Hot Strawberry Soufflés

Just look at these amazing, puffed up ramekins full of light and airy, fruity goodness. This is the first time I have made or eaten a soufflé other than the chocolate variety so I didn’t know what to expect, the recipe is from an old issue of Australian Table Magazine & was this weeks ‘low fat’ dessert offering for my parents. I served it with some amazing home made vanilla bean ice-cream which I whipped up in my fabulous new ice-cream machine that they bought me for my birthday (stay tuned for ice-cream recipes coming up!). I was quite surprised at how airy & light the end result was, in my experience chocolate soufflés seem much heavier & cakier even though they are still light, in fact it’s been a while since I’ve had one so I better make some again soon & compare the difference. The strawberry ones were nice for a change & good to know they are low fat however my pick would always be the heavenly gooey choc variety.

Hot Strawberry Soufflés

150g frozen strawberries, thawed
1/3 cup (75g) sugar
2 teaspoons kirsch, orange flavoured liqueur or brandy
juice of half an orange
4 egg whites
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 220c. Grease 4 x ¾ cup ovenproof soufflé dishes. Place strawberries in a bowl with sugar, liqueur and orange juice. Crush lightly with a fork. Set aside.

Whisk egg whites until form but not dry. Stir a spoonful into strawberry mixture. Fold in remaining egg whites. Spoon into prepared dishes & level tops with a metal spatula.

Place in oven & immediately reduce oven temp to 190c. Bake for 10 minutes, until well risen. Dust with sifted icing sugar & place on heated plates. Serve with cream or ice cream.

Lemon Souffle Cakes

This morning for brekky I felt like a sweet treat as I do most days now, having gone from a savoury person to a sweet person during my pregancy. It used to be I would always choose a delicious savoury treat before heading anywhere near a sweet yet nowadays all I want is sugar & chocolate, I could seriously eat sweets for dinner these days & I have to sheepishly admit I might have done once or twice too! So for inspiration I looked to Bill Granger who as I have said before seems to have the most mouth watering breakfats rcipes. Today’s recipe was from Sydney Food. The pancakes were light as promised & the citrus tang was fantastic, the only ptoblem was the recipe said it was for 4 though Michael & I ate the whole batch – their really weren’t that many and Bill even claims they are low in fat so cant be all bad to eat that many!

Lemon Souffle Cakes

¾ cup buttermilk
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vamilla essence
25g unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons caster sugar
a pinch of salt
2 egg whites

To serve
200g strawberries, halved
1 tablespoon honey
icing sugar

Place buttermilk, egg yolks, lemon juice & zest & vanilla essence in a bowl & stir until combined. Add in the melted butter & mix well.

Sift flour, baking powder, caster sugar & salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center & gradually stir in the buttermilk mixture until the dry ingredients are just moistened, being careful not to overmix.

Place ht egg whites in a dry, clean bowl & beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter, using a large metal spoon.

Melt a small portion of butter in a non-stick frypan over medium heat and drop 2 tablesppons of batter per cake into the pan. Cook iuntil golden brown on the underside & looking dry at the edges, flip & cook the other side.

Toss the fresh strawberries with honey & a light dusting of icing sugar. Dust the cakes with icing sugar & serve with berries.