Season 6, episode 9. Link to recipe here. Baked on July 13, 2020.
This late in the competition, I can only imagine the pared down recipe was a list of ingredients and one instruction, “Make Souffle.”
This recipe goes through a lot of bowls. In many recipes that call for melting chocolate, I opt for the microwave instead of the double boiler. I also microwaved the milk and cocoa powder. For the rest of the recipe, I used the Kitchen Aid mixer. I only had to wash the bowl after step four.
Whisking egg whites by hand to form soft peaks is quite the workout. There are days when I relish breaking into a sweat with a large whisk and a large metal bowl. The scraping sound is therapeutic. It’s like scratching the hormonal agitation of being a 55 year old post-menopausal woman. But this was not one of those days.
I am very happy in my kitchen with many tools. I totally get the “gotta have it” bug from any tool enthusiast. When the cooking/baking adventure mood strikes, having the gear at hand makes the moment that much sweeter. I still have a wish list of tools from this challenge. My friend Pam has relatives and friends that frequent flea markets. I also have wonderfully supportive relatives who send me tools for presents.
I’ve been making a list of required tools for this challenge. When I finish season ten, I will post the list in case anyone else is thinking about the madness of this kitchen folly.
Back to the bake. Mary’s Chocolate Soufflé serves 8. This isn’t a dessert that keeps. During the episode, the contestants had staggered start times so the judges had warm soufflé from each person. I was lucky with timing. I had plenty of tasters for a Monday.
We had too many teenagers in the house; especially for COVID-19. I knew that if I would feed them, I wouldn’t feel so bad for asking them to leave. Some moms make Kool-Aid and Rice Krispie Treats. I make chocolate soufflé. The problem of needing tasters and then needing them to leave worked out! I wonder if I fed Chocolate Soufflé to the anti-maskers they’d start complying with science.
No, I don’t have a 1.2 liter soufflé dish. This casserole dish worked out just fine. That’s not saying I wouldn’t accept a soufflé dish. 🙂
Silagh White 