New York pastry chef Orlando Soto mastered the art of the soufflé while working dinner service at Cafe Boulud. These little souffles, made in 4-ounce ramekins, are laced with lime zest and macerated summer berries for a bright treat. Soto’s recipe, featured in “Tasty Pride: 75 Recipes and Stories from the Queer Food Community” by Jesse Szewczyk and BuzzFeed’s Tasty (Clarkson Potter; $25), uses a snipped plastic bag to transfer the soufflé batter evenly into the ramekins.
Lime Souffles with Summer Berries
Serves 8
Ingredients:
Melted butter, for greasing pan
⅓ cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 pound mixed berries, plus more for filling soufflés
Juice of 1 lime
3 large eggs, separated, plus 5 large egg whites, room temperature
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup full-fat plain yogurt
Zest of 2 limes
1¼ cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Brush butter on the bottoms and up the sides of eight 4-ounce ramekins. Sprinkle sugar in a ramekin and tilt to coat, then tap out the excess into the next ramekin and continue until all are coated.
In a medium bowl, toss the berries with the lime juice and a bit of sugar, depending on how sweet they are. Set aside to macerate while you prepare the soufflés.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, ⅓ cup sugar, and the milk until combined. Add the cornstarch and whisk until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a small pot over medium-high heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until the custard thickens, about 5 minutes.Transfer to a large bowl and spread on the bottom to cool a bit. Whisk in the yogurt and lime zest.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium speed until foamy and doubled in volume, about 90 seconds. With the mixer running, add half the confectioners’ sugar. Increase the speed to very high, and whip until the meringue is doubled in volume, about 1 minute. Reduce the speed to medium and add the remaining confectioners’ sugar. Increase the speed again to very high and whip for 30 to 45 seconds more. The meringue should be smooth and soft, but hold its shape.
Scoop about 1 cup of the meringue into the yogurt mixture and whisk to combine. Gently fold in the rest of the meringue, half at a time, using a wide rubber spatula to keep the meringue from deflating.
Transfer the soufflé batter to a zippered plastic bag. Snip off a corner to make about a dime-sized opening. Gently pipe the batter into the ramekins, filling halfway. Set the batter aside and place two or three berries at the very center of each ramekin. Cover with more batter, filling the ramekins to just above the rim, without overflowing. Gently tap the ramekins on the counter to smooth the surface. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until the soufflés have risen nearly 1 inch above the rims of the ramekins, are golden brown on top, and jiggle only slightly when gently shaken.
Serve the soufflés hot, with macerated berries alongside to spoon into the soufflé as you eat.
— From “Tasty Pride: 75 Recipes and Stories from the Queer Food Community” by Jesse Szewczyk and BuzzFeed’s Tasty (Clarkson Potter; $25)
