Sasha's Kitchen: Peanut Butter & Jelly Souffle

As you probably already know, I was in Ontario this weekend visiting some ice wineries during the day on Saturday, since I already wrote about my trip to one of the ice wineries that we visited, and the techniques used to make ice wine.  I spent the rest of the weekend visiting with family in Rochester, NY and didn't really do much cooking this weekend.  However, the one thing I did make this weekend, was mini-souffles Sunday morning for my family.  This souffle was an experimental souffle that worked out.  I decided to do something a bit offbeat and quirky as far as souffles go and experimented with a peanut butter souffle.  In the end, I decided to make mine a true PBJ souffle.  I liked it with the red current jelly that I added as a topping (although no one else was willing to try it with the jelly!) and figured that the recipe was worth sharing here since the souffle was enjoyed by my family.

Sasha's PBJ Souffle  (makes 4 small souffles)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 T flour
1/4 cup sugar (plus extra to sprinkle in ramekins)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 egg yolks
4 egg whites
pinch of salt
pinch of cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 400 F before you begin (the oven must be ready to go when you put the souffles in or they will not rise).  To prepare the souffle, mix the flour and milk well in a bowl and put in a saucepan.  Add half of the sugar (about 1/8 of a cup) and heat until dissolved.  Over the heat, add the peanut butter and mix for a couple minutes until well combined and creamy.  Take off the heat.  Beat the egg yolks with the salt and vanilla and add to the peanut butter/milk mixture.  Set aside.

Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites.  Beat using either a stand mixer or a hand mixer with the remaining 1/8 cup of sugar (add the sugar slowly as you beat) until the eggs are thick and fluffy (like a foam).  Then, fold the egg whites into the peanut butter mixture gently.  You must make sure to beat the egg whites properly (this is the key step) or the souffle will not rise.  Bake the souffles at 400 until they rise for about 15 minutes (depending on your oven, anywhere from 10-15 minutes).  Don't open the oven until you are ready to take the souffles out, or they will collapse!  My family enjoyed these plain, but you can make it a PBJ souffle with a dollop of jelly on top, if that's your thing.  Enjoy!

Sasha's Kitchen: Peanut Butter & Jelly Souffle

Sasha's Kitchen: Simple (And Easy) Fall And Winter Dinner Souffles

Souffles are often confused as simply being for dessert, such as the standard chocolate souffle. However, souffles make great non-sweet dinners that are surprisingly easy to make. They are particularly well-suited to fall and winter vegetables and fruits, such as parsnip, potato, squash, apple, pumpkin and spinach. As crazy as it may sound, this is a good recipe to make during the busy work week, as neither really takes that long.

I have recently made two dinner souffles, both with good results. The first is a Martha Stewart recipe for a spinach-Gruyere souffle, which got me started on the souffle kick. The second used my own recipe - for a sweet potato, parsnip, apple souffle. While easy to make, souffles are also reasonably healthy, in that they do not contain a lot of sugar (for a vegetable souffle) and only use the whites of eggs. They key to getting the souffle to rise properly is beating the egg whites to the right consistency so that they form stiff peaks, before folding into and baking the souffle.

Sasha's Sweet Potato, Parsnip and Apple Souffle
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 medium parsnips
1 large apple
1/8 tsp salt
3 T sugar
1/2 tsp allspice
1 egg yolk plus 5 egg whites
2 T flour

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Peel potatoes and parsnips and place in the oven for 20 minutes. Peel the apple and cut into pieces and add apple. Wait another 20 minutes before removing vegetables and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Keep the oven on at 400 as having the right temperature at the right time is key with this recipe. Puree all vegetables in a food processor or blender. Add a small amount of water if needed. Mix in allspice, salt and 1 T of the sugar. Mix in the egg yolk and the flour. Set aside in a bowl.

Next put the egg whites in the bowl of a food processor (I used my artisan mixer) and beat at a very high speed until the egg whites form stiff peaks. As you beat, gradually add the remaining 2 T of sugar. Don't overbeat but you will have stiff peaks when the egg whites are fluffy and kind of foamy and form a peak when you test with a fork. Then gently fold the egg whites (Gently! don't beat) until mixed in. Then add to a souffle dish (spray with Pam first) and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Spinach Gruyere Souffle - from the December 2009 Issue of Everyday Food

2 T butter
1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 bag of fresh spinach
2 T flour
3/4 cup plus 2 T whole milk
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese (I am sure this would also taste great with cheddar)
2 large eggs, separated plus 2 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 275 F. Melt butter in a pan on medium heat and add flour to form a paste and cook for a few minutes. Add milk and cook 3-5 minutes. Take off heat and mix in the shredded cheese of your choice. Transfer to a bowl. Cook spinach in a few T of water until wilted on med-high for about 5 minutes. Blend in a food processor with the egg yolks. Add the cheese-flour mixture. Then beat the 4 egg whites as above (to make stiff peaks) and fold into the souffle. Bake at 375 for about 35 minutes.

Serve the souffles right away, so they will not fall. Also, it is important not to open the oven during the cooking process if you want them to rise properly. If you get too curious, like me, then you can turn on your oven light while the souffle cooks.

Sasha's Kitchen: Simple (And Easy) Fall And Winter Dinner Souffles