entertaining!

You'll need:
7TBS sugar
1 cup raspberries
5 TBS unsalted butter
6 oz good chocolate
1/2 tsp vanilla
5 large eggs, plus two more egg whites
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
powdered sugar for dusting

YUMMY. The kids wanted to gobble these so badly, but I was strong and sent them away. (But they did get the leftovers.)

Gratuitous chocolate picture. I'm a Lindt fan, so I just picked up a bar at the grocery store.

Melt the butter and chocolate over medium-low heat. When it's all melted, add the vanilla. Butter the ramekins and preheat the oven to 375F.
                                    
Beat the egg yolks and 3 TBS of sugar on medium speed until thick and fluffy.
                                                     
Fold the chocolate mixture into the eggs yolks.
                                         
Whip the eggs whites into stiff peaks with the pinch of salt and cream of tartar, adding the 3 TBS of sugar near the end. Carefully fold the egg whites and chocolate together.

Fold the chocolate and the egg yolk mixture together.
I know, there's a lot of folding and beating, but not in that order. I think the key to a good souffle is understanding that the beating is serious business. And the folding is serious business. And never the twain shall meet...

Until the ramekin. Here 'tis, filled with sugared raspberries. It's been buttered, and then dusted with sugar. Mmmmm.... I could eat it just like this. A bite of chocolate, a bite of raspberry. That's all. But that's not very festive and the guests might appreciate more of a presentation. We'll keep the chocolate/raspberry noshing to visits with good friends.

So, spoon (not beat or fold, that's a relief) the mixture into the ramekin.

Run your finger along the edge. This makes it form that little "top hat" when it's cooking. So much prettier. And remember, we're trying to be presentable. Little known fact: souffles can be chilled in the fridge for up to one whole day. So, this is a good dessert to pop into the oven while everyone is having their main course (and you're not standing in the kitchen). Then they come out pretty and warm and ready...

Set the ramekins in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. You can poke the top to see if it's done, but with the raspberries inside, it's hard to tell, so it's best to wiggle them a little and see if the center jiggles. If it's puffed up and the center jiggles just a little, they're done!

Don't overcook. They'll still be edible, but the edges will be harder and crustier. We want light and fluffy.

And a picture of the bottom layer. I thought the raspberries might not cook enough but the were perfectly melded into the chocolate. What a pairing!

POSADAS

Now, Susanna reminded me of this tradition we have here, called Posadas. From the 16th to the 24th, children walk a certain route in the neighborhood, singing a song that remembers Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem. Usually there are two kids dressed up, but sometimes they're all dressed up in different costumes. They go door to door, singing a song, which you can listen to here (the singing isn't great, but just focus on the words). That clip also translates the words and shows some of the costumes. So CUTE. The outside crowd sings on stanza, and the inside crowd sings another. The last house on the route is the host and they finally open the door an everyone comes in for spiced hot chocolate, or takes some to go.

   On the last day, the last stop is the church and we have our Christmas Eve celebration, with a pinata in the parish hall and lots of games  It's great fun and a really neat way to educate the kids on the birth of Jesus and how hard it was for his parents even though they had faith, like a walking tour of the nativity.

(Christmas throwback: I love this picture of my girls because of my oldest's expression! ha!)

Okay, I hope everyone is having a wonderful Advent! Next week I'll either re-run my step-mother's Croatian nut roll (which I need to make... right now) or the famous Aplets and Cotlets of the Northwest. I love them both. Hmmm.... decisions!

Lemon Souffle

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I decided to attempt one of those 'impossible' desserts. Because with Edna by my side, anything can happen, right?

So, I felt like something fresh, light. Lemony.

Oh, yikes. Not THAT lemony... That's Lemony Snicket. And Jim Carrey playing Lemony's best villain.

I meant this:

I'd never made a souffle, but ignorance never stopped me before, so I found a little recipe. It looked oh-so-easy.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Butter your ramekins and lightly dust them with sugar. Now, I'd been searching and searching for Fireking dishware because I wanted to make something fun in those old oven-safe mugs and teacups. And in that junk shop in town, I found these. FREE. Dirty and piled in a box.

Whee!

So, whisk together 8 large egg yolks, 2 TBS flour, 2 TBS of the sugar.

Bring 1 cup whole milk and 2 TBS fresh lemon zest to a boil and then slowly whisk into the yolk mixture to make sure it doesn't cook the yolks. Return to the heat and whisk until thickened.

 Whisk in 2 TBS butter and 1/4 cup lemon juice.

Now, set the mixture in a cool spot. You get to see the inside of my freezer. BONUS. (See all our summer produce? Yikes. It's January and we're running low on corn! Horrors!)

Stir in 1 bit of the egg whites until blended then fold in the rest carefully with a spatula. Edna was enjoying the rest after all that egg-white beating. *whew*

Fill the dishes to the top and bake for approximately 16 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar and serve RIGHT AWAY. The picture is about 20 seconds after it came out of the oven and it's already half as tall. Huh. Souffles are the drama queens of desserts.

"Not gonna eat me right now? Fine! I QUIT!"

 

And my little Fireking mugs and teacups were just perfect! I was so tickled to be able to put them in the oven. I was a little worried they would explode. But no such thing.

 

Made to last.

 

Not like souffles.

 

Until next time!