My train of thought with baking (and, admittedly, most things) tends to start with scouring the Pinterest stratosphere. This time, however, it started in John Lewis with the cutest little ramekins you've ever seen... I had to do SOMETHING to justify buying the six little porcelain pots. So I rummaged through the file in my brain marked 'to bake', and came up with Hot Chocolate Souffles...
They're just SO cute! Be warned: they are incredibly delicious, but incredibly rich. Bake at your own risk...They really need to be eaten directly from the oven, but if you want you can refrigerate the mixture for up to 48hrs- perfect to bake individually as and when needed.
for 8 mini souffles
50g soft unsalted butter, at room temp
150g caster sugar
4 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
half a tsp baking powder
50g strong white flour (the same you use to make bread, even italian 00 will do)
300g dark chocolate
for the decor
mini marshmallows, as many as you can handle!
If baking straight away, preheat the oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6/400ºF. Fill a saucepan up with water and heat until boiling. Break up the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Turn down the heat a little and place the bowl of chocolate over the saucepan and gently stir. Cream the butter and sugar together whilst the chocolate is melting- if you're not great at multitasking, wait until the chocolate is completely melted to start the creaming process!Crack the eggs into the mixture and whisk gently. Add in the flour, baking powder and vanilla essence and stir. At this point the chocolate should have cooled enough to fold into the rest of the mixture. Stir until completely incorporated and finally spoon into the adorable little ramekins (adorable not compulsory...). Place the ramekins on a baking tray and bake for 8 minutes (10 if baking from the fridge). Quickly take the souffles out, pop the marshmallows on top and bake for a further 2 minutes.Voila!
P.S. don't count the calories, for goodness' sake...
They're just SO cute! Be warned: they are incredibly delicious, but incredibly rich. Bake at your own risk...They really need to be eaten directly from the oven, but if you want you can refrigerate the mixture for up to 48hrs- perfect to bake individually as and when needed.
for 8 mini souffles
50g soft unsalted butter, at room temp
150g caster sugar
4 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
half a tsp baking powder
50g strong white flour (the same you use to make bread, even italian 00 will do)
300g dark chocolate
for the decor
mini marshmallows, as many as you can handle!
If baking straight away, preheat the oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6/400ºF. Fill a saucepan up with water and heat until boiling. Break up the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Turn down the heat a little and place the bowl of chocolate over the saucepan and gently stir. Cream the butter and sugar together whilst the chocolate is melting- if you're not great at multitasking, wait until the chocolate is completely melted to start the creaming process!Crack the eggs into the mixture and whisk gently. Add in the flour, baking powder and vanilla essence and stir. At this point the chocolate should have cooled enough to fold into the rest of the mixture. Stir until completely incorporated and finally spoon into the adorable little ramekins (adorable not compulsory...). Place the ramekins on a baking tray and bake for 8 minutes (10 if baking from the fridge). Quickly take the souffles out, pop the marshmallows on top and bake for a further 2 minutes.Voila!
P.S. don't count the calories, for goodness' sake...
