Surrey Homes | SH74 | March 2021 | Interiors supplement inside

Chilled Lemon Soufflés
Serves: 4 Prep time: Starts the day before
Soufflés are one of the most iconic French
desserts and they can take a long time to master.
However, this simple lemon mousse made in
a ramekin and shaped with the help of some
baking parchment and an elastic band looks like a
soufflé without any of the fuss. The recipe works
just as well with oranges and grapefruit, too.
• 4 leaves of gelatine
• 6 eggs, separated
• 500ml whipping cream
• 300g caster sugar
• grated zest and juice of 4
lemons, plus extra zest to
decorate
• icing sugar, to dust
Variation (optional):
• 8-12 fresh raspberries (or 8
amarena cherries)
You’ll need 4 ramekins
1 Start the recipe the day before
you want to serve the soufflés.
2 First prepare the ramekins.
Measure their circumference and
add 1cm / ½ inch to the figure.
Now measure their height and
add 5cm / 2 inches to the figure.
Take some baking parchment
and draw four rectangles: their
length should match that of
the recorded circumference;
and their height should match
that of the recorded height.
3 Cut out the rectangles of
parchment and wrap each one
around a ramekin. Fasten tightly
in place with an elastic band
or some sticky tape. Place on
a baking sheet and set aside.
4 Put the gelatine in a bowl
of cold water to soften.
5 Put the egg whites in a
stand mixer or in a bowl using
an electric handheld whisk
and whisk until firm peaks
form. Refrigerate while you
continue with the recipe.
6 Put the cream in the stand
mixer or in a bowl using an
electric handheld whisk again
and whisk until soft peaks form.
Don’t over-beat otherwise it will
go stiff and grainy and look split.
7 Put the egg yolks and sugar
in a heatproof bowl over a
pan of simmering water (not
letting the base of the bowl
touch the water). Whisk with
a balloon whisk for 5 minutes
or until light and foamy.
This is called a ‘sabayon’.
8 Put the lemon zest and juice
in a saucepan over medium
heat and bring to a boil.
Remove from the heat and
stir in the softened gelatine,
squeezed of excess water.
9 Add the lemon mixture to
the sabayon, whisking quickly
until thoroughly combined.
10 Gently fold the egg whites
into the lemon sabayon with
a large, metal spoon. When
evenly incorporated, fold in the
whipped cream in the same way.
11 Divide the mixture between
the ramekins with a spoon – it
should reach above the rim of
the ramekins by about 3cm /
1¼ inches and be contained
by the parchment to give you
that restaurant ‘soufflé’ look.
12 Allow to set in the
fridge overnight.
13 The next day, dust with
icing sugar and a little extra
lemon zest to serve.
For the variation:
For a hidden little treat,
add 2-3 fresh raspberries or
amarena cherries to the base
of each ramekin before you
spoon in the mixture.
These recipes were taken
from Eggs All Day, published
by Ryland Peters & Small
(£14.99). Photography ©
Ryland Peters & Small