Eric Lanlard's gingerbread soufflé recipe

Details

• Cuisine: British
• Recipe Type: Dessert
• Difficulty: Medium
• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 11 mins
• Serves: 8

Step-by-step

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C)/350°F/gas mark 4. Melt half the butter and use to brush the inside of eight small ramekins.
2. Tip 25g (1oz) of the caster sugar into one ramekin and tap around the sides to lightly coat. Pour the excess into the next ramekin and repeat until all the ramekins are butter- and sugar-coated.
3. Melt the chocolate with the spices, rum, vanilla extract and remaining butter in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water (the base of the bowl must not touch the water). Stir until smooth.
4. Remove the bowl from the heat and mix the egg yolks in one at a time.
5. In a large clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until they become foamy. While continuing to whisk, sprinkle in the remaining sugar, a bit at a time, until the mixture forms into soft, moist-looking peaks. Mix a little into the chocolate mixture, then gently fold in the rest, using a large metal spoon.
6. Divide the soufflé mixture between the ramekins, spooning it in, and place the ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for exactly 11 minutes.
7. Delicious served with vanilla custard poured into the centre of each soufflé.
8. Top Tips; these soufflés must be cooked just before eating as they will flatten within two minutes of being removed from the oven. Be careful not to open the oven door during cooking, as this may prevent them from rising.