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The Delicious Appreciations of Pick Yin

Not exactly predictable.
Has enough brains for codes
(but can be completely clueless on other more important matters).
Likes her Joe (and her man?) black, her chocolate dark and her food spicy.
“Quam bene vivas refert, non quam diu.” — Seneca

Total Posts   191      Last Updated   23 November 2015 12:00 PM (GMT +8)

Friday, October 22, 2010


Raspberry Rose Soufflé


Soufflé is one intriguing animal of a dessert. The fact that it scares the most professional chefs and every time I order it I'd be made to wait for an excruciating half an hour for the deliciousness to arrive draws me towards it even more. Light and airy, fluffy and wobbly, temperamental and heart-warming, this is one dessert I'd go for as long as it exists on the menu when we eat out.



While an obvious choice of flavor would be the evil dark chocolate with a sprinkle of fleur de sel, perhaps infused with some spice like cardamom or a citrus like orange, I chose to start my first soufflé baking experience with some plump raspberries. Rich, decadent chocolate soufflé, you and I will have to chat next month. Tart, pink, fruity soufflé, you are fit to be my creation to address the month of breast cancer awareness.



Right, before I continue having conversations with ramekins of warm cotton candy-like softness in my head, I'd like to thank Ellie of Almost Bourdain for sharing her incredible soufflé post. With her discovery of this fool-proof recipe, the results were all pretty and tall. Instead of tip-toeing in the kitchen - according to the urban legends of not disturbing the rise of a sensitive baking soufflé - I broke into periodical little jiggy dances around my oven watching them go up, up and up!



The soufflés stood their ground long enough for the pressured excited cameraman to capture some shots. Good thing he set up a dry run with the set and an empty ramekin before they were out of the oven, just like Shirley did with her banana macadamia chocolate ones. I hope this would do justice to the pink month of October. Prerna of the beautiful Indian Simmer inspired me to make something by asking for suggestion over Twitter and all over the world food bloggers contributed their own pink creations as well.



Breast cancer affected my life significantly. Thanks to early detection more than ten years ago my mother is still alive today.



Since breast cancer is hereditary, there is a high risk that I too may have it. All the more reason for a day to be spent remembering that with some care and responsibility towards the wellness of our bodies we can fight the disease and stand triumphant, just like a perfectly risen soufflé.


Raspberry Rose Souffle
Adapted from Almost Bourdain's Lemon, Lime and Orange Soufflé, original recipe from Raspberry Souffle in Serving The Menu Again by Ben O'Donoghue and Curtis Stone.
Serves 8
    Base

  • 4 6 ounces containers of fresh raspberries

  • 125 grams / 4 1/2 ounces caster sugar

  • 4 teaspoons corn flour

  • Water

    • Souffle Mix

  • 10 egg whites (room temperature)

  • Pinch of salt

  • 1 teaspoon rose essence

  • 100 grams / 3 1/2 ounces caster sugar

  • 200 grams / 7 ounces butter, softened, enough to grease the moulds

  • 100 grams / 3 1/2 ounces caster sugar, enough to coat the moulds

  • Icing sugar, for dusting

  • Creme anglaise or ice cream, to serve

Puree the raspberries in a blender and press through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. Add enough water to make 500 milliliters of puree.

To make the base, place the raspberry puree and sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar and bring to the boil. Mix the corn flour with just enough water to make a smooth paste. Once the fruit puree reaches boiling point, reduce the heat to low and whisk the corn flour paste into the fruit puree a little at a time. Whisk for 1 minute and do not allow mixture to boil again. Remove from the heat and set aside. Chill to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

Place the egg whites into a very clean, very large mixing bowl, add the salt and beat at high speed until soft peaks form. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form. Do not over whisk or the egg whites will break down and be unable to hold the air required to life the souffle.

Place the fruit puree base into a very large bowl and whisk until smooth. Add a little of the egg white mixture and stir in to loosen the consistency. Gently fold in the remaining egg white and rose essence.

Brush the bases of 6 1-cup capacity ramekins with the softened butter, then, using upward strokes (this is very important), brush the sides. Chill in the refrigerator until set, and then repeat. Sprinkle in a little of the caster sugar, turning the ramekins to coat the base and sides. To fill the moulds, use a palette knife to spread the souffle mixture around the sides while holding the ramekin at a 45-degrees angle. Fill the middle and smooth top top, without allowing any mixture to stick to the rim or run over the sides.

Place in the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden and well risen. Serve immediately dusted with icing sugar, and with creme anglaise or ice cream on the side, if you like.


Related Posts:


Dark Chocolate Soufflé

French Vanilla Ice Cream with Cherries

Heavenly Pavlova

posted by PickYin @ 10/22/2010 06:57:00 AM

27 Comments on Raspberry Rose Soufflé

These look so lovely and delicate, I'm still too scared to tackle souffles, and great to see so many pink creations being made this month. :)

Posted by Anonymous Sheena, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:47:00 AM  

Sheena: Have no fear! Try this, it's my first time making one and it works!

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:48:00 AM  

Pickyin, this looks so sweet and gorgeous! Don't you just love it when you get such great results at your first attempt? Thanks for the mention and hope you will try the banana macadamia nuts soon. :)

Posted by Anonymous shirley@kokken69, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:49:00 AM  

Shirley: Thanks, will definitely try yours too.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:49:00 AM  

Macarons and souffles are two things I'm so scared of attempting for the sheer surety of failure I'll face! But seeing so many beautiful pinks this season that I'm thinking of giving it all a try after all. Tis is beautiful and for a great cause.

Posted by Anonymous Kulsum @journeykitchen, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:50:00 AM  

Kulsum: You should try it, it's much easier than a macaron I'd say.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:50:00 AM  

One very pretty souffle!! Love your presentation with the dusted sugar.

Posted by Anonymous Soma, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:53:00 AM  

Thanks Soma, do try it!

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:54:00 AM  

Love the cloud-like fluffy texture and the sweet lovely colour of your souffle.

Posted by Anonymous Jessie, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:55:00 AM  

Thanks Jessie!

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:55:00 AM  

It's a relief to hear that your mother detected it early and is fine. Hope you and her will both be well! This souffle is truly beautiful. What a colour and such a delicate flavour. I look forward to your chocolate one! x

Posted by Anonymous divaeatsworld.com, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:55:00 AM  

Thanks diva. I'm really looking forward to the chocolate one too!

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:55:00 AM  

this is beautiful, and thank goodness the disease was discovered early for your mom.
souffle is actually something i'd like to master and your pictures really makes me want to make a go of it.. soon. thanks for sharing.

Posted by Anonymous Lan, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:55:00 AM  

Lan: With souffles it's never a guarantee, even pros have their flop moments. I'd say perhaps I have beginner's luck. This recipe is fool proof though!

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:56:00 AM  

pickyin,

thats a gorgeous souffles
what type of oven are you using?

Posted by Anonymous mookerah, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:56:00 AM  

mookerah: Thanks! I'm using a wall unit convection oven. For all my baking I turn the fan on.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:57:00 AM  

this absolutely looks beautiful! could you please tell me where you attained rose essence? i've been looking for it everywhere and i just can't wait to make rose-flavored desserts!

Posted by Anonymous Laura Fu, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:57:00 AM  

Laura, are you in Singapore? You can get it from Shermay cooking school at Chip Bee Gardens, Holland Village. They are a bit pricey but the quality is better than those from Phoon Huat.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:57:00 AM  

oh no, i'm not! i'm in the united states. it seems they're harder to get in the US than anywhere else.

Posted by Anonymous Laura Fu, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:57:00 AM  

Ah I see Laura, but in US go to Amazon. I tell you they sell everything and if shipping doesn't cost a bomb I'd order a lot of things from them. This is exactly the one I'm using.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B003NYFTM4/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&redirect=true&qid=1297904075&sr=1-9&condition=all

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:58:00 AM  

thanks so much!!

Posted by Anonymous Laura Fu, at Feb 3, 2012, 9:58:00 AM  

I made this for Valentines Day- worked perfectly! Looked beautiful but tasted more like egg than raspberry- any trick to avoid this??

Posted by Anonymous Anonymous, at Feb 13, 2012, 8:18:00 PM  

Anon: You can try using 8 eggs instead of 10, though I don't face similar issue with mine as the raspberries we get here are pretty tart.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 14, 2012, 3:38:00 PM  

Would it be possible to substitute the rose essence? I don't want to spend that much money on something I probably won't use again...

Posted by Anonymous Lindsey, at Apr 3, 2012, 12:19:00 AM  

Lindsey: Feel free to skip the rose extract. The result will be just a plain old raspberry souffle.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Apr 3, 2012, 9:34:00 AM  

this was my first time making a souffle and it was delicious and beautiful!! I subsitituted 1 tablespoon of rosewater for the rose essence

Posted by Blogger Arielle Puuri, at Jul 4, 2013, 2:37:00 AM  

How does this recipe serve 8 people when you are filling only 6 ramkins? Someone ain't gettin' any....nonetheless, I just returned from a French restaurant that served a raspberry souffle and I am determined to make my own! Corn flour in this recipe seems odd, but will make it totally gluten free, which is a good thing for some.

Posted by Blogger Mozartoschwantner, at Jan 18, 2014, 10:51:00 AM  


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