Iced Soufflées

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Stand mixer with whisk attachment
• •Small heavy stainless-steel saucepan
• •Clip-on digital sugar thermometer
• •6 straight-sided 4-ounce (120 ml) ramekins
• •Parchment paper, kitchen twine or tape
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Flexible spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the collars

   Wrap a strip of parchment around the outside of each ramekin so it rises 1½ inches (4 cm) above the rim, then secure it with kitchen twine or tape placed well away from the filling. Set the ramekins on a small tray that fits level in your freezer. Chill the raspberry purée, cream, mixing bowl, and cream whisk thoroughly before you begin.

   Test the tray in the freezer now. Carrying six filled collars around while searching for a level shelf is an unnecessary form of excitement.
2. 2

   Whip the cream

   Whisk the cold cream until it forms very stiff peaks and clear ridges, as the source requires, but stop while its surface remains smooth and satin-like. Refrigerate it at once. If it turns grainy at the edge, don't keep beating. Ça se rattrape: fold in the optional spoonful of cold liquid cream by hand until the texture smooths, then return it to the cold.

3. 3

   Ready the mixer

   Put the egg whites in the impeccably clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with its whisk. Keep the mixer off for the moment, but have it beside the stove with the cord safely clear of the flame and saucepan. The whites must be ready to reach stiff peaks while the syrup passes through its final temperatures.

4. 4

   Cook to small crack

   Combine the sugar and water in the smallest heavy stainless-steel saucepan that holds them comfortably. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves, washing any crystals from the sides with a clean brush dipped in water. Once the syrup boils, stop stirring and cook it according to The Cooking of Sugar (No. 2344). When it reaches 240°F (116°C), start whipping the whites at medium speed, then increase to high so they stand in very stiff peaks as the syrup reaches the small-crack stage, 285°F (141°C). If crystals seize the syrup before it colors, add 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) water, dissolve it gently, and begin the climb again. Ça se rattrape. If the syrup turns amber, restart with fresh sugar because caramel would change the raspberry completely.

   Use the thermometer, not the old cold-water finger test. Molten sugar sticks before it burns, and tradition has nothing to gain from your blistered hand.
5. 5

   Stream the syrup

   The instant the syrup reaches 285°F (141°C), take it from the heat. With the mixer running at medium-high speed, pour the syrup into the stiff whites in a very thin, steady thread aimed between the whisk and the side of the bowl. Don't pour onto the whisk, which flings syrup into hard threads, and don't pour directly down the bowl, where it sets before reaching the whites. Continue whisking until the meringue is very glossy, holds a firm peak, and the bowl has cooled from hot to merely warm, about 6 minutes. If a few hardened sugar threads form, lift them out once the meringue cools rather than crushing them back into it; the remaining meringue is perfectly usable.

6. 6

   Fold fruit and cream

   Transfer the meringue to a broad mixing bowl. Fold in the chilled raspberry purée in two additions, cutting through the center and turning the bowl until no dark streaks remain. Add the stiffly whipped cream in three additions, sacrificing the first spoonful to loosen the meringue and folding the rest gently so its air survives. The finished mousse should be uniform, pale pink, and thick enough to mound from the spatula. If it begins to loosen, stop folding; further work removes more air, while the freezer will still set what you have.

7. 7

   Fill and freeze

   Divide the mixture among the collared ramekins, filling each about 1 inch (2.5 cm) above its ceramic rim. Level the tops with the back of a spoon without pressing out the air, then freeze uncovered until firm, at least 6 hours. Once solid, cover loosely to protect the surface. If you chose the optional raspberry Preparation of Iced Mousse with Cream (No. 2916), skip Steps 2 through 6 and spoon that finished component directly into the prepared collars before freezing.

8. 8

   Reveal and serve

   Take the soufflés from the freezer 5 minutes before serving. Release the tape or twine and peel each parchment collar straight away from the frozen edge, turning the ramekin rather than tugging at the mousse. The pale raspberry crown should stand cleanly above the rim like a hot soufflé caught at its proudest moment. Serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Fresh raspberries are lovely when the season gives them freely, but thawed frozen berries make an honest purée and are often better than tired fruit. Pass either through a fine sieve and measure the purée after the seeds are removed; about 9 ounces (255 g) berries will give more than the 6 ounces (170 g) needed here.
• •The thermometer is the home cook's honest equivalent of the sugar cook's finger test. Clip it where the probe sits in the syrup without touching the pan floor, and watch closely once it passes 270°F (132°C), because the final climb is quick.
• •The book's alternate Preparation of Iced Mousse with Cream (No. 2916) is especially suited to vanilla, coffee, and chocolate. For raspberry, the preferred meringue method tastes brighter and lets the fruit keep its edge against the cream.
• •Serve the soufflés within 5 to 8 minutes of leaving the freezer. They should yield cleanly to a spoon but retain their tall collars; left too long, they soften first around the ramekin and lose the silhouette that gives the dish its name.

Advance Preparation

• •The parchment collars can be fitted to the ramekins a day ahead. Set the collared dishes on their freezer tray, cover them from dust, and leave the whole arrangement ready.
• •The soufflés can be frozen up to 3 days ahead. Once firm, cover them without touching their tops, then remove the collars only when the ramekins are on their way to the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 103g)