I am a Sooper Hero!!!! Blake of
Blake Makes blogging out of New Orleans gives away delicious treats on his blog. How lucky are we!!! Besides some delicious recipes from both himself and his wife Bridget he has a group of sponsors who provide him with goodies so that he can spread the LOVE!! You can be a Sooper Hero too!!!!! Just contact Blake at his web site and join in the fun!
This month I have been the lucky recipient of 3 bars of premium Amano Dark Chocolate.
Amano Artisan Chocolate has nabbed many awards in the foodie world. "The company is one of the few companies in Utah in the United States that obtains superior-quality cocoa beans direct from the source and artfully transforms them into finished super-premium chocolate."
As a Sooper Hero I received 3 bars:
Madagascar Premium Dark Chocolate (70% cocoa) - strong fruity flavours that include hints of citrus and berry
Ocumare Grand Cru Dark Chocolate (70% cocoa) - From the Ocumare Valley in Venezuela. Rich chocolate overtones as well as a balanced fruity component of plums and other red fruit.
Cuyagua Limited Edition Dark Chocolate (70% cocoa) - From Cuyagua valley. Home to some of Venezuela's oldest cocoa plantations. Rich chocolate overtones with notes of spice that produce an incredibly complex flavoured bar.
We all know that eating 2 ounces (50 grams) a day of plain chocolate with a minimum content of 70% chocolate solids can be beneficial to our health. Yay..there is a God!!!!!!! It provides protection against heart disease, high blood pressure, and many other health hazards as well as providing essential trace elements and nutrients such as iron, calcium and potassium, vitamins A, B1, C, D, and E. I'd rather eat 2 ounces of chocolate than take my vitamin pills!!!!!!!!!!
Part of the allure of chocolate has to do with the taste of course. It is a deliciously rich concoction that would satisfy the most intense craving and have us drooling on our screens. There are also several chemical reactions at work whenever we bite into a piece of luscious chocolaty goodness. Chocolate stimulates the secretion of endorphins, producing a pleasurable sensation similar to the "runner's high" a jogger feels after running several miles. About 40% of women and 15% of men report chocolate cravings.
The higher cocoa, lower sugar content and antioxidant properties of premium dark chocolate are making it a more attractive treat for the health-conscious. As much as I would love to believe it not all chocolate is heart healthy. Milk chocolate and white chocolate, which is not really chocolate at all, may expand the hips rather than contain the flavonoids that improve the blood flow.
I decided to try a recipe from the British household name Delia Smith. She says this is a fairly easy souffle and does not sink too fast. There is no sugar added at all so that the flavour of the premium chocolate shines through. It has a lovely chocolate sauce as well which I made from the Limited Edition Cuyagua bar which I really enjoyed. If you are using premium artisan chocolate the flavour needs to stand alone. The souffle was exceptional , but did sink quite quickly despite advice to the contrary....but it sure was good!!!!
**Dark Chocolate Rum Souffles**
For the soufflés:
4 oz (110 g) dark chocolate (75 per cent cocoa solids)
2 T rum
2 T double cream
4 large egg yolks
6 large egg whites
a little melted butter for greasing
a little golden caster sugar for dusting ( I determined this was demerara sugar)
For the sauce:
3 oz (75 g) dark chocolate (75 per cent cocoa solids)
2 T double cream
To serve:
10 fl oz (275 ml) double or single cream
a little icing sugar for dusting
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Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C).
You will also need a medium-sized baking tray; six 3 inch (7.5 cm) deep ramekins, with a base diameter of 2½ inches (6 cm) and a top diameter of 3 inches (7.5 cm) (or six similar-sized heatproof dishes).
First of all, pop the baking tray into the oven to pre-heat. Now break the chocolate into a heatproof mixing bowl, add the rum and cream, and place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Leave it until the chocolate is just soft, which will take about 6 minutes, them remove it from the heat and beat with a wooden spoon until it's smooth and glossy. Allow it to cool.
In the meantime, brush the ramekins with melted butter and dust with golden caster sugar.
Now, in a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks thoroughly and stir them into the chocolate mixture. Then, in another, large, grease-free bowl – and making sure the beaters of your electric hand whisk are clean and dry – whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Then, using a metal spoon, fold a quarter of the egg white into the chocolate mixture to loosen it and then fold in the rest gently and carefully.
Next, pour the whole lot into the ramekins and bake on the baking tray for about 10 minutes, or until the soufflés are puffy and springy to the touch.
Meanwhile, make the chocolate sauce. Break the chocolate into another heatproof mixing bowl and add the cream. Place it over a pan of barely simmering water, once again making sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water. After about 6 minutes, remove it from the heat and beat it with a wooden spoon until smooth. Pour the sauce into a warmed jug and keep warm.
Serve the soufflés straight from the oven, dusted with the icing sugar. Hand round the chocolate sauce and cream in jugs – then the surface of the soufflés can be gently divided using a teaspoon, and the sauce and cream poured into the space.
Serves 6
Oh! you've scored a chocolate booty! Good on you for making the souffle. Personally they scare me Val! You've done it great justice with all that delicious chocolate.
ReplyDeleteWow, wow, wow. What a dessert, I mean really, it's beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThata a great souffle and use of the Amano. I have yet to taste mine as CS wants some too, and we always to busy or full. Rum and chocolate. Oh Yeah!
ReplyDeleteGood lord, woman. DO you know what you're doing to me? I have no souffle! I'm about ready to nuke a Snickers bar and eat it with a spoon, that's the jones you've given me. :D
ReplyDelete*faint* I want to swim in taht souffle
ReplyDeleteOhhh...rum and chocolate. Tis a wonderful combination! These look amazing.
ReplyDeleteI have never made souffles, they are a bit scary. Though having seen these I am awfully tempted to give them a go.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all your kind comments. This is actually the first dessert souffle I had ever made as well. It tasted of dark delicious chocolate:D
ReplyDeleteI think I'm mad at you right now, Miss Valli. Well, not at you...more at the fact that I don't have one of those in front of me at this very moment. *crying* It is indeed a lovely pot of chocolate!!
ReplyDeleteThat is my way of keeping healthy. ;)
ReplyDeleteI am definitely craving for chocolate and that souffle.
ReplyDeletetalk about your food porn! good heavens, val! i haven't decided what to do with my amano chocolate yet, but a souffle's looking pretty darn good right now!
ReplyDeleteWow...great souffle Val!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm not only drooling on the screen, but also, on the table, on my pants, on the floor.... Gosh!!! That sufle must be soooooo good :D
ReplyDeleteVal, the presentation is awesome, right down to the piece of chocolat sticking out.
ReplyDeleteLucky you- Amano chocolate- come visit Utah sometime and we'll go there. :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a work of art!
ReplyDeleteWonderful chocolate info Val and the souffle is taking me closer to the kitchen!! Very lovely Sooper Hero!
ReplyDeleteGood thing I have a piece of dark chocolate handy!
ReplyDeleteOh Val, you always make me want to lick my screen. What a fabulous use of dark chocolate!
ReplyDeleteyeah yeah yeah. i could almost love you for this!! the best souffle i had was in Charleston, SC at High Cotton. Good stuff!
ReplyDeletelovely.
now you've inspired me to make this maybe even tonight.. i wonder how i can make a latin version of it.. hmmm.
ReplyDeleteOh my GOSH that looks amazing. That pool of warm chocolate is calling my NAME. Fab.
ReplyDeleteOoooh you are so lucky!!! Loving the chocolate!!
ReplyDeleteFree chocolate is always good. :) Rum chocolate souffles sound really good!
ReplyDeleteHere they are and wow! They look brilliant! I'd love to stick my tongue in that!
ReplyDeleteVal,
ReplyDeleteI just love chocolate and this looks simply divine. How long do you think it will keep in a Fedex box? Can you send some over please??!!!!
This looks BEYOND amazing! I am a sucker for anything with chocolate. I still have not yet attempted a souffle, though.
ReplyDeleteGoodness! In more ways than just one. I must avert my gaze!
ReplyDeleteOh my! This is tempting, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteGood job Val.Looks so tempting......Will try asap.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great recipe to use the Amano chocolate in!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm well impressed, souffle intimidates me somewhat!
I don't bake very often..maybe a handful of times a month, but this looks like a MUST!! Yummm.. :)
ReplyDeleteOh Val, that glob of glossy chocolate is down right wicked!!
ReplyDeleteWOW oh WOW oh WOW Val well done!! Just loving your chocolate rum souffles too :)
ReplyDeleteRosie x
You had me at dark chocolate. You didn't have to throw in the rum, or the souflle bit. I wish I lived in the states because it is my firm belief that you haven't lived until you have tried ALL the artisan chocolate out there! I'm making it my life's work
ReplyDelete