Chocolate Bread Pudding Souffle
Anne BralyMy mother made the best chocolate souffle I've ever tasted; the only problem was I never knew when to expect it except for one time each year: Valentine's Day.
No big surprise, that's when chocolate sales soar - heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and square boxes and round boxes, not to mention bags of chocolate chips and boxes of baking chocolate to actually make sweets for sweeties. It's Valentine's Day after all and, according to Nielsen, Americans will buy nearly 60 million pounds of chocolate in the days leading up to it.
But back to that souffle. I've looked and asked and cannot find my Momma's recipe. I know she shared it with my friend and former college roommate Robin Miller and her McCallie-teacher husband Bob Bires, but Bires says it went missing when they renovated their home and still has not been found.
"It was like nothing I had ever tasted, and it makes me nostalgic for her wonderful hospitality," Bires adds.
The only hint he gave me was that Momma used bread in it. After all these years, I've just found out it was more of a bread pudding than a souffle.
So I went searching on the Internet, wanting to find a similar recipe to make in time for Valentine's Day. The hunt was on and many variations of chocolate souffles were made. But no luck; none tasted the same. Hers was so rich that only a few bites were needed to satisfy any chocolate craving.
So I improvised and compromised, combining several recipes, and came up with a bread pudding/souffle that, while not having the texture of my mother's recipe, is chock-full of chocolate and has that wonderful pudding consistency that makes bread pudding a much-loved Southern treat.
The end result was better than expected. With three different chocolates - two in the souffle, then a rich chocolate sauce drizzled on the plate - it's a chocolate lover's dream. A very light texture but dense with chocolate flavors. Try it yourself. It's simple to prepare but impressive to serve. You might even get a kiss this Valentine's Day.
Chocolate Bread Pudding Souffle
For the souffle:
3 ounces ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fine stale bread crumbs
1 cup sugar
8 egg yolks, well beaten
8 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1 cup chocolate chips
For the chocolate sauce:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3-1/2 cup water
Topping:
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream
Maraschino cherries
To make the chocolate sauce, pour sweetened condensed milk in the top of a double boiler. Add chocolate and stir till melted. Continue stirring for 7-8 minutes or until mixture has thickened. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and water. The sauce should be thin enough to drizzle. Set sauce aside. Store leftovers in covered container.
For the bread pudding/souffle, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt chocolate in top of double boiler; set aside. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and add flour; stir to a smooth consistency. Add milk and stir till thickened. Add chocolate and stir to combine, then add remaining ingredients, folding egg whites into mixture gently but thoroughly. Pour into greased souffle dish and place in another pan filled with a couple inches of water. Bake for 1 hour or until set.
Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, drizzle with chocolate sauce and top with a cherry.
WINE AND DINE
With numerous awards from Wine Spectator, 212 Market restaurant could not be a better choice as the setting for WTCI's Masterpiece Experience Dinner, scheduled for Thursday evening, March 10.
Paul Grove, president and CEO of WTCI, the local PBS affiliate, says the wine dinner is the station's annual opportunity for its members to enjoy "the spirit of Masterpiece productions complemented by the incredible experience designed by 212 Chef Susan Moses."
For the evening, Moses designed a five-course meal, complimented with some of the best wines from Athens Distributing, with a strong farm-to-table theme:
* First course: Napoleans using Humble Heart Farm goat cheese.
* Second: Croquettes of pork from Simpson Farm.
* Third: Steelhead curry with mango chutney and fragrant rice.
* Fourth: A cassoulet of spring vegetables and beef from Eagle's Rest.
* Fifth: Black velvet flan.
Before the meal, Maine mussels Rockefeller, crostinis with figs and Sequatchie Cove Shakerag blue cheese and vol au vent with Southern Foothills Farm shiitake mushrooms will be available as hors d'oeuvres.
Tickets are $150 per person, or $275 for a seat at the Chef's Table, which includes a VIP discussion with the wine steward. For tickets and more information, log onto wtciTV.org/wine or call 423-702-7819.
NEW ON THE MENU
It continues to amaze me how many new food products are being made in Chattanooga. Now, Alyssa Mast, pastry chef at The Chattanoogan hotel, has created a dessert with Chattanooga written all over it. It's an explosion, bite after bite, of Clumpies Ice Cream, Chattanooga Whiskey Sauce and Chattanooga Hot Fudge Sauce layered in between and on top of layers of made-from-scratch dark chocolate cake and chocolate mousse. As if that weren't enough, Mast adds a crunchy topping of pretzels lightly coated with caramelized brown sugar and butter, giving them a toffee taste. She then tops the whole thing with freshly whipped cream.
It's a masterpiece of textures and flavors that's made for sharing - and right in time for Valentine's Day. Just ask for the OMG, a perfect name for an over-the-top finish to your meal at Broad Street Grille, located inside the Chattanoogan.
Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.