For those celebrating today, Merry Christmas. I’m including a recipe from one of my favorite chefs, Jim Alexander, Chef/Owner of Zebra in Charlotte, NC. I know I do have quite a few on the favorite list, but then The Hill Team has been fortunate in meeting many exceptional chefs.

People always ask me, and I ask them, what is your favorite dessert? I can’t pick a favorite, but I always enjoy a great souffle.

Souffle

Ingredients for 8 Souffles

1 pint milk

4 ounces bread flour

4 ounces unsalted butter

8 eggs, separated

4 ounces sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

2 ounces Grand Marnier

extra butter and sugar for lining ramekins


Method

  1. Butter and sugar coat 8 ceramic dishes with straight edges ( soften butter, brush inside of dishes, then add sugar, turn dish around to allow sugar to coat over butter, pour out excess sugar )
  2. Heat milk in 1 qt stainless pot, while milk is heating, melt butter in another pot.
  1. Add bread flour to melted butter, cook “roux” about one minute.
  2. Add hot roux to simmering milk, stir with heavy duty wire whip until mixture is smooth and pulls from sides of pot.
  3. Place mixture into mixer bowl with paddle attachment. Mix on low speed about 5 minutes. Add yolks a few at a time, mix another couple of minutes.

  1. In another mixing bowl, add whites, sugar and cream of tartar. Whip with balloon whip until thin ribbon. Do not whip stiff! Most souffle recipes call for whites to be whipped stiff…not this recipe!
  1. Add the whipped whites to the roux-yolk mixture in three stages…Add one third, vigorously whip in, then another third, folding gently, then the last third, again folding gently. Add Grand Marnier.
  2. Preset oven to 475 degrees, place butter sugar coated dishes about 2 inches apart on tray. Fill each almost to top and bake for 14-15 minutes, or until fully risen and browned on top.
  3. Serve immediately with sweet whipped cream, a scoop of ice cream or creme anglaise.

Zebra Restaurant and Fine Catering

4521 Sharon Road

Charlotte NC 28211

704-442-9525

zebrarestaurant.net

Big Blend Magazine

“Success” was Indie Finalist in the Writing and Publishing category of the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards