Pomegranate Soufflé “à l’Orientale”

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1.4-litre (1 1/2-quart) straight-sided porcelain soufflé dish or timbale, about 18 cm across
• •Medium saucepan for the vanilla base
• •Small heavy saucepan for the spun sugar
• •Hand mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment
• •Flexible spatula and fine-mesh sieve
• •Sugar thermometer
• •Two wooden spoons, two table forks, and baking parchment
• •Heavy cutting board for securing the sugar-spinning handles

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare dish and service

   Brush the inside of a 1.4-litre straight-sided timbale or soufflé dish with the softened butter, using upward strokes along the walls. Add the coating sugar, turn the dish until every buttered surface is covered, then tap out the excess. Set out four dessert plates and serving spoons now. Secure two wooden-spoon handles beneath a heavy cutting board so they project about 20 cm beyond the counter, and spread parchment underneath; this is the home sugar-spinning rig.

2. 2

   Shape the crimson sweets

   Reserve one tablespoon of the powdered sugar, then mix the remainder with the cornstarch. Work in the grenadine a few drops at a time until a stiff crimson paste forms. Pinch and roll it into about twenty-four tiny oval sweets resembling pomegranate seeds, then leave them uncovered on parchment to dry. If the paste clings to your fingers, knead in the reserved powdered sugar a little at a time. Ça se rattrape.

   Keep the sweets very small. Heavy decorations tear through fine spun sugar and weigh on the soufflé’s crown.
3. 3

   Cook the vanilla base

   Reserve 2 tablespoons of the milk, then put the rest in a saucepan with the vanilla pod and seeds. Bring it just to a simmer, cover, and leave it for 5 minutes before removing the pod. Whisk the three yolks with the base sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. Pour in the hot milk gradually while whisking, return everything to the saucepan, and cook over medium-low heat until the cream becomes very thick and gives one or two slow bubbles. Keep whisking for 1 minute to cook out the flour, then remove it from the heat and beat in the butter. If lumps appear, press the base through a fine sieve while it is still hot; do not throw it out. Loosen it with a spoonful of the reserved milk only if it becomes too stiff to fold. Press parchment against the surface and cool until barely warm.

4. 4

   Saturate the biscuits

   Heat the oven to 190°C conventional or 170°C fan, with a baking sheet on the lower-middle rack. Mix the grenadine and Kirsch in a shallow dish. Lay in the lady’s fingers, spoon the liquid over them, and turn them once, giving the biscuits about 2 minutes to become saturated to the centre while remaining liftable. Break or cut them as needed to fit the timbale. If one collapses, piece it into the layer; it will disappear into the finished soufflé.

5. 5

   Whip and fold

   Whisk the four egg whites in a spotless bowl until they form soft peaks. Add the sugar a spoonful at a time and continue just until the whites are glossy and hold a firm peak whose tip bends slightly. Dry, clotted whites cannot expand properly. If they have gone only a little too far, add the optional unbeaten white and whisk briefly until smooth again. Stir one-quarter of the whites firmly into the vanilla base to lighten it, then fold in the remainder with broad turns of a flexible spatula, reaching to the bottom each time. Stop as soon as no white pockets remain.

6. 6

   Layer and bake

   Spoon one-third of the soufflé mixture into the prepared timbale. Add half the saturated lady’s fingers in a level layer without pressing them down, cover with another third of the mixture, then repeat with the remaining biscuits and soufflé. The dish should be filled to roughly 2 cm below its rim. Smooth the top and run a clean thumb around the inside edge to make a shallow channel, which helps the crown rise evenly. Set the dish on the heated baking sheet and bake for 25 to 28 minutes. Do not open the oven during the first 20 minutes. Set a second timer for 12 minutes, when the sugar work begins.

7. 7

   Cook the spun sugar

   When the soufflé has baked for 12 minutes, put the spun-sugar granulated sugar, glucose, and 1/4 cup of the water into a small, clean, heavy saucepan. Warm gently until the sugar is completely dissolved, then cover for 2 minutes so the moisture cleans the sides of the pan. Uncover and cook without stirring until the syrup reaches 150 to 155°C and turns pale straw-gold. If crystals form before the syrup colours, remove the pan from the heat, let it settle briefly, and carefully add some or all of the remaining tablespoon of water down the side. Return it to low heat and dissolve the crystals before continuing. Burnt, bitter caramel cannot be rescued, so watch the colour as closely as the thermometer.

8. 8

   Spin the sugar veil

   Take the caramel off the heat and wait until it thickens enough to fall from two back-to-back forks in fine threads. If it falls in heavy drops, wait another 20 seconds; if it hardens in the pan, warm it gently until it flows again. Flick the forks rapidly back and forth over the projecting spoon handles, building many fine strands. Once the threads are cool and crisp, gather them loosely with dry fingers into a veil large enough to cover the timbale. Molten sugar clings fiercely, so keep hands away from the syrup itself. In a damp kitchen, make a loose veil and leave it on the handles until the final moment, because height only gives humidity more to ruin.

9. 9

   Crown and serve

   Open the oven only after 25 minutes. The soufflé is ready when it stands several centimetres above the rim, the crown is deep butter-gold, and the centre trembles without looking liquid. Carry it directly to the table, lay the spun-sugar veil lightly over the crown, and scatter the grenadine sweets across the threads in imitation of pomegranate seeds. The sugar begins softening on contact and the soufflé starts settling within minutes. That urgency belongs to the dish. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use crisp, dry lady’s fingers, not soft sponge fingers. Saturation is required by the dish, but a dry biscuit can drink the grenadine and Kirsch while retaining enough structure to form a layer.
• •Choose grenadine that tastes tart and fruity rather than merely sweet and red. The syrup supplies the dish’s pomegranate suggestion, since no fresh pomegranate belongs in this preparation.
• •Kirsch is a dry cherry eau-de-vie, not sweet cherry liqueur. Its clean heat cuts the sugar and keeps the biscuit layer from tasting like confectionery syrup.
• •Spun sugar dislikes humidity. On a wet evening, spin it as late as possible, gather it into a broad loose veil, and place it on the soufflé only after the dish reaches the table.
• •Hot caramel causes serious burns. Keep children and wandering guests away from the sugar station, and cool any accidental splash immediately under running water.

Advance Preparation

• •The vanilla base can be cooked up to 8 hours ahead. Cover its surface directly and chill it, then let it stand out of the cold for about 20 minutes and whisk it smooth before folding in the whites.
• •The crimson grenadine sweets can be shaped up to 24 hours ahead and kept dry in an airtight container once firm.
• •The timbale can be buttered and sugared several hours ahead. Mix the grenadine and Kirsch in advance, but do not saturate the lady’s fingers until shortly before assembly.
• •Do not prepare the spun-sugar veil ahead. Even a well-made veil softens rapidly in ordinary kitchen humidity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 220g)