Souffléd Pudding Sans-Souci

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1.5-litre or 6-cup straight-sided pudding or charlotte mould
• •Deep roasting pan large enough to hold the mould
• •25 cm or 10-inch frying pan
• •Medium heavy-bottomed saucepan
• •Electric mixer or balloon whisk
• •Thin flexible knife
• •Warm serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare mould and bath

   Heat the oven to 165°C conventional or 325°F. Brush the softened butter thickly over the bottom and sides of a 1.5-litre pudding or charlotte mould, carrying it right to the rim. Press the washed and thoroughly dried currants into the butter in a generous, even scatter, then chill the mould while you make the pudding. Set a deep roasting pan aside and heat enough water to reach halfway up the mould.

   The currants must be dry enough not to mark a towel. Water prevents them from gripping the butter and leaves pale tracks down the finished pudding.
2. 2

   Cook apples dry

   Melt the butter for the apples in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Add the diced apples and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, turning gently, until the dice are tender at the edges, hold their shape, and leave no watery juice in the pan. Spread them on a plate so they cool quickly and completely. If the apples have shed a puddle, return them to the pan and cook until it disappears. Ça se rattrape. Raw or wet apple is what slackens this pudding.

   Use a wide pan. Crowded apple dice simmer in their own juice, while a single layer lets the water escape and the butter coat each piece.
3. 3

   Make the panade

   Put the milk, the butter for the base, and half the sugar in a saucepan. Bring just to a simmer, then draw the pan from the heat and add all the sifted flour at once. Beat firmly with a wooden spoon until smooth. Return it to low heat and stir for 2 minutes, until the panade, the cooked flour base, gathers into a soft ball and leaves a thin film on the pan. Let it cool for 5 minutes, then beat in the yolks one at a time. The base should be warm, not hot enough to cook the yolks. Stir in the completely cooled apple dice.

4. 4

   Fold the soufflé

   Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until they form soft peaks. Add the remaining sugar gradually and continue whisking only until the whites are glossy and hold a medium peak whose tip bends slightly. Stir one-third into the apple base to loosen it, then fold in the rest with broad strokes from the bottom of the bowl. Stop as soon as no white streaks remain. Spoon the preparation into the currant-lined mould, filling it no more than three-quarters full, and smooth the surface lightly without pressing out the air.

   Medium peaks fold willingly. Whites beaten until dry and clotted resist the base, forcing you to mix harder and spend the lift you worked to build.
5. 5

   Poach in bain-marie

   Set the mould in the roasting pan and pour the hot water around it until the water reaches halfway up the sides. This bain-marie, a hot-water bath, shields the egg-rich pudding from fierce oven heat. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes without opening the door during the first 35 minutes. The pudding is ready when it has risen, the exposed surface feels resilient, and a thin skewer reaches the centre and comes out without liquid batter. The water should only tremble at the edges. If it begins bubbling hard, replace a cupful with cool water and lower the oven by 10°C or 25°F. Ça se rattrape.

6. 6

   Unmould and serve

   Lift the mould from the bain-marie and let the pudding settle for 8 to 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around the rim without scraping the currant-lined sides, place a warm serving platter over the mould, and invert both together in one confident movement. If the pudding clings, wrap the mould briefly in a cloth wrung from hot water, then try again. Serve warm, with its butter-gold sides, dark currants, and tender apple crumb left plainly visible. It needs no invented sauce or decoration. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy dried Zante currants, the tiny dark raisins traditionally meant here, not fresh blackcurrant fruit. Wash them as the source directs, then dry them with equal care so they stay fixed to the buttered mould.
• •A firm, tart apple keeps its shape and gives the sweet pudding some backbone. Boskoop, Cox, Braeburn, or Pink Lady all work; a soft mealy apple collapses before its excess water has cooked away.
• •The scaled formula keeps the source proportion intact: approximately 450 grams of souffléd-pudding preparation to 225 grams of peeled apple. The quantity changed for a home table, but the ratio and method did not.
• •A straight-sided metal charlotte mould releases most cleanly and conducts the gentle heat well. A deep ceramic soufflé dish also works, though it may need another 5 to 10 minutes in the bain-marie.
• •Expect a little settling after the pudding leaves the oven. This is a moist moulded pudding supported by cooked panade and apple, not a free-standing soufflé meant to tower over its dish.

Advance Preparation

• •Wash and dry the currants, cook the apple dice, and refrigerate both separately up to one day ahead. Let the apples lose their refrigerator chill before mixing, but keep them completely dry.
• •The mould can be buttered and lined with currants several hours ahead. Cover it loosely and keep it cold so the butter remains firm and holds the fruit in place.
• •Do not hold the raw preparation after folding in the whites. For a make-ahead service, bake the pudding one day ahead, cool and chill it in its mould, then reheat it covered for about 20 minutes in a fresh bain-marie at 150°C or 300°F before unmoulding. It will stand a little lower, but remain tender.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 180g)