Chocolate Souffle

My first souffle has turned out to be quite the success. It was light and chocolaty and totally delicious. It puffed up beautifully, then proceeded to fall within 5 minutes of coming out of the oven, but it came out directly underneath the air-conditioning vent so it was to be expected. Besides, by the time its served nobody knows what it looked like in the dish anyway.

Chocolate Souffle
I apologize, I cannot remember where I got this recipe

Ingredients:

About 1 Tbs. butter for dish
1/3 C. sugar, plus some for dish
3 eggs, separated
2 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate, melted
Pinch salt
¼ tsp. cream of tartar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 2-cup or one 4-cup soufflé or other deep baking dish(es). Sprinkle each with sugar, invert it and tap to remove excess sugar.
Beat egg yolks with all but 1 Tablespoon sugar until very light and very thick; mixture will fall in a ribbon from beaters when it is ready. Mix in the melted chocolate until well combined; set aside.

Wash beaters well, then beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until whites hold soft peaks; continue to beat, gradually adding remaining Tbs. sugar, until they are very stiff and glossy.

Stir a good spoonful of whites thoroughly into egg yolk mixture to lighten it; then fold in remaining whites, using a rubber spatula.

Transfer to prepared soufflé dish(es); at this point you can cover and refrigerate until you are ready to bake.

Bake until center is nearly set, 20 minutes for individual soufflés and 25 to 35 minutes for a single large soufflé. (I did mine in a 6 cup souffle dish and it took 25 minutes). Serve immediately with some vanilla ice cream and sweetened whipped cream.

Peach Cobbler

This peach cobbler was not like any cobbler I've had before. It was much more bready than crusty. It was extremely delicious and so, so, so easy to make but definitely different. I think I still prefer the traditional crust on a cobbler, but this was certainly easier and faster than the traditional way. I apologize for the lack of pictures. If something is super-duper easy to make I tend to forget to take pictures because things are moving along so smoothly. So...oops. I guess you get what you get on this one.

Peach Cobbler

Recipe from Paula Deen

Serves:  8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

4 cups peeled, sliced peaches

2 cups sugar, divided

1/2 cup water

1 stick unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour  **If you don't have self-rising flour combine 1 ½ C. All-purpose flour + 2 ¼ tsp. baking powder + ¾ tsp. salt**

1 1/2 cups milk

Ground cinnamon, optional

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.     Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

3.     Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.

4.     Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

5.     To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Best served warm.