Soggy Bottoms: The Last Soufflé

Soggy Bottoms returns and now that my moving is done, you’ll see these pop up on the site with a bit more frequency. (Every six weeks? Or is it eight? Sarah, halp!)

(Sarah: Uh. Crap. No one told me a understanding of time measurement was a pre-requisite for this position. Time management, yes. Time measurement? Uh, no. Let’s say six?)

This is also the first Soggy Bottoms in my new apartment! The kitchen is awesome and cute and I really enjoyed using it.

So far, I’ve inadvertently began switching off between Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood’s recipes and I kind of like that, given that there’s a sweet vs. savory balance to going back and forth. Since I didn’t a plaited loaf last time, it’s time to take a one-way trip to dessert-town. Population: me (and my roommate).

For my return, I chose to do a chocolate soufflé. Why, you may ask, did I choose this instead of something possibly a bit easier to manage? No idea. I’m on my period and I wanted something rich and chocolatey. And, in my opinion, that’s the only justification I need. If that’s not good enough, take it up with management!

(Sarah aka management: Thank you for your complaint about chocolate soufflé. Your call is very important to us. We will answer as soon as we finish all this delicious soufflé.)

If you’re new here, welcome! Soggy Bottoms is where I test my baking mettle by recreating the Great British Bake Off’s technical bakes, many of which I’ve never made before. I also evaluate my experience and my bake, and then recommend the perfect book to pair with it.

Bake: Chocolate soufflé

Episode: Series 6, Episode 9 (semi-finals)

Whose challenge: Mary Berry

Time limit: One hour and fifteen minutes

Resources: I found this BBC recipe for Mary Berry’s hot chocolate soufflé. Not sure if it’s the exact recipe from the episode, but it’s probably close enough.

Process: I feel like soufflés are one of those desserts talked about in hushed, secretive tones because a ton of things can go wrong. It takes a lot of time and ingredient management, and you’re dealing with meringue, which can be rather temperamental.

Be warned, making a soufflé is extremely messy. Yes, I was all over the place and moments away from panic at every second. But make a soufflé without getting globs of batter on your counter and staining your shirt and I’ll frankly call you a witch. You’ll also be doing a lot of dishes, so if you don’t own a dishwasher and hate washing dishes, skip this one.

My main concern was getting all the moving parts completed simultaneously as to not waste any time. Once I did that and could put my soufflés in the oven, I would consider things a victory because really…there was little I could do after that. If I fucked up, I fucked up.

I will note that the recipe calls for making a collar out of parchment and cooking twine to help guide the rise of the soufflé. It’s not necessary, but the GBBO contestants used them. However, I could not find twine anywhere in my local grocery store, but I did notice that the contestants also used paperclips to help secure the ends of the parchment. My roommate had exactly three paperclips—the only three paperclips in the whole house—so I made do.

(Clippy: I see you are making a soufflé. Is this business or personal?)

The soufflés had a decent rise to them, but my brother called at the exact moment I had to take them out. By the time I came back to them, they had collapsed slightly. I made quick work dusting some icing sugar over the top and then my roommate and I dug in. I believe the recipe makes one large soufflé, but I was able to divide the batter between two smaller ramekins.

I’ve never had a soufflé before, so I can’t really comment on how close I was to capturing the taste. I was just happy I didn’t see any blobs of unmixed meringue. The soufflé was rich, warm, with cakey edges and gooey center. I could only eat a few spoonfuls out of a coffee mug before calling it quits.

Would I say this was a success? Definitely! I’m actually kind of impressed with myself. Would I ever make this again? Not if I can help it. There’s just so much work and chaos, with numerous things that could go wrong.

Reading material: It took a while of wracking my brain to find a pairing, simply because of some major brain fog. Ultimately, I think The Last Wolf by Maria Vale would go wonderfully.

I’m constantly on the search for new paranormal romances to read and I was so happy to discover this debut, which released earlier this year. The world building is so rich and developed, and it’s truly meant to be savored. Because of this, it was a romance that I found hard to devour in one sitting because of its detail and depth. There’s a lot to take in and process.

Taking a chance on a new-to-me author, who does does really interesting things with the shifter/werewolf mythology had very pleasant results. I think that’s a great metaphor for this dessert. I took a risk making something that was new to my skillset and relatively tricky to get right, and it turned out deliciously. And being very picky about my paranormals, I can say for certain that I’ll be following Vale’s writing for quite a while.

If you want to see what bakes I’ve done so far, check out the Soggy Bottoms introductory post!

Have you made a soufflé before? How does mine compare? And which GBBO bake should be up next?