One dessert to rule them all.... chocolate soufflé (cup)cakes

If there was such a dessert it would be this one !!

Recipe as usual from Deb at smittenkitchen 

Chocolate Souffle Cupcakes

170 grams bittersweet chocolate, chopped 

86 grams unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon instant coffee powder

3 eggs, separated

6 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- I used Valrhona Guanaja 70% for the first batch but Manjari 64% for the second batch, because I read on a food blog that 70% is not the best for souffles due to lower sugar content.. however, that was not the case in this recipe.. The Guanaja batch was clearly the best one as it had a richer chocolate taste. That being said, I really am a sucker for really dark and bitter chocolate (feasting on a plate of Valrhonas 85% Abinao as we speak.. wiiii)

ooops, sorry, major chocolate distraction.. now back to recipe

- stir chocolate, butter and coffee powder in pan until melted

- beat egg yolkes and 3 tablespoons sugar in bowl until pale and thick

- add chocolate mixture and vanilla 

- beat egg whites and 3 tablespoons sugar and salt in other bowl until very white and fluffy

- fold egg whites in chocolate mixture, in 3 additions

adding melted chocolate to egg mixture...

  

and then carefully folding in the egg whites

- divide batter in small cupcakes, large muffin cups, round/heart shaped cake pan or other

- bake in oven at 160 C degrees (350 F) until... umm done... somewhere between 5-15 min depending on the size of your cupcake/pan

The original recipe also calls for white chocolate mint cream  (heat cream and mix with chopped white chocolate, and if you can find it - which I could not despite my desperate search in all of Oslo's gourmet stores - some mint extract for flavoring). Liked it almost better without cream though, but again I am a sucker for chocolate. Next time I think I'll make it with a hazelnut crust and layer it with two different chocolate types - one darker and one lighter.. yum !

My two batches of batter made for:

- cupcakes for the weekly Friday coffee & cake at work + some extras to bring for girls dinner in the evening...

- mother day's cake (half eaten) :)) 

oh and one very cheesy heart-shaped valentines cake... so cheesy it could in fact not be pictured on this blog ;)