Rhubarb souffle with sauce Recipe | 4Food

Date Published:: 04/09/2007

Gordon Ramsay and his brigade of amateur chefs served rhubarb souffle with white chocolate sauce to diners in the F Word restaurant

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Rhubarb

300g pink rhubarb, trimmed
100g caster sugar
1 tsp ground ginger (optional)

Crème patissière

150ml milk
100ml double cream
50g caster sugar
15g plain flour
10g cornflour
3 large egg yolks
2 large egg whites

For coating the dishes

30g unsalted butter, softened
4-6 tbsp ground almonds
icing sugar, to dust

Chocolate sauce

100ml double cream
60g white chocolate, broken into pieces

Method: How to make rhubarb souffle with chocolate sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 190˚C/Gas 5.

2. Wash and chop the rhubarb into small pieces. Tip into a wide non-stick pan along with the sugar and ground ginger, if using. Stir over gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved, then cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the rhubarb has softened. Transfer to a food processor and whiz to a smooth purée. Return the rhubarb purée to the pan and place over high heat to cook off the excess liquid. You want the final paste to be quite dry. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool.

3. To make the crème patissière, heat the milk and cream in a heavy-based pan with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Meanwhile, sift the flour and cornflour together. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks with half of the remaining sugar, then gradually beat in the flour.

4. When the milk and cream begin to scald, remove from the heat and slowly trickle the hot liquid over the egg mixture, whisking thoroughly as you do so. Transfer the mixture back into the pan and stir over gentle heat for about 3-5 minutes until it is smooth and thick. Transfer the crème patissière to a bowl and leave to cool, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming on the surface.

5. To prepare the dishes, brush the base and sides of 6-8 individual dishes or ramekins with a layer of butter. Chill the dishes for 5-10 minutes, then brush again with another layer of butter before coating with ground almonds and icing sugar.

6. Mix the rhubarb paste into the crème patissière. Place the egg whisk in a clean bowl and whisk with an electric beater until they form stiff peaks. Gradually whisk in the rest of the sugar until you have a glossy meringue. Fold this into the rhubarb mixture. Quickly divide the mixture into the prepared ramekins and level with a palette knife. Rub your thumb around the inside of the dish to give the mixture a ‘lip’, this will help it to rise. Place the dishes on a baking tray and bake for 12-15 minutes until risen and golden on top. (Do not be tempted to open the oven door halfway through or the soufflés may collapse).

7. Meanwhile, make the white chocolate sauce. Place the cream and chocolate into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the sauce is smooth.

8. As soon as the soufflés are ready, dust with a little icing sugar. Using the handle of a teaspoon, create a hole in the top and pour in a drizzle of the warm chocolate sauce. Serve immediately.