Hot Soufflés

A hot soufflé is made with a flavored base lightened by folding in whipped egg whites, much like a mousse, but rather than being stabilized and chilled, it is baked to further expand the air bubbles trapped in the egg whites and served directly from the oven. Pastry cream and fruit purées are the most common bases for dessert soufflés. If using a flavored pastry cream, it should have an intense flavor, as the meringue will lessen the flavor intensity of the base. Any pastry cream can serve as the base for a soufflé. However, specific formulations of pastry cream can increase the stability of the soufflé by the type and amount of starch used. The formula included here uses flour, but in some cases you may want to combine different starches to achieve specific desired results.