Taillevent Pear Souffle Recipes

PEAR SOUFFLéS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• For sauce:
• Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and let stand until chocolate softens slightly, about 1 minute. Add bourbon and stir until chocolate is melted and sauce is smooth. DO AHEAD: Sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
• For soufflés:
• Generously butter six 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups, then coat with sugar, tilting ramekins to coat bottoms and sides evenly. Gently tap out any excess sugar. Place ramekins on rimmed baking sheet.
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of pears and sauté until beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and sauté until pears are caramelized and juices are thick, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Scrape pear mixture into bowl. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon butter, remaining pears, and 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar. Stir lemon juice into pears. Let cool to room temperature, about 45 minutes.
• Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to processor; add pear juices to chocolate sauce. Puree pears until smooth. Transfer pear puree (about 2 cups) to medium saucepan. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and chill puree.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk egg yolks into pear puree in saucepan to blend. Stir pear mixture constantly over medium-low heat until steam rises and mixture is hot (do not boil). Carefully transfer pear mixture to large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites with pinch of salt in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 5 tablespoons sugar to egg whites and beat until stiff but not dry. Gently fold 1/3 of egg whites into pear mixture to lighten. Gently fold in remaining egg whites in 2 additions. Divide soufflé batter equally among prepared ramekins (ramekins will be full).
• Bake soufflés until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes.
• Rewarm chocolate sauce over low heat. Serve soufflés immediately with warm chocolate sauce alongside.

PEAR GINGER SOUFFLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter dishes well, coat with sugar, and tap out excess. Chill.
• Peel, quarter, and core pears. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Squeeze lemon halves over pieces to prevent discoloring. Place pears and 2 tablespoons sugar in a small saucepan and cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat until they become a chunky sauce, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a food processor, and puree. Return to pan.
• Using a clean garlic press, squeeze juice from ginger into puree; discard pulp. Continue cooking puree over low heat until thick and a spoon drawn through puree leaves a trail, about 15 minutes.
• In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons cold water. Stir into the puree, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Simmer a few minutes more. Transfer to a large bowl, and beat in egg yolks. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it onto the surface of the mixture. Keep warm until ready to use.
• In a large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 3 tablespoons sugar. Beat until stiff and glossy.
• Spoon 1/3 of the whites into pear base. Add Poire William, if desired, and whisk until smooth. Quickly fold in remaining whites until combined. (Don't worry if there are some streaks.) Fill prepared dishes to about 1/4 inch from the top. Run your thumb around edge of dishes to make a groove. Sprinkle with granulated sugar if desired.
• Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce heat to 375 degrees and continue baking for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

TAILLEVENT PEAR SOUFFLE

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine one and one-third cups of the sugar with three cups of water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat.
• Peel, core and quarter the pears. Place them in the saucepan, adding a little more water if necessary, so they are just covered with the syrup. Simmer gently until the pears are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain. Discard the syrup.
• Dice eight quarters of the pears. Puree the rest in a food processor. Return the puree to a saucepan and cook until it is reduced to about two cups.
• In a saucepan, dissolve two-thirds cup of the sugar in one-third cup water. Cook over medium-high heat, without stirring, until the mixture reaches the hard-crack stage, 300 degrees on a candy thermometer. This is just before the sugar turns to caramel.
• Immediately pour the hot sugar into the warm pear puree and stir. Add the eau de vie de poire.
• Butter eight one-cup souffle dishes and dust them with the remaining sugar. Divide the diced pears among them. The souffle can be prepared ahead up to this point.
• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
• Beat the egg whites until they hold firm peaks but are still creamy. Fold the pear puree and egg whites together and spoon the mixture into each of the prepared souffle dishes.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until the souffles are puffed and nicely browned. Serve at once.

PEAR SOUFFLé

Steps:

• Simmer the pears in a mixture of 1 cup of the sugar, 1 cup of the water, and 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice for 10 minutes. Drain pears; discard the liquid. When the pears are cool, chop 2 pears halves and set aside. Puree the rest of the pears. Cook the puree for about 4 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, to evaporate excess liquid. Set the puree aside. Combine 1/2 cup of the sugar, 3 tablespoons of the water, and a dash of lemon juice and heat without stirring to 275 F on a candy thermometer (hard-ball stage) to form sugar syrup. Pour the hot syrup into the pear puree and mix well. Add pear brandy to the puree and let the mixture cool. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Butter six 4-inch (1 cup) soufflé molds and put some of the sugar in the molds; turn them to coat the sides and bottom with sugar, dumping out the excess. Beat the egg whites in a mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 cup of the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Whisk 2 tablespoons of beaten egg white into the puree to lighten it, then gently fold the puree into the remaining egg white. Fill the prepared molds half way with the batter. Sprinkle with half of the reserved chopped pear. Fill the molds nearly to the top, then sprinkle with the remaining chopped pear. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until puffed and golden. To serve: Place a soufflé in its mold on each individual serving plate. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar. The soufflés must be served immediately, hot out of the oven.

PEAR SOUFFLE

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan, place the pears, vanilla bean, and half the fructose. Add the water and cook the pears almost to a puree, adding more water if necessary to keep the mixture from burning. Remove the vanilla bean and drain off any excess liquid. Transfer the pears to a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer the puree to a bowl and stir in the pear liqueur and additional fructose, if necessary. Add the egg yolks and combine well. Set aside and reserve. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Butter individual souffle dishes lightly and set aside. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add 1 tablespoon fructose and continue to beat until stiff but not dry. Gently stir one fourth of the beaten egg whites into the pear puree, and fold in the remaining egg whites. Fill the souffle dishes and smooth the tops with a spatula. Run your thumb around the inside edge of each dish. This will form the "hat" on the souffle, and it will also eliminate the need for a collar. Bake 7 to 8 minutes and serve immediately. Serve one souffle per person. If calories are not a consideration, the souffle is delicious served with creme anglaise.

TAILLEVENT PEAR SOUFFLES WITH PEAR WAFERS

Steps:

• For the pear wafers: Heat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat. Wash pear and use a mandolin to slice into thin slices. Place sugar on a flat plate and dip both sides of pear slices into sugar to coat. Place slices on baking sheet. Place another silicone mat on top, sandwiching the pear slices. This will keep them from curling up in the oven. Bake about an hour until the slices have turned dry and crisp. Peel wafers off the silicone mats and transfer to a wire rack to cool and harden. For the pear souffles: Combine 1 1/3 cups of sugar with 3 cups water in a saucepan, and heat on stove until sugar dissolves. Remove from stove. Peel, core, and quarter the pears. Place in the saucepan with the sugar syrup, adding more water if necessary to cover the pears. Simmer gently over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, until pears are tender. Drain the pears and discard the syrup. Dice 8 of the pear quarters and reserve. Puree the remaining pears in a food processor until smooth. Place puree in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until it has reduced to 2 cups. Remove from heat. Dissolve 2/3 cup of remaining sugar in 1/3 cup water in a clean saucepan and cook over medium high heat until the syrup turns golden caramel. Make sure the puree is still warm or it will set the caramel too fast. Pour the hot caramel into the puree and stir to combine. Add the eau-de-vie and stir to combine. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Grease (8)-8 ounce ramekins with the butter on bottom and sides. Dust with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Divide the diced pears among the ramekins. Whip egg whites in a stand mixer until they reach firm peaks. Fold egg whites into the pear puree. Divide the mixture among the ramekins. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the souffles are puffed and light brown. Serve immediately.