Vanilla Souffle

I'm not much of a sweets kind of person.  My husband, on the hand, could eat a piece of cake for breakfast and wash it down with a bowl of ice cream every day if he could.

But when I do have dessert, I like it to be light and tasty.  That's where this vanilla souffle comes in.  It's delicate, but complex in flavor.  Simple, but a show stopper.  Obviously, I waited a little too long to take pictures because it started to deflate after a bit.  But it still tasted wonderful, and in the end, that's what really matters, right?  Right.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
4 egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vanilla
powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Grease the inside of 4 small ramekins with butter.

In a small saucepan, combine the flour, milk, and 1/3 cup sugar.  Slowly bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently to prevent lumps.  When the mixture begins to thicken, remove from heat and let cool.

Whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time and continue until all yolks are incorporated.  Beat in the 2 tablespoons of butter.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites, salt, and remaining tablespoon of sugar until stiff peaks form.

Fold the meringue into the egg yolk mixture and then stir in vanilla.

Divide the mixture between the ramekins, filling them about 3/4 of the way full.

Place the ramekins carefully on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven.  Turn heat down to 375 F and bake for 25-30 minutes or until souffle has risen and is golden brown.

Carefully remove from the oven and dust with powdered sugar.  Serve immediately.

Hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving week!

Chocolate Peppermint Mousse

It seems that Christmas gets thrown in our faces earlier and earlier every year.  I remember when I didn't see a single Christmas decoration or hear a note of a single Christmas song until the day after Thanksgiving.  This year, I pretty much woke up the day after Halloween to aisles flooded with Christmas candy and knick knacks - the alarm set to a horrible country radio station (sorry for all you country music fans) unforgivably playing Christmas tunes.  I mean, can't we give Thanksgiving a chance, first?

Well, I guess if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

My husband loves the taste of peppermint-anything.  Throw chocolate in the mix and he's in heaven.  So since it's pretty close to the big guy's birthday, I decided to whip up a little dessert to put a smile on his cute face.

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 cup Peppermint Schnapps
6 oz. semi-sweet or dark chocolate
1/4 cup coffee
6 oz. unsalted butter, softened
4 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt

whipped cream for topping, optional

Combine the egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar in a medium, stainless steel bowl.  Beat with a hand mixer until pale yellow and the mixture allows ribbons to form.

Beat in the Peppermint Schnapps until combined. 

Set up a double boiler on the stove, being careful not to let the bottom of the bowl touch any water (you only need about an inch of water in the pot).  Beat the mixture until it starts to thicken and slightly foams up.  The mixture should be warm to the touch.  Set mixture aside while you melt the chocolate.

In another medium, stainless steel bowl, combine the chocolate and coffee.  Set the bowl over the double boiler and stir until chocolate is completely melted.  Remove from heat and stir in the butter. 

Slowly pour the chocolate mixture in with the egg mixture and beat until all the chocolate is incorporated.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites, salt, and remaining tablespoon of sugar.  Whisk until stiff peaks form.

Fold the meringue in with the chocolate mixture until all is incorporated.  Divide the mixture into serving dishes and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

When ready to serve, top with whipped cream and sprinkles.

This is definitely a tasty treat.  The peppermint doesn't over power the chocolate at all, but instead, it accentuates it to create quite the delicious bite!

So if you're looking for something to serve at one of the many holiday dinner parties this year, look no further!  Enjoy the rest of the week, guys!