RECIPE | Naartjie soufflés with spiced chocolate sauce

Makes: 2

Spiced chocolate sauce:

30ml (2 tbsp) milk

15ml (1 tbsp) cream

1 stick of cinnamon

2 star anise

1 clove

50g chocolate, chopped in small pieces

5ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract

Pinch of coarse salt

To line the ramekins:

15ml (1 tbsp) melted butter

15ml (1 tbsp) caster sugar

Soufflé:

80ml  (⅓ cup ) naartjie juice

15ml (1 tbsp) finely grated naartjie zest

1 egg yolk

20g caster sugar

20ml cake flour

1 egg white

Method:

1. To make the spiced chocolate sauce, combine the milk, cream and spices in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Place the chocolate, vanilla extract and salt in a bowl and strain the boiling milk mixture over the top. Once the chocolate is melted, stir gently to mix. Pour into a jug.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C for the soufflés.
3. Brush the inside of two ramekins with melted butter and coat with Caster sugar. Place on a baking tray.
4. In a saucepan, scald the naartjie juice along with the orange zest.
5. In a bowl, mix the egg yolk with the sugar. Add the flour and mix again.
6. Add a little bit of the scalding juice to the egg mixture and mix that together.
7. Add the egg mix back to the saucepan to form the soufflé base mixture, stir with a whisk, and bring it up to a boil.
8. Once the soufflé base mixture begins to boil, immediately transfer to a clean bowl and cover with cling wrap (it must touch the surface of the mixture); allow to cool to room temperature.
9. Whip the egg white until stiff peaks form and mix half of it into the room temperature base mixture.
10. Fold the rest of the egg white into the base mixture.
11. Divide the mixture between the ramekins, making sure the top is completely flat. Run a knife around the top of the inner side of the ramekin to ensure a perfectly risen soufflé.
12. Bake for 12-20 minutes, or until the soufflé has risen to become double in size. Serve immediately with spiced chocolate sauce.

• • This recipe earned Adel February a spot in the finals of the 2018 Sunday Times Goodlife Gautrain Taste Experience.