Grand Marnier Soufflé with Crème Anglaise

I rarely drink alcohol. There are only a handful of occasions I knock back a glass. Well I don’t exactly “knock back a glass”, I just always wanted to say that. With Christmas I’ll drink a glass of champagne or two, followed by an advocaat. On my own birthday I might have a mango mojito. And in the hot summer evenings, some fruity colorful cocktail. There are, however, three alcoholic substances I cherish: 1. Dark rum, 2. Advocaat, and 3. Grand Marnier.


I acquired a list of desserts on vacation that I would really like to make, one by one. I’m starting with the Grand Marnier soufflé because it’s a light, easy pudding that always looks impressive. Rating: 4.5 out of 5.


Grand Marnier soufflés with Crème Anglaise: Epicurious.com

Ingredients: serves 8
- ¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter plus additional for buttering ramekins
- 1 cup sugar plus additional for coating ramekins
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 7 large egg yolks
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- ⅛ teaspoon orange oil (substituted this with orange extract)
- 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
- 8 large egg whites

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Generously butter eight 1-cup (3 ½ x 2-inch) ramekins and coat with sugar, knocking out excess sugar.
- In a 1 ½-quart heavy saucepan melt ¾ stick butter over moderately low heat and whisk in flour. Cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk and cook over moderate heat, whisking, until mixture is very thick and pulls away from sides of pan. (at this point, my melted butter came out of the mixture a little bit) Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool 5 minutes. In a large bowl whisk together yolks, vanilla, oil, and a pinch salt, and whisk in milk mixture and Grand Marnier, whisking until smooth. (it will happen, I assure you!)
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat whites until they hold soft peaks. Beat in 1 cup sugar, a little at a time, and beat meringue until it just holds stiff peaks. Whisk about one fourth meringue into yolk mixture to lighten and with a rubber spatula fold in remaining meringue gently but thoroughly.
- Spoon batter into ramekins, filling them just to rim, and arrange ramekins at least 1 ½ inches apart in a large baking pan. Add enough hot water to pan to reach halfway up sides of ramekins and bake soufflés in middle of oven 20 minutes, or until puffed and tops are golden.
- Remove pan from oven and transfer ramekins to dessert plates. With 2 forks pull open center of each soufflé and pour some crème anglaise into opening.
- Serve soufflés immediately.

Crème Anglaise recipe click here.




I think the recipe could have been a bit more specific with “serve soufflés immediately.” I mean, I consider “serve immediately”, eating the dish 10 to 15 minutes after it’s made… But no. The soufflé needs to be served ASAP! The soufflé will defloat within 60 seconds. Hmmm, that sounds like a secret service mission. I bet it’s from watching all those ‘La Femme Nikita’ episodes. Anyways, here’s how it’s puffed up and proper: