Valentine’s day is next week (right?), and you have taken your mate out on numerous occasions, so wouldn’t you like to surprise her with your culinary skills (don’t worry, I will help you step by step) and cook her a beautiful meal this year? I’ve found the perfect…(again) the perfect dessert to serve  at the end of the meal, and I assume you will take over the situation from thereon.

We are making “chocolate souffle”, and don’t be afraid…it means nothing but some type of chocolate molten cake and pudding…or somewhere in between. The point is…making chocolate souffle is simple and quick, but it will look like you have spent the whole afternoon guarding the dessert in front of the oven.

Ok…ingredients:

• 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, to be melted
• 1/3 cup sugar, with 1 tablespoon taken out
• 3 eggs, separated
• Some butter (amount does not matter), for greasing the baking dish only
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (optional,  or can be substituted with 1 teaspoon icing sugar)
• pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven 350 F.
2. To separate the eggs, crack open an egg and pour it into your hand and catch the yolk, and be careful not to break it. Place the yolk and white in separate mixing bowls and repeat the steps.
3. Add the sugar (remember to take 1 tablespoon out first) to the yolks, and use either a hand mixer or whisk to beat them together until light and thick, ribbon-like consistency. Now, very important, wash the beaters or whisk thoroughly; not a slight bit of yolk mixture can be on the beaters.
4. Set up a double-boiler by placing a mixing bowl (or a glass bowl if no extra mixing bowls laying around)  on top of a pot that has 2 inches of boiling water, and make sure the heat is on low. The bottom part of the mixing bowl should not touch the boiling water. Dump in the chocolate and stir to melt.
5. Once the chocolate is melted, pour the chocolate into the egg mixture and stir well to combine. The mixture will have a thick chocolate pudding-like consistency.
6. In another mixing bowl (you may take out the chocolate mixture and store it somewhere else and re-use the mixing bowl, but make sure to clean the mixing bowl thoroughly), put the salt and cream of tartar (or icing sugar) into the egg whites and start mixing with a mixer or whisk. Beat the egg whites until “soft peaks”, like soft white foam. Start pouring the rest of the sugar in slowly and keep whisking away. Whisk until “stiff peaks” that looks like hard white foam and barely moves if you shake the bowl.
7. Combine the egg whites with the chocolate mixture. Do this step in 3 separate intervals and make sure to combine the egg whites and chocolate completely.
8. Butter your baking dish well, preferably a souffle dish, and pour in the chocolate mixture. Bake the souffle for 20 minutes. Don’t open the oven under any circumstances or the chocolate souffle won’t be soft and airy.

Chocolate souffle is light, yet tastes rich. It’s a fascinating dessert that deserves to be on your dinner table on Valentine’s day.

Good luck!