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!