Iced Soufflées

Soufflés glacés aux framboises (iced raspberry soufflés) teach that a dessert can rise by architecture rather than oven heat. The one true thing to know is this: sugar cooked to the small-crack stage must enter stiff egg whites in a thin, unbroken thread. That hot syrup gives the mousse enough structure to stand proudly above its ramekin after freezing.

The original preparation assumed a pâtisserie station, ten egg whites, pint measures, a copper sugar pan, and another pair of hands ready while the syrup raced through its final temperatures. Here, three whites make six individual soufflés, a stand mixer supplies the second pair of hands, and a thermometer replaces the old finger test. The large basin and brigade quantity were scaffolding. The equal measures of fruit purée and cream, the small-crack sugar, and that thin thread into the whites are the dish itself, so they stay exactly in proportion. One cook, one stove, one evening.

The book also permits Preparation of Iced Mousse with Cream (No. 2916) as an alternate filling, especially for vanilla, coffee, or chocolate, but plainly prefers this cooked-sugar meringue for fruit. Set out every bowl and build every paper collar before the syrup boils. Once The Cooking of Sugar (No. 2344) reaches 285°F (141°C), the pour cannot wait.