Nicholas Gavin is the Culinary Creative Director of ChefSteps, where he develops recipes and is responsible for making all the food look beautiful. Nick has worked at ChefSteps for over a decade; he and ChefSteps co-founder Grant Crilly worked together at Modernist Cuisine. Nick has worked in professional kitchens both in the United States and abroad, most notably at Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Spain.

Nicholas Gavin

Whisk

8-ounce Glass ramekins

Breville Joule® Oven Air Fryer Pro

Butter

Sugar

Bread flour

Salt

Milk

70% dark chocolate

Egg yolk(s)

Egg white(s)

Powdered sugar

Heat oven to [f 375].

MAKE IN ADVANCE: If preparing the soufflé base in advance to serve later, skip Steps 1 and 2, proceed through Step 8, and then reserve the base in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to bake and serve immediately, start with Steps 1 and 2, and then proceed from Step 9 using the reserved base.

Preheat oven

Butter each ramekin thoroughly, being careful not to miss any spots. (Unbuttered spots will cause your soufflé to stick.)

Add a small amount of sugar to one of the ramekins. Turn it on its side over another ramekin and rotate it to allow the sugar to adhere to all the buttered surfaces. Catch excess sugar with the other ramekin. Repeat until all your molds are coated evenly with sugar. Reserve the excess sugar and use in Step 4.

Prepare ramekins

If possible, use ramekins that have smooth, straight interiors. This facilitates a more stable rise for your soufflés.

Baker’s tip

Combine ingredients with your hands until they form together, leaving no dry flour.

TIP: The salt levels in this soufflé were pushed to the limit to bring out the richness as well as the flavors in the chocolate. If you are someone who tends to shy away from salty caramels or other salty sweets, we recommend reducing the salt to 3 g.

Combine flour, butter, and salt

In a small pot, combine ingredients and bring to a boil on medium heat.

Heat milk and sugar

Add the flour and butter mixture to the hot milk and whisk until dissolved.

Cook for four minutes on low heat until the mixture has a thick, gummy texture.

Add flour mixture to pot

Add chocolate and stir until melted and well incorporated.

Add chocolate

Add egg yolk to chocolate base and whisk until well incorporated.

Add egg yolk

At this point, you have finished making the base for the soufflés. Put the ramekins in the refrigerator, where they can stay for up to one week. When you are ready to bake and serve the soufflés, take the base out of the refrigerator and proceed to step nine.

If you want to bake later, refrigerate now

Using a whisk, whip the egg whites into a light foam. Once the egg whites have foamed, add the sugar and continue to whisk until the egg whites form stiff, glossy peaks.

Whip the egg whites

Gently fold meringue into soufflé base in three stages.

Fold the meringue into the soufflé base

Fill soufflé molds to the very top. Use the back of a knife to remove excess batter from the rim, creating a level surface. Use a dry paper towel to wipe any excess batter off the side.

Fill ramekins

Place the ramekins on a baking sheet, and bake for 17 minutes. 

NOTE: Baking for 17 minutes will yield a soufflé with a custardy texture and a molten center. Increase time to 18–19 minutes for a fully set soufflé with a springy texture.

Bake

Using a small sieve, dust powdered sugar over the top and serve immediately. (Finished soufflés will quickly crack and deflate.)

Serve as is, or split open and fill with <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/creme-anglaise">crème anglaise</a>.

Garnish

This dark chocolate soufflé has a delicious molten center and a light, springy exterior—pure chocolaty decadence from the inside out. When we developed the recipe, we added as much chocolate as we possibly could to each iteration until we landed on the perfect formula. We hydrate the starches by cooking them in hot milk, yielding a stable soufflé with a small bubble structure and an incredibly soft interior. The best part is that this recipe requires no special tools or skills. Soufflés have a reputation for being particularly finicky, but we think ours are pretty much foolproof. Serve yours with a dusting of powdered sugar and <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/creme-anglaise">crème anglaise</a> for a sexy dinner party, or just whip up a batch on a weeknight. Once you master soufflés, you’ll want to make them for any occasion—or no occasion at all.PSST: Love savory desserts? Try our spicy, sexy <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/black-pepper-souffle">Black Pepper Soufflé</a>.

Molten Chocolate Soufflé