Frozen Orange Soufflé Recipe

Frozen soufflé is not a true soufflé but a frozen mousse. It is a custard mixture usually thickened with gelatin and lightened with egg whites or whipped cream or both. Its presentation looks like a soufflé because the mixture is frozen in a soufflé dish that’s been wrapped with a tall paper collar so that it looks like a soufflé has risen out of the dish like a baked one.

I tasted an amazing frozen soufflé by one of the best chefs in our city, Stephen Vardy from Beckta (however, he’s no longer at this restaurant). It was a passion fruit soufflé and his recipe didn’t include gelatin or egg yolks so it was a bit simpler than the one below: Italian Meringue + passion fruit purée and a touch of lime + whipped cream. He served it in an espresso cup with raspberry gelato. Yum!

Italian Meringue
Meringue is simply sweetened egg whites. It’s more stable than meringue made with egg whites and spoonfuls of sugar. It is believed that an Italian baker named Gasparini from the Swiss town of Meiringen created meringue. There is more interesting history in this article.

When making meringue, superfine sugar is recommended since it dissolves faster, but I used regular sugar since I was making a sugar syrup. The heat of the syrup cooks the eggs and allows it to hold its shape much better than an uncooked meringue.

Use room temperature eggs to increase the meringue’s volume. To get stiff egg whites, the bowl must be free from grease and the whites must be free from any yolk. Stiff peaks mean the whites are glossy and very stiff, and the peaks are stiff enough to hold their shape.

Whipped Cream
Cream with 30%-36% fat can be turned into whipped cream by whisking it with air. Prepare whipped cream just before using since it won't stay whipped for very long. The cream should be cold when whipped to make sure it doesn’t collapse. Don’t overwhip the cream or it will curdle and separate. It should double in volume and form soft peaks.

Recipe for Soufflé glacé à l'orange

2¼ teaspoons (1 7-ounce package) granulated gelatin
4-6 tablespoons water
½ cup water
1 cup sugar, divided
Zest and juice of 2 oranges
3 eggs, separated, room temperature
1 cup heavy cream, chilled

You can find the recipe in from Le Cordon Bleu Dessert Techniques (affiliate link)..

Tasting Notes
This is a light dessert after a heavy meal. It can be served frozen or at room temperature like a mousse. There are lots of opportunities to play around with this recipe with flavorings and ingredients. I think orange is mild, but a dash or two of Grand Marnier would spark this up a bit.
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Running total: $252.69 + $5.01 = $257.70

Butter used so far: 4 pounds, 27.5 tablespoons