Chocolate Soufflé with Orange Cream

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As the long Thanksgiving weekend is coming to a close it seems that the Holidays are on everyone's mind. Is it me or did the stores start decorating extra early this year? I'm just now starting to get my holiday stride on and it feels good! This is the first year that we went to a Christmas Tree farm to chop our own, such fun! The farm had some unusual evergreen tree varieties that definitely are not a typical choice for us east coasters, hello Colorado Blue Spruce trees, plus the farm allow dogs. It was truly a wonderful afternoon in the country hiking the fields and taking in all of the beauty of the trees. 

Now that our Christmas tree has carefully been installed (yay, the tree did not fall over this year thanks to our new tree stand) it's time to start thinking about holiday foods. One of my favorite flavor combinations, especially during the holiday season, is chocolate and orange. I absolutely love the citrus season and it's just getting started. Yay! Here I paired chocolate soufflés with an orange cream - all I have to say is one might not be enough!!! These cute little pots of chocolate are the perfect end to a delicious holiday dinner party. 

The trick when making soufflé is to use room temperature eggs. I leave mine out for about 30 minutes prior to getting started. As a soufflé is primarily whipped egg whites with sugar you want to make sure the ingredients aren't stiff and cold so they'll blend easily and puff up nicely. 

To make these chocolate soufflés you start by combining 4 eggs yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and cocoa powder. Next, heat up the milk and then slowly combine them together, careful to add the hot milk to the yolks in parts as you stir to ensure that you don't end up with chocolate scrambled eggs. Set this mixture aside and whip up the egg whites. I always use a timer with this step to ensure that I don't go past the point of over beating the whites and turn them to mush. Slowly fold the beaten egg whites into the thicken egg yolk/chocolate mixture and the rest is golden. Pour the mixture into the buttered and chocolate floured cups and run your finger around the rim. This will provide a ridge that will allow the soufflé to rise and not fall over the side. The soufflé will be slightly jiggly when you take it out of the oven, this is normal. Allow it to cool and it will naturally sink down leaving an impression for the orange cream topping. 

As the chocolate soufflés bake, approximately 15-20 mins, make the orange cream. It's essentially a cream cheese frosting (confectioners' sugar, cream cheese, orange marmalade with chopped oranges) that you dollop right on top. Allow the soufflés to cool so the cream won't become a runny mess. 

Happy Holiday Season! Hope you enjoy! 

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xo 

L