Mexican Chocolate Soufflés

This is year three of the Cooking Light Supper Club - a monthly blogging event that brings cooks from around North America together for a virtual meal . . . all from the pages of Cooking Light magazine. Each month we have a theme and we select recipes to make and blog about that will fit the theme.

This month's theme was 'Dreaming of Summer - Mexican Fiesta' - perfect now that we have finally gotten some Arctic temperatures here in Ontario. Right now dreaming of summer is a happy thing because the bitterly cold reality will scare the heck right out of you.

I decided to make these Mexican chocolate souffles for my dish this month. I love the heady mix of bittersweet chocolate, pepper, and cinnamon in Mexican chocolate dishes so I thought that they would be perfect. The recipe makes 8 but I didn't want to be eating cake for 4 nights - sure it's light but does one really need a cake a night when a bit of fruit will do after the December indulgences?

This is one of those recipes that looks far more complex than it is - I had most everything made in advance so that when we were sitting down to dinner I just whipped the egg whites, mixed everything together, and popped the souffle cakes into the oven. They were ready to serve by the time we were done eating and we were back to the New Year's monopoly tournament.

These were amazing - intense chocolate flavour with the added layer of cinnamon and pepper in every bite. I almost regretted not making the full recipe because we had to fight over who got the leftovers. One doesn't mind the added calories form leftovers like THIS!

Mexican Chocolate Soufflés

Cooking spray
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (optional)
3/4 cup fat-free milk
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coffee-flavored liqueur (such as Kahlúa)
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
6 large egg whites
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°.

Coat 8 (6-ounce) ramekins with cooking spray; sprinkle with 3 tablespoons granulated sugar.

Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, cocoa, flour, cinnamon, salt, and pepper, if desired, in a medium saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add chocolate, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Place chocolate mixture in a large bowl; stir in vanilla, liqueur, and egg yolk.

Place the cream of tartar and egg whites in another large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently stir one-third of egg white mixture into chocolate mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Spoon evenly into ramekins; sharply tap ramekins 2 or 3 times on counter to level. Place ramekins on a baking sheet.

Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until puffy and set. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Serve immediately.

So what did the rest of the group bring to the party?

Our newest member Giz of Equal Opportunity Kitchen started us off with an appetizer of Camarones Fritoes with Mexican Cocktail Sauce.

For the main dish our dedicated leader/organizer/reminder Val of More than Burnt Toast chose appetizing Chicken Carne Asado Tacos with Pickled Onions.

Sandi of The Whistlestop Cafe offers some delectable Pork Hominy Chili.

Roz of La Bella Vita ties it altogether with a thirst quenching Sangria.

Truly a meal designed to help one think about somewhere nice and warm!

See you next month ladies . . .

Comments

[bellini]

These are the perfect ending to our meal to take us out of the Arctic chill Jerry. Easy too! Who would believe they were light!

[giz]

You really had me at chocolate but Mexican chocolate dishes are among the best in the world.

[JDeQ]

The thing I liked about these cakes is that they really were low-cal. Some so-called 'light' desserts still come in at a ton of calories and a high fat content. They may be lighter than the original version but still not as light as an apple. These come in at less than 200 calories per serving - truly light in my books.

They sure are giz - I love the layers of flavour.

[Simona]

Chocolate souffle has been on my to-do list forever. I have no particular reason for not having done this before - apart from a slight fear that I will like it too much ;) I'll wait until I have a party, so there won't be dangerous leftovers. That's a cute Santa dish! I wonder: were you able to pay attention to the game with the souffle in front of your eyes?

[JDeQ]

These were great Simona - I know what you men about liking them too much though - I had to make sure paul ate the extras. thank goodness I only did half of the recipe.