So I don't know about you but there is only so much Banana Bread I can eat, and now I'm all smoothied out too!
Good News - I am going to share a recipe for some Banana Soufflés I made not so long ago.
Soufflés seem to have an air of mystery about them, or people believe that they are much harder to make then they really are. All a Soufflé is, is air and structure. Air to lift it up and make it fluffy, and then something to capture the air and give the Soufflé structure.
Most Soufflés use a pastry cream or fruit pureé for the structure and all Soufflés use egg whites to provide the air.
The only thing you need to be careful with when making your structure mix is the fat content - you see fat breaks down egg whites, so a high content will weaken your structure (creating a recipe for a blue cheese Soufflé still gives me nightmares!).
It is also important to note that fat can prevent you whisking your egg whites to a peak; due to this it is highly recommended to use a glass or metal bowl, as plastic can trap fat and may be the cause of failed attempts.
So I had brown banana's and decided to make up some Soufflés for after tea (or dinner depending on your north/south divide). A dash of rum beacause... I like rum! You can exclude the rum if that is your preference, but I would be careful if you decide to increase the amount as this may ruin our precious structure!
I used this recipe from Eric Ripert as a base, it made enough for 4 x 125ml ramekins. I simply swapped out the lime juice for some Rum and a squeeze of lemon juice.
First grab hold of all the ingredients!
You need a lot less sugar than you might think - ripened bananas have plenty of natural sugars, and you don't want to make your Soufflé sickly sweet!
I added the Banana, Rum, and Egg yolk and blended together to form my structure base. I was unsure of using the egg yolk due to the fat content, but it added a nice bit of richness to the Soufflé. I didn't add any cornflour to my pureé as there is enough strength with the bananas and egg, but cornflour can be added to mixes for additional rigidity, however that comes with more weight which will result in less height in the final Soufflé bake.
You then need to whisk your egg whites, when they start to form peaks, slow down the mixer slightly and and gradually add sugar until it is all combined and you have beautiful glossy peaks.
You will then need to butter your ramekins and line them with caster sugar before combing your two mixes.
Mix 1/3 of your egg white into your structure mix until fully combined, then fold in remaining egg whites until fully combined, be gentle and take your time.
Once you are happy you can't see chunks of egg white and you have a smooth mix spoon it into the ramekins and give each one a light tap (hard enough to settle the mixture, but not so hard as to deflate it - think a gentle door knock) on the counter top to settle the mix. Then run thumb around inside edge and dust with icing sugar.
Place Soufflé in the oven on a flat tray - they should take between 8-12 minutes in a pre-heated oven. This is the perfect amount of time to caramelise some banana to serve with your souffle, simply dust with sugar and get into a non-stick pan!
Once the Souffles have risen, and the tops are golden brown they are ready to serve, get them onto the table as quickly (and carefully) as you can, with a good scoop of vanilla ice-cream and a couple of slices of caramelised banana - yum!
Really hope you have a go at this recipe, I think I may revisit this and try cooking out a banana puree first to intensify the flavour!
Recipe for Soufflé
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 3 dessertspoons sugar for pureé
- 1 dessertspoon sugar for egg whites
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 dessert spoon rum
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 tea spoon lemon juice
Extra Caster sugar used to dust Ramekins. Optional extra Caramelised Banana + Sugar for garnish.
separate.
Anyway please watch the below short video of this recipe - like, comment, and subscribe!
Thanks/bye
Rob
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