Grand Marnier souffle ... in the Thermomix

I have recently decided that I need to spend more time working on and testing dessert recipes as desserts seem to be the most lacking component of my cooking repertoire. As a result, we did a little shopping trip to my favorite bargain book store and picked up a heap of dessert recipe books.

Even before the recipe books, I decided that I would like to try my hand at a souffle because I wanted to focus more on individual serve desserts rather than big pies and cakes (plus I suck at baking!).

I had a few souffle recipes in the books I got but randomly found a Youtube video of a really corny American guy (you have to watch the video to get what I mean!) making a Grand Marnier souffle to impress a girl on Valentine's Day. Of course, if you want to make the souffle the traditional method, by all means, just do what the guy did in his video (with his freakishly small spatula!). I have also included links below to the written recipes.

I decided to study the recipe and convert it for the Thermomix because (1) I could not find a Thermomix Grand Marnier souffle recipe and (2) The Boy really wanted a Grand Marnier souffle. He's been talking about it forever.

It took quite a while to convert the recipe from a regular recipe to a Thermomix recipe and I worked on it for a little over an hour, researching other souffle recipes to compare and to make sure that I got the timing and settings right. I have to admit, going into making the souffle that I was quite stressed and anxious as I did not know if it would turn out, or rise, or taste good. (The initial batter was not tasty at all!!)

Here's the recipe for what I did:

Ingredients: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grand-Marnier-Souffle/Detail.aspx 

• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 5 teaspoons butter, melted
• 5 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cold milk
• 2 egg yolks (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
• 1 tablespoon brandy-based orange liqueur (such as Grand Marnier®)
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup white sugar, divided

Creme Anglaise (souffle filling): http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Creme-Anglaise-Sauce/Detail.aspx 

• 2 large egg yolks (room temperature)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon brandy-based orange liqueur (such as Grand Marnier®)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

• Butter and sugar ramekins and set aside on top of baking sheet.  Butter the ramekin and use a brush with strokes going straight up the sides. It encourages the rise to work properly.
• Heat oven up to 180°C
• Add butter, flour, milk, egg yolks, orange zest, grand marnier liquer and vanilla extract into Thermomix. Cook on  7min/90C/speed 4. VERY IMPORTANT: Check it at 5 minutes and make sure that is has not gotten too thick. Add more milk if necessary. You can't just let it run for the full 7 minutes without checking it, as your batter will probably end up too thick and dense, and not creamy enough! It needs to be a thick, creamy consistency. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool.
• In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites and slowly add sugar until they form soft peaks. Insert the butterfly whisk and whisk the egg whites on speed 3 measuring cup OFF / 4 minutes. Add sugar slowly when it starts to foam. Continue whisking until soft peaks (the whites shouldn't be very firm).
• Pour grand marnier mixture into a bowl when it is lukewarm, add 1/3 of the beaten egg whites and stir vigorously to loosen it. Then, add the remaining egg whites and fold them in gently in order to keep as much air in as possible.
• Bake in the preheated oven until risen and browned, 16-20 minutes.
• To serve, take out of oven, sprinkle with icing sugar. Then, make a hole in the middle of the souffle and pour in 3 tablespoons of the Creme Anglaise. Makes it very lush! Serve and eat immediately!!
  

Creme Anglaise (souffle filling):

• Add everything into TM bowl. Cook 8 min/80C/speed 3.
• Pour into a small gravy boat or a milk jug to serve.

This recipe makes 2 medium sized souffles. If you want to make more, just double or triple the recipe as required.

From start to finish, between prep and cooking time, this took between 45 - 60 minutes, so if you are planning on making this for dessert after a dinner party, be prepared for that. It could take a while between courses.

Also, I didn't slowly pour the sugar into the egg whites to slowly whisk to make soft peaks. I just dumped all the sugar in and whisked away. I did, however, stop and check while whisking and whisked a total of about 4 - 4.5 minutes. The meringue was quite soft (slighly liquidy but not runny) and very glossy in texture. I expect that if you didn't want to check it and just ran it for 4 minutes, you could be okay, but with meringues I like to be safe and check regularly. It's a fine line and a short time between just right and too much!

This was a two Thermomix bowl jobbie for me. I used the first bowl to make the batter. Then immediately switched to the second bowl to make the meringue. After that, I washed (okay, The Boy washed, not me!) the first bowl and set it aside to use to make the Creme Anglaise. If you do not have two Thermomix bowls, then you will have to quickly wash and dry between each step.

I got so darned excited when I checked (okay, stalked!) the oven to see if it had risen at all, and it had!!

I have to say, I am super happy with the way that this turned out. It was light, fluffy and delicious. Adding the Creme Anglaise in the middle made it super decadent. When you poke a hole in the souffle to pour in the Creme Anglaise, just bear in mind that your souffle will deflate somewhat because of you putting a hole in it.

The Boy was super pleased with the dessert (we had it for afternoon tea as I was recipe testing!) and even went so far to say that it was the best thing he had ever put in his mouth. :-) Of course, that compliment from him made me very happy!

If you do make this, be sure to post pictures for me to see either on Instagram - be sure to tag me with @langshipley or on my Daz In The Kitchen Facebook page.


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