Chocolate Souffle With Mulled Wine, Cardamom Leaves and Cranberry Sorbet

Ingredients

Ingredients for Mulled Wine, Cardamom Leaves and Cranberry Sorbet 

• 100g cranberries (fresh, or frozen and defrosted. If using commercial cranberry purée, omit the 30g water) 
• 30g water (for the cranberry purée if making puree from berries) 
• 1 orange zest and juice (60g juice) 
• 1 lemon zest and juice (20g juice) 
• 110g red wine 
• 110g water 
• 170g sugar 
• 5 cloves 
• 5cm cinnamon stick 
• Pinch grated nutmeg 
• 1 pkt Cardamom Leaves - chopped 
• 100g glucose 
• 4g Superneutrose (or equivalent) ice cream stabiliser 
• 1g xanthan gum 
• 60g ruby port 

Ingredients for the Speculaas Chocolate Crumble - 10 portions 

• 16g icing sugar 
• 16g ground almonds 
• 10g (GF if wanted) plain flour 
• 8g Xoco Gourmet cocoa powder 
• 1 tsp Speculaas spice mix (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, anise, ginger, cardamom, mace - mixed to own taste) 
• pinch salt 
• 12g butter 

Ingredients for the Crème Patissière for Soufflé 

• 110g egg yolks (reserve the whites for the souffle) 
• 72g caster sugar 
• 24g cornflour and 24g plain flour (or 48g cornflour if gluten free) 
• 370g full fat milk 
• 1 vanilla pod Planifolia Black – seeds scraped 
• 72g Xoco Gourmet 80% Mayan Red chocolate  
• 23g Xoco Gourmet Cocoa powder

Ingredients for the Soufflé

• 500g of the above crème patissière
• 200g egg whites
• Pinch cream of tartar
• 60g sugar
• Melted butter and caster sugar to line the ramekins
• Icing sugar (and small sieve) to sprinkle before serving

Method

Method for the Cranberry Sorbet

• If making purée from scratch with berries, place the cranberries in a pan with the 30g water, bring to a simmer until the cranberries have popped and the pulp has softened (add a little more water if required). Take off the heat, blitz with a hand blender until smooth, and pass through a sieve.
• Place the red wine, 110g water, sugar, glucose, spices, Cardamom Leaves, lemon and orange zests and juices in a pan, and bring just to the boil, turn off the heat, cover the pan to capture the vapour and leave to infuse for an hour.
• Pass the infused liquid in to a bowl, squeezing out as much flavour as possible. Stir in the cranberry puree and port. Use a hand blender to incorporate the xanthan gum and stabiliser.
• Place mix in an ice cream machine and churn until thickened. (Alternatively, freeze in a Paco Jet container and use Paco Jet to churn before serving).
• Place in a sealed tub in the freezer.
• Before it is required, place the sorbet in a fridge for 30 minutes to soften slightly to serve more easily.

Method for the Speculaas Chocolate Crumble

• Blitz all ingredients in food processor until it only begins to clag together very slightly (use a few grams extra of melted butter if required to moisten, or warm with heat gun).
• Spread out on a silicone mat on baking tray.
• Bake 160ºC for 20 mins. Cool and store in an airtight tub until required. Can be frozen for future use.

Method for the Crème Patissière for the Soufflé

• Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl then whisk in the flour and cornflour.
• Heat the milk with the vanilla pod and seeds to boiling point and pour over the egg mixture in the bowl while whisking. Whisk in the cocoa powder.
• Pass the mixture back in to the pan, and heat on a medium heat while whisking until it thickens to a paste.
• Place the mix in a bowl and stir in the chocolate to melt. Cover with a cartouche until required for the souffle.

Method for the Soufflés

• Prepare the ramekins while crème patissière cools - brush the melted butter on the inside of the ramekins, bases, then sides in an upward direction only, then add some caster sugar, turn the ramekin round at an angle, so that the caster sugar coats all of the insides (right the very top) and bases of the ramekins. Refrigerate.
• Pre-heat oven to 180C no fan. Place a flat baking tray in oven
• Use the microwave to gently warm the crème patissière to around 25C, beat so it is smooth.
• Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peak, whisk in the sugar to stiff peak.
• Whisk 1/3 of the egg whites in to the crème patissière to loosen it.
• Fold in the rest of the whites gently so that the air is retained.
• Pipe the mix in to the ramekin to over the top, scrape across with a palette knife to level, run your thumb round the top edge of each one so it creates a dip round the rim (this ensures the mix rises freely with a flat top and doesn’t stick to the rim).
• Place ramekins on the hot tray in the oven, and bake for 14-16 minutes until well risen (time will depend on size on ramekins).
• Meanwhile prepare the serving plate with the chocolate crumble and sorbet
• Take out of oven carefully, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve straight away.
• Note: if catering for individual orders at a time, weigh the amount of crème patissière required for the order and whisk and fold in just the amount of egg whites/sugar you need for that order. The crème patissière itself can be kept in the fridge for a few days until required.

Recipe: Shona Sutherland