Praline Soufflé
Tall and proud, this fluffy praline soufflé is nutty and buttery all at the same time. You could dig a hole with a spoon and pour a rich praline crème anglaise in the center and add “creamy” to the description, but that may give you the urge to run around in circle and screaaaaam after just one bite. Beware!
The key to a successful soufflé starts with the egg whites – they have to be without a trace of yolks in them. When you beat egg whites, you’re mixing air into them. The protein in the egg whites forms a kind of skin around the air bubbles but if there’s any fat present, the skin can’t form. So make sure the mixing bowl is very clean too. And you don’t want to over-beat them and have too thick a mixture that it won’t fold into your soufflé. I remember making praline soufflé in cooking school in France and how the cooking instructor would make us beat the egg whites by hand in large copper mixing bowls while shooting loudly to “not over-whip the whites, *%&@!!” He had a point!
The recipe calls for praline paste which is easily found in Europe but not so much in the US. Don’t panic though, I’ll show you how to make your own and it’s well worth the extra effort. It’s essentially an almonds and hazelnuts brittle turned into a paste in a food processor. It’s so much better than peanut butter you’ll want to eat it with a spoon. Make a crème anglaise to serve on the side and stir in the remaining praline paste. Vanilla ice cream would work too. Enjoy!
-
Praline Soufflé
- Serves 6
-
-
For the praline paste:
- 1/2 cup blanched almonds
- 1/2 cup blanched hazelnuts
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
-
For the pastry cream:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 vanilla bean, split
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon Armagnac (optional)
-
For the praline soufflé:
- 1 cup pastry cream (see above)
- 4 eggs, yolk & white separated
- 1/2 cup praline paste (see above)
- 8 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- powdered sugar
- butter + sugar for ramequins
-
-
-
For the praline paste:
- Preheat the oven to 350’F.
- Place the almonds and hazelnuts on a baking sheet and place in the oven until light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool.
- Combine the sugar and 2 tablespoons of water in a saucepan, add the vanilla seeds to the pan and bring to a boil. Cook until it turns into a light caramel. Add the toasted nuts and continue cooking until the mixture turns to a deep amber color while stirring with a wooden spoon. Pour the caramelized nuts mixture onto a baking tray lined with a silpat. Cool for at least 30 minutes.
- Break the nut brittle into pieces and place in a food processor. Process until you obtain a powder. Add the peanut oil and process until the mixture turns into a paste.
-
For the pastry cream:
- Put the milk in a medium saucepan and place the vanilla bean and seeds in it. Bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile, whisk the yolks, the sugar and the cornstarch in a medium bowl until smooth. Add a little bit of hot milk to the mixture and whisk until smooth. Scrap the mixture back into the milk saucepan and place over medium heat while whisking constantly until the mixture thickens and boils for a few seconds. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and Armagnac until fully incorporated and smooth. Remove the vanilla bean. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the custard and cool.
-
For the praline soufflé:
- Preheat oven to 350’F. Brush the inside of 6 large ramequins with soft butter and coat with sugar. Tap out the excess and chill the ramequins.
- Place 1 cup of pastry cream in a large bowl and whisk in the egg yolks. Whisk in the praline until smooth. Set aside.
- Place 12 egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment and whisk on medium until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and keep beating until the whites form soft peaks. Slowly add the sugar until the whites form stiff peaks.
- Fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the praline custard and then gently fold in the remaining whites.
- Fill the ramequins almost full with the mixture. Remove the excess sugar from the rim of the ramequins and place them on a baking tray. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until puffed and golden. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately.
-