Bitter Chocolate Soufflé Cake | Eric Ripert

This recipe comes from Eric Ripert’s Le Bernardin Cookbook. This is how Eric describes the bitter chocolate soufflé cake: “We used to have a captain who would sell this cake to our clients by saying it was like the heart of a man: hard on the outside and meltingly soft on the inside.” I’ve also read somewhere that this is a special cake they’ll make for Le Bernardin employees on their birthdays. (Don’t quote me on this; I haven’t fact-checked it.) I already know I’m going to love it.

These are not the molten lava cakes with oozy, impossible-to-contain melting chocolate in the centers that became popular in the late 1980. They differ from the soft-centered chocolate teacup cakes with molten centers that I made a while back. Those are contained in teacups or ramekins due to their delicate soft centers.

The chocolate soufflé cakes and the molten lava cakes are similar in many ways. Same ingredients: chocolate, butter, eggs, sugar, and a small amount of flour or cornstarch. The differences are: the method in which the batter is mixed and the texture in the center. Both cakes are delectable in their own right. From the baker’s perspective, it’s a matter of how comfortable you’re with unmolding the cakes and flipping them over. I did it and was able to unmold without the horror of seeing everything falling apart.

In the chocolate soufflé cake recipe, the eggs are separated. The egg whites are whipped to firm peaks. Then gently fold into the melted chocolate mixture. Whereas with the molten cakes, you whip the whole eggs until the eggs are pale before blending in the chocolate mixture. From lightening the batter with the whipped egg whites, the soufflé cakes take on a much lighter texture and an ephemeral quality.

In the recipe, Eric calls for eight 6-ounce aluminum tins to bake the soufflé cakes. Since I don’t have those, I used a regular cupcake pan instead. The risk is having to flip the whole pan and expect every cake to come out of its individual mold perfectly. It’s a gamble. Anything can go wrong but I get lucky this time. But it could easily be a flop! I have to say the unmolded cake has a more chefy appearance.

Garnished with a cherry. Also try ice cream, sorbet or a dusting of cocoa powder.

This soufflé cake has a foamy texture in the center.

Tips in baking the chocolate soufflé cakes:

• Separate the eggs and whip the egg whites to firm peaks. Fold gently 1/3 of the egg whites in the chocolate mixture and then add the rest.
• The recipe calls for 6-oz tins. I baked half of the recipe and filled eight 3-oz size molds in a cupcake pan. I should have filled each 3-oz mold to the top and made six cakes instead. Since the batter did not expand that much, it’s fine to fill up each individual mold. The cake would look a touch more generous that way.
• Longer time in the oven would invariably result in a firmer texture in the center of the cake. I baked the mini versions for about 6 minutes at 400°F (convection bake with 50% steam), but every oven is different. Meanwhile, the resulting texture of every cake varies—some firmer and some more foamy—due to its position in the oven. We’d have to live with the slight inconsistency.
• To make the cake gluten-free, you can substitute the 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour with cornstarch.

Print Recipe

Bitter Chocolate Soufflé Cake

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 6 1/2 ounces extra-bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 large eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• Unsweetened cocoa powder, for garnish
• SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
• Eight 6-ounce aluminum tins

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring a pan of water barely to a simmer. Place the chocolate and butter in a double boiler or metal mixing bowl and place over the pan of hot but not simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has melted but is not too hot. Stir until smooth.

2

In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and 1/4 cup of sugar together until thickened slightly and lighter in color. Whisk in the flour and then the chocolate mixture.

3

Place the egg whites in a metal bowl and place over hot water until warmed slightly. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and whip with an electric mixer on medium-low speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1 1/2 tablespoons more sugar. Turn the speed to high and add the last 1/2 tablespoon of sugar, whipping the whites to firm peaks.

4

Stir a third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the remaining whites. Divide the batter among the tins. (The recipe can be made to this point up to 1 1/2 hours before serving; refrigerate).

5

Place the tins on a baking sheet and bake until the tops are puffed and feel firm to the touch but are very liquidy in the center, about 8 minutes (or a few minutes longer if they were cold).

6

Meanwhile, sift a little cocoa lightly over 8 dessert plates. Three minutes after the cakes are done, run the tip of a knife around the sides to loosen, and unmold the cakes onto the plates, rinsing the knife with hot water between each one. Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream or chocolate sorbet.

Notes

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