Vanilla Souffle Recipe

A perfectly risen classic Vanilla Souffle that is so creamy, light but also rich at the same time just like eating a hot mousse which is full of vanilla flavour!!!

Souffles are so fun at make and eat along with kids. You can just see the wonder and excitement in their face seeing these tall souffles. My daughters just love them:)
Its just like eating a vanilla cloud!! Its not too sweet and its not bland either. You can eat the whole ramekin and still feel light and good, you know! One important thing with souffles is not to overcook them. You want the inside to be creamy and soft like a cloud ( just like the picture above ).

Everyone love a perfectly risen souffle. And this souffle doesn't collapse even for a good 5 minutes. So in this post I am going to give you some tips that I learned after trying many souffles until I finalized with this one.

Firstly preparing the ramekins:

• Make sure the ramekins are completely clean and dry ( wet ramekins cannot be greased properly ).
• With a pastry brush, grease the ramekins using softened butter in upward strokes ( this will help the souffle rise evenly ).
• Coat the ramekins in caster sugar and keep the prepared ramekins in fridge to set ( this will help the butter to solidify ) until ready to use.

Next whipping the egg whites:

• You definitely need an extra egg white in this recipe. I know, I never have much liked recipes that call for an extra egg yolk or egg white. But you have to trust me on this one, You definitely need that extra egg white to give proper structure for your souffle.
• Make sure your bowl and beaters are clean and completely dry so that your egg whites can whip properly. 

And lastly FOLDING the final mixture:

• While mixing the custard with the whipped egg whites, be very careful. You need the mixture to be homogeneous at the same time you don't want to knock all the air out that.

This is such a fancy dessert with the most basic ingredients. So, what are you waiting for? Come on run to the kitchen and try these at once and let me know how much you liked them:)

 

Vanilla Souffle

 Perfect risen Vanilla Souffle!
 Prep time: 15 min | Cook time: 14 min
 Total time: 29 min |Yield: 3 ramekins ( 150 ml )


Ingredients:
Egg Yolks: 2
Caster Sugar: 2 tbsp + 2 and 1/2 tbsp + for coating ramekins 
All Purpose Flour / Maida: 1 tbsp
Milk: 1/2 cup 
Butter: 1 tbsp + for brushing ramekins 

Vanilla Essence: 1 tsp 
Egg Whites: 3 

METHOD:
1)Whisk egg yolks with 2 tbsp sugar until pale in colour. Mix in the flour.

2) Bring the milk and butter to a simmer ( just when it starts bubbling around the edges ) in a sauce pan. Add some hot milk slowly to the egg mixture, while whisking continuously  (This is called tempering the eggs. This is done to slowly raise the temperature of eggs without scrambling them ).

3) Now pour the egg mix back to the sauce pan and place it on low heat, stirring all the time.

4) The mixture will thicken like a custard ( as shown below ). Remove it from the heat and add the vanilla essence. Mix well and transfer to a separate bowl to cool completely to room temperature.

5) Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 190 C for 10 minutes.
Now, lets ready the ramekins. Brush the insides of the ramekins with softened butter. Use a pastry brush and do upward strokes which will help the souffle rise evenly. Coat with caster sugar and place it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Take egg whites in a clean and dry bowl.

6) Whip the egg whites until it is foamy. With mixer running on medium speed, slowly add in the remaining 2 and 1/2 tbsp caster sugar. Increase the speed to high and whip until stiff peaks.
Add about 1/3 rd of the whipped egg whites to the cooled down custard and whisk to loosen it up.

7) Now add the loosened custard to the whipped egg whites and FOLD gently with a spatula until everything is mixed evenly ( remember to fold carefully without knocking out too much air ).

8) Fill the ramekins until they are 3/4 th full. Tap them gently so that they fill out evenly. Then fill them to the rim. Scrape off the excess with an offset spatula / knife. Run a clean cloth / finger around the edges as shown in the picture below.
Bake in a preheated oven at 190 C in the middle rack for 13 to 15 minutes or until fully risen and the top is golden brown.

Serve immediately. Optionally, you can dust the top with powdered sugar just before serving...

There you have it, a classic Vanilla Souffle perfectly done!!

Recipe reference: Eugenie Kitchen and Gordon Ramsay
NOTES:
1) Always serve the souffles immediately, right out of the oven.
2) If you don't have a hand beater, you can definitely use a whisk to make this recipe. It will take a little time longer, but the results will be the same - you will get a perfect souffle, no matter what.
3) Do check out the tips at the beginning of the post.



If you loved this souffle, then most definitely you will also love our Creme Caramel

Happy Cooking,
Sindhiya.S

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The Perfect Banana Walnut Bread - Whether you are a banana lover or not, you should definitely try this.

I am a chocolate lover- I love eating them, cooking them for others and then eating them again... You get it? I am a huge fan of chocolate but that didn't stop me from devouring this Banana bread. Its so well balanced, the taste, the texture. I mean you can eat this as a tea time snack, a breakfast or even as a dinner dessert ( all of which I did :) ) and still feel like, maybe I could eat one more slice?! Who knew that banana, vanilla and walnuts can make something sooo good!

Hands down, this is the BEST Banana Bread. I know with so many recipes out there, I simply can't claim one The Best. But wait let me tell you about this loaf,

• This bread is so soft, but sturdy enough to hold its shape.
• This is not a dry loaf . It is very moist with the banana puree and the yogurt. But is definitely not sticky moist you know, the kind that gets stuck to your teeth.
• It makes perfect slices.
• The walnut is evenly distributed through out the bread.
• And there is the balance. This loaf has the perfect balance of - sweetness, softness and moistness.

I have made this loaf more than 3 times. And every time it has not even lasted 2 days. In a home, where majority of them are not a fan of cakes, this is really a great deal. The only cake that everybody in my family enjoy commonly is the Eggless Dates cake. But I have to say that it has taken the second place now, leaving way for this new favourite.

If you love an eggless version, do check out our Eggless Whole Wheat Banana muffins.

 Ok, without further ado lets get on to the recipe...

 

The BEST Banana Walnut Bread!

 Soft, moist, perfectly sweetened Banana Walnut bread!
 Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: 50 min
 Total time: 60 min |Yield: One 8 1/2 by  4 1/2 loaf bread


Ingredients:
Smashed Banana: 1 cup
All purpose Flour / maida: 1 and 1/2 cups + for dusting  
Baking Soda: 1 and 1/4 tsp
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Softened Unsalted Butter: 1/2 cup ( 113 g ) 
Caster Sugar: 3/4 cup 

Eggs: 2 
Vanilla Essence: 1 and 1/2 tsp 
Yogurt / Curd: 2 and 1/2 tbsp 
Toasted Walnuts: 1/2 cup ( roughly chopped ) 
Oil: for greasing 

METHOD:

1) Preheat oven at 180 C for 10 minutes. Take some ripe bananas ( your bananas should definitely have some brown spots ).
Mash the bananas with a fork in a bowl ( you can even use a mixer ).

2) Grease a 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 loaf pan with oil ( I use thispan ). Place a parchment paper at the bottom and grease it as well. Dust the whole pan with flour and keep that aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt until well combined. Dry mix is now ready.

3) Cream together butter and sugar using a hand beater or a whisk until light and fluffy ( as shown below ). Add in the first egg and mix well until combined.

4) Add the second egg and vanilla and mix until combined.

5)  Add half of the dry mix and beat just once or twice ( you definitely don't want to over mix ). Add the mashed banana and beat once more.

6) Now add the remaining dry mix and the yogurt and mix gently on low speed until everything is combined. Fold in the toasted and chopped walnuts.

7) Transfer to the prepared pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C in the middle rack for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick / knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let it cool in the pan itself for 5 to 8 minutes. Then gently run a knife around the edges of the pan. Invert the bread and remove the parchment paper. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

There you have it the BEST Banana Bread!!

Recipe Adapted: Crouton Crackerjacks

NOTES:
1) Make sure your butter is at room temperature to ensure proper creaming.
2) Never mix vigorously after adding the flour as it will cause to develop the gluten in the flour which in turn makes the bread very tough.
3) Keep all your ingredients at room temperature.
4) Your bananas should be ripe for this recipe. You definitely need some brown spots. The more the better as it naturally adds sweetness and flavour to the recipe.
5) You can also add almonds or cashews instead of walnuts. but I do hope you give a try with walnuts beacuse banana and walnut is an unbeatable combo!
6) The number of bananas differ depending on their size. Mine were  small, so  mashed 6 bananas to get 1 cup.
7) Slice the bread only after it has cooled down completely to room temperature.
8) You can also cover the top of your bread loosely with aluminium foil after about 30 minutes, if you feel your cake is browning too much on the top.

Happy Cooking,
Sinhiya.S

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