Vanilla Souffles With Vanilla Creme Sauce Food

HOW TO MAKE SOUFFLé

Steps:

• In "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," their profoundly influential 1961 cookbook, Julia Child, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle describe the soufflé as the "epitome and triumph of the art of French cooking." A half-century later, soufflé remains as vital as ever, as successive generations of chefs revisit and refresh the classic recipe. A souffle has two main components, a flavorful base and glossy beaten egg whites, and they are gently folded together just before baking. The word itself comes from "souffler," meaning "to breathe" or "to puff," which is what the whites do to the base once they hit the oven's heat. The base may be made either savory or sweet. Savory soufflés usually incorporate cheese, vegetables, meat or seafood and are appropriate for a light dinner or lunch, or as a first course. They require a substantial and stable base, in the form of a cooked sauce that often involves butter, egg yolks and some kind of starch (flour, rice or cornstarch). Sweet soufflés, with fruit, chocolate or liquors, make spectacular desserts. The base can be made from a fruit purée, or a sweet, rich sauce. Soufflés are found all over France, with each region applying its own spin. In Alsace, cooks use kirsch. In Provence, goat cheese or eggplant are excellent additions. And naturally, Roquefort cheese is a popular addition in Roquefort.
• Marie-Antoine Carême, the father of French haute cuisine, is credited with perfecting and popularizing the soufflé, publishing his recipe in "Le Pâtissier Royal Parisien" in 1815. (The first recipe had appeared in 1742, in Vincent La Chapelle's "Le Cuisinier Moderne.") Initially, Carême made his soufflés in stiff pastry casings called croustades that were lined with buttered paper. Soon after, vessels were developed just for making souffles, deep dishes with straight sides, for the tallest rise. Carême went on to create several variations, including Soufflé Rothschild, named after his employer, one of the richest men in France; it contained candied fruit macerated in a liquor containing flecks of gold. (Contemporary versions substitute more attainable kirsch for the golden elixir.) As the soufflé evolved, the number of variations grew. By the time Auguste Escoffier published "Le Guide Culinaire" in 1903, which codified the classic recipes of French cuisine, more than 60 soufflé variations were in common use, with versions that incorporated ingredients as varied as Parmesan cheese, foie gras, escarole, pheasant, violets, almonds and tea. A layered soufflé called a Camargo alternated stripes of tangerine and hazelnut soufflé batters in the same dish. "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," published nearly six decades later, offered several recipes, including a version called Soufflé Vendôme, in which cold poached eggs are layered into the unbaked soufflé mixture. After baking, the eggs warm up slightly, releasing their runny yolks when the soufflé is broken. Despite a movement in France in recent years that called for a more experimental take on traditional cuisine, there is still a place for perfect soufflé. And while chefs may innovate upon the classic version, those first 18th-century recipes are still very much in use. Above, the menu at Le Soufflé, a restaurant in Paris.
• Soufflé mold The soufflé has a pan created just for it, a deep ceramic dish with straight sides. Ceramic holds the heat evenly, so the center cooks at nearly the same rate as the edges, and the sides direct the expanding air upward, to give the most rise. A heavy metal charlotte mold also works. Or use a shallow oven-safe dish, like a gratin dish or a skillet. The soufflé won't rise as high, but it will still puff up. (It will likely cook faster, so watch it carefully.)Metal mixing bowl You will achieve better results beating the whites in a metal mixing bowl rather than in a plastic, glass or ceramic bowl. Plastic can retain oily residue, and glass and ceramic are slippery, making it harder to get the whites to cling and climb up the sides. This is especially important if you are beating the whites by hand. Stainless steel or copper work best.Electric mixer Using an electric mixer, whether it is a hand-held model or a stand mixer, makes the work of beating egg whites go faster and easier than if you were to use a whisk and your arms. Wirecutter, a product recommendations website owned by The New York Times Company, has a guide to the best stand mixers.
• A chocolate soufflé is an eternal showstopper of a dessert. The flavor is dark and intense, yet the texture is light and custardy. Be sure to use excellent bittersweet chocolate. For maximum drama, always serve a soufflé straight from the oven.
• The primary technique for making a tall and airy soufflé is the proper beating of the egg whites. Once you learn it, a whole fluffy world opens up, rich with spongecakes, mousses and foams.• Always use eggs at room temperature or even warm, for the highest rise. Cold egg whites won't beat up as loftily. To get cold eggs to temperature quickly, soak them in their shells in warm water for 20 minutes. • Make sure your hands are clean. If there is any trace of oil or grease on them and you touch the egg whites, the soufflé may not puff. • Crack your eggs on a flat surface, like the countertop, instead of on the rim of the bowl. That way, you are less likely to shatter the shell and pierce the yolk. • There are two ways to separate eggs. The first is to hold the cracked egg over a bowl and pass the yolk between shells, letting the white slip into the bowl. Gently drop the yolk in into a separate, smaller bowl. Take care: The sharp edge of the shell can easily pierce the yolk, allowing it to seep into the white. The other method requires you to strain the whites through your fingers, but it ensures that yolks do not creep into the whites. First, set up three bowls. Hold your hand over one bowl and drop the cracked egg into your palm, letting the white run through your fingers into the bowl. Drop the yolk into the second bowl. Inspect the white for traces of yolk. If there are none, slip the white into the third bowl. Repeat with remaining eggs. Using that first bowl as a way station for each freshly cracked white before it gets added to the main bowl of pristine whites helps ensure no yolk contaminates the mixture.• Well-beaten, stable whites are the key to a gorgeously puffy soufflé. So don't rush this step. The slower you go, the better your chances for success. • Take a moment to make sure there are no traces of yolk or any fat in the egg whites or the bowl. (Egg yolk will impede the whites from frothing.) • Adding a little bit of acid (in our recipes, cream of tartar) helps stabilize the egg foam, and also helps prevent overbeating. Beating the whites in a copper bowl will produce a similar result without the added acid, which is why copper bowls were historically considered essential for making meringues. • If you are using a stand mixer, check the bottom of the bowl every now and then for unbeaten egg whites. Sometimes the whites pool there, and when you go to incorporate the meringue into the base, those whites will deflate the overall soufflé. Whisk any pooled whites by hand into the rest of the meringue and continue beating with the machine. • Beat until the meringue is just able to hold stiff peaks. This means that when you lift the whisk out of the meringue, it will create a little cowlick that stays upright without drooping as you gently move the whisk. It should look glossy, or be just starting to lose its shine. Don't overbeat (which will make the foam turn grainy and dry) or underbeat (which won't give the proper lift). If you overbeat your whites, you might be able to rescue them by beating in another egg white. This often restores them.• The goal in folding the egg whites into the base is to work quickly and use a light touch. This lightens the base, making it easier to fold in the rest of the meringue mixture all at once. Fold in a C shape, as demonstrated in the video above: Starting in the middle of the bowl, drag the thin edge of a spatula down like a knife, then tilt and scoop up a spatula full of the soufflé base, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl. Turn the batter over, away from your body, back into the middle of the bowl. Shift the bowl 45 degrees, and repeat. • Stop folding when the streaks of white have just disappeared - or rather, when they have almost disappeared. A few white streaks are preferable to overfolding, which deflates the batter.• Buttering the soufflé dish, then coating the butter with something with a bit of texture, is essential for the rise. If the soufflé dish were to be just buttered, the soufflé would slip down the sides instead of climbing. An additional thin coating of granulated sugar, bread crumbs, ground nuts or grated cheese creates a rough texture for the egg whites to hold onto as they rise.• If your soufflé dish isn't big enough to accommodate all of the batter, you can extend it by tying a buttered piece of parchment paper or foil around the rim of the soufflé dish to increase its volume.• For individual soufflés, use small ramekins placed on a rimmed baking sheet so they are easy to get in and out of the oven. Reduce the cooking time of a larger soufflé by about half.• Heat matters. Make sure the oven is preheated; that initial hot blast expands the air trapped inside the bubbly foam of batter, which makes it rise. Having the soufflé base hot or warm when you fold in the egg whites helps the temperature rise quickly, too.• Baking the soufflé on a preheated baking sheet on the bottom of the oven helps the soufflé cook on the bottom as well as the top, producing a more even result. The baking sheet will also catch any overflow.• For a higher rise, rub your thumb around the inside rim of the soufflé dish to create a gap between the dish and the batter. (Many soufflé dishes already have a groove there to help.) • If you want a perfectly flat top to your soufflé, level the foam with the back of a knife before baking, and before running your thumb around the edge of the dish. Or you could leave the foam as it is, for a more natural, wavy look. Julia Child preferred a natural top; pastry chefs tend to prefer a flat top. • A soufflé is done baking when it has risen above the rim of the dish and is nicely browned on top. It should feel mostly firm and only slightly jiggly when you lightly tap the top. Flourless soufflés, such as those made with fruit purée or chocolate, are lighter and cook faster. (Chocolate soufflés can also be intentionally underbaked for a gooey chocolate interior. The soufflé should be a tad wiggly when gently shaken but firm around the edges.) Thicker soufflés made with flour, like a cheese soufflé, don't rise as much in the oven, but won't collapse as much either. • Use the window of your oven to monitor the soufflé, and don't open the oven door until you see the soufflé puff up over the sides of the dish. Once it has done that, you can safely open the oven and check on it. • If the top of your soufflé starts to brown too fast, top it with a round of parchment paper. • All soufflés fall within minutes of coming out of the oven, because the hot air bubbles contract when they hit cooler air. That's why you need to serve them immediately after baking. But as long as you don't overfold the whites, and you resist opening the oven door until the last few minutes of baking, your soufflé will rise gloriously before the dramatic and expected collapse. • You can prepare any soufflé batter ahead, but you will probably lose some volume. Assemble the soufflé in its dish, then set it aside in a warm place without drafts for up to four hours. Julia Child recommends turning your largest soup pot over the soufflé, and that would work. But any draft-free space is fine. A draft could deflate the foam.
• This savory soufflé is as classic as can be, with beaten egg whites folded into a rich cheese-laden béchamel for flavor and stability. Gruyère is the traditional cheese used for soufflé, but a good aged Cheddar would also work nicely. This makes a great lunch or brunch dish.
• Once you've mastered more basic soufflés, try this very light recipe, adapted from Julia Child, which uses a base of syrupy fruit to flavor the egg whites, without the addition of fats or starches. A combination of raspberries and strawberries makes it marvelously pink.
• Savory soufflés are usually served by themselves, but sweet soufflés often have a sauce on the side, to be poured into the center of the soufflé after you've dug in your spoon. Or opt for ice cream, which provides a thrilling hot-cold contrast. Either will deflate the soufflé, so add it after your guests have had a chance to admire it. This creamy custard, made from egg yolks and milk, is a great sauce for any sweet soufflé, including chocolate, fruit and Grand Marnier. You can flavor the sauce with a dash of liquor, some lemon zest or a pinch of cinnamon or another spice.A versatile choice, caramel sauce is lovely with all kinds of sweet soufflés, be they flavored with simple vanilla bean, chocolate or fruit.A perfect match for fruit soufflés, this can be as simple as a lightly sweetened purée of fruit, or a more elaborate fruit-flavored custard or curd.A chocolate sauce accentuates the richness of chocolate soufflés. You can use the same type of chocolate in the sauce as you've used in the soufflé, or try mixing it up, using a darker and more bitter chocolate to cut the sweetness, or a milk chocolate to step it up.
• Photography Food styling: Alison Attenborough. Prop styling: Beverley Hyde. Additional photography: Karsten Moran for The New York Times. Additional styling: Jade Zimmerman. Video Food styling: Chris Barsch and Jade Zimmerman. Art direction: Alex Brannian. Prop styling: Catherine Pearson. Director of photography: James Herron. Camera operators: Tim Wu and Zack Sainz. Editing: Will Lloyd and Adam Saewitz. Additional editing: Meg Felling.
• All Chapters
• Omelet

HOT VANILLA SOUFFLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush 4 to 6 individual souffle dishes (or a 7-cup souffle dish) well with melted butter. Put the sugar inside one dish and toss to coat, then tip the excess sugar into the next dish and repeat. Place the dishes in the refrigerator to chill.
• Reserving 1/3 cup of the milk, place the remaining 1 cup in a large saucepan. Add the vanilla bean and heat just to a boil, then turn off the heat and set aside to let the vanilla bean infuse for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the 1/3 cup granulated sugar, the flour, and the reserved 1/3 cup milk. Add a little of the hot milk and whisk to combine, then add the flour mixture to the hot milk mixture in the saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally. Simmer just until thickened, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat. Add the butter, stir, cover, and set aside 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and whisk in the egg yolks.
• In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer), whip the egg whites in a clean dry bowl until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and continue whipping until stiff and glossy. Fold into the milk mixture.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared dishes, filling them 3/4 full. Run your thumb around the inside rim of each dish, making a shallow "moat" around the edge of the batter. This will help the souffles to rise straight up. Dust the surfaces with confectioners' sugar. (The souffles can stand at this point for up to 30 minutes.) Bake in the center of the oven until puffed and light golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Do not open the oven door unless absolutely necessary.
• Satin Chocolate Sauce: Combine the 2 chocolates over simmering water in the top half of a double boiler. Stir constantly until melted, then whisk in the syrup and water without removing the double boiler from the heat. Whisk until smooth and shiny. (The sauce can be made up to 48 hours in advance and refrigerated. To rewarm, stir over low heat or heat in a microwave.) At the table, serve the hot souffles by poking a hole in each one and pouring chocolate sauce into the hole, then drizzling sauce over the tops. For a large souffle, spoon onto dessert plates and drizzle sauce on each serving.

CLASSIC FRENCH VANILLA SOUFFLé

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 F.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Butter a large soufflé dish and sprinkle in 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, tilting the dish to make sure the entire interior surface is covered.
• Set aside the prepared soufflé dish.
• Bring 1 cup of the milk to just steaming in a medium saucepan set over low-medium heat.
• In a bowl, stir together 5 tablespoons of the granulated sugar, the all-purpose flour, and the remaining 1/3 cup milk until it forms a smooth batter.
• Slowly whisk half of the hot milk into the batter, making sure to combine the ingredients until they are completely smooth-this is called tempering .
• Add the tempered batter back to the hot milk in the pan and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly. Stir and cook the mixture until it has thickened, about 1 minute.
• Stir the unsalted butter into the mixture until combined.
• Allow batter to cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, then stir in the vanilla extract.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until they become foamy, and then add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Continue beating the egg whites at high speed until they hold stiff, glossy peaks.
• Gently stir 1/3 of the egg whites into the vanilla mixture, then carefully fold in the remaining whipped egg whites. The vanilla mixture should be evenly colored and light and bubbly, without egg white streaks or marbling.
• Spoon the soufflé mixture into the prepared dish and allow it to rest, covered, for up to 30 minutes (or you can bake it right away).
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes (slightly longer at high altitudes) until the soufflé has risen and has a crusty exterior.
• Serve the soufflé with a dusting of confectioners' sugar and a few plump berries, if desired. Enjoy.

GRAND MARNIER SOUFFLES WITH CRèME ANGLAISE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Generously butter eight 1-cup (3 1/2 x 2-inch) ramekins and coat with sugar, knocking out excess sugar.
• In a 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan melt 3/4 stick butter over moderately low heat and whisk in flour. Cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk and cook over moderate heat, whisking, until mixture is very thick and pulls away from sides of pan. Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool 5 minutes. In a large bowl whisk together yolks, vanilla, oil, and a pinch salt, and whisk in milk mixture and Grand Marnier, whisking until smooth.
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat whites until they hold soft peaks. Beat in 1 cup sugar, a little at a time, and beat meringue until it just holds stiff peaks. Whisk about one fourth meringue into yolk mixture to lighten and with a rubber spatula fold in remaining meringue gently but thoroughly.
• Spoon batter into ramekins, filling them just to rim, and arrange ramekins at least 1 1/2 inches apart in a large baking pan. Add enough hot water to pan to reach halfway up sides of ramekins and bake soufflés in middle of oven 20 minutes, or until puffed and tops are golden.
• Remove pan from oven and transfer ramekins to dessert plates. With 2 forks pull open center of each soufflé and pour some crème anglaise into opening.
• Serve souffl s immediately.

VANILLA SOUFFLE

Steps:

• Butter and sugar eight 6-ounce soufflé dishes, including the rim of each dish.
• In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine milk and vanilla bean with scrapings.
• Bring to a boil, and remove from heat.
• Cover, and let steep for 1 hour.
• Remove bean from milk, and reserve for another use.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, and salt.
• Add 1/2 cup steeped milk, whisking to combine and form a paste.
• Transfer paste to saucepan with milk, and cook over medium heat while whisking constantly until thickened and smooth, about 5 to 8 minutes.
• If the mixture begins to get lumpy, remove from heat, and whisk until smooth.
• Remove saucepan from heat.
• Prepare an ice-water bath: Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice.
• Add egg yolks and vanilla extract to milk mixture, and whisk to combine.
• Transfer soufflé base mixture to a shallow 1-quart container.
• Cover surface directly with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.
• Set saucepan in the ice-water bath to cool completely.
• Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Remove soufflé base from refrigerator, and bring to room temperature, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375° with rack in center.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip 5 egg whites on low speed with cream of tartar until foamy.
• Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar while slowly increasing the speed of the mixer until it is on high.
• Whip until egg whites are stiff and shiny.
• Gently fold egg whites into the soufflé base in three additions.
• Divide between prepared dishes, gently tap on each dish on the work surface, and place on a baking sheet.
• Transfer to oven, and bake until dark golden and the sides appear spongelike, 16 to 20 minutes.
• Remove from oven, and dust with confectioners' sugar.
• Serve immediately with vanilla bean ice cream.

VANILLA SOUFFLE AND ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Butter and sugar eight 6-ounce souffle dishes, including the rim of each dish. In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine milk and vanilla bean with scrapings. Bring to a boil, and remove from heat. Cover, and let steep for 1 hour. Remove bean from milk, and reserve for another use.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, and salt. Add 1/2 cup steeped milk, whisking to combine and form a paste. Transfer paste to saucepan with milk, and cook over medium heat while whisking constantly until thickened and smooth, about 5 to 8 minutes. If the mixture begins to get lumpy, remove from heat, and whisk until smooth. Remove saucepan from heat.
• Prepare an ice-water bath: Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice. Add egg yolks and vanilla extract to milk mixture, and whisk to combine. Transfer souffle base mixture to a shallow 1-quart container. Cover surface directly with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Set saucepan in the ice-water bath to cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Remove souffle base from refrigerator, and bring to room temperature, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with rack in center. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip 5 egg whites on low speed with cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar while slowly increasing the speed of the mixer until it is on high. Whip until egg whites are stiff and shiny.
• Gently fold egg whites into the souffle base in three additions. Divide between prepared dishes, gently tap on each dish on the work surface, and place on a baking sheet. Transfer to oven, and bake until dark golden and the sides appear spongelike, 16 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately with vanilla bean ice cream.

GINGERBREAD SOUFFLES WITH VANILLA SAUCE

Steps:

• For the sauce, combine the half and half, vanilla bean and vanilla seeds in a mediumsaucepan and bring to a low boil over medium heat.
• Take the pan from the heat.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg yolks, then gradually whisk in the hot half and half.
• Return the mixture to the saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon over medium low heat until the custard thickens enough to coat the badk of the spoon, about 5 minutes.
• (DO NOT BOIL or the mixture will curdle).
• Strain the sauce through a fine sieve into a small bowl and stir in the bourbon.
• Let cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until fully chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 400*F.
• Butter eight ounce ramekins.
• Coat the insides evenly with sugar and shake out the excess.
• Put the dishes on a large baking sheet and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat.
• Add the flour and whisk until the mixture is smooth and bubbly, about 2 minutes.
• Gradually whisk the milk into the flour mixture, whisking constantly until the milk is thickened and themixture is smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Take the pan from the heat and whisk in the sugar, molasses, rum, ginger, vanilla, cinnamon and salt.
• Let cool until warm, about 10 minutes.
• Whisk in the egg yolks and set aside.
• Whip the egg whites with an electric mixer at high speed until frothy.
• Add the cream of tartar and beat until the whites are still, but not dry.
• Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture in three additions.
• Divide the batter among the prepared dishes and run the tip of a knife around the top of the mixture, about 1/2 inch from the edge to facilitate crowning.
• Bake the souffles until puffed and golden, about 15 minutes.
• Serve right away, making an indentation in the souffles and drizzling in the sauce.

VANILLA SOUFFLE

Steps:

• To prepare dish for a sweet souffle always rub the inside of dish generously with butter, then sprinkle with sugar, tapping out the excess. If any souffle is been baked in the oven as this one -- put a double collar around the outside of the dish about two inches higher than top, and secure on the outside with a string.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. F.
• Scald one cup of the milk, if using a vanilla bean put it into the milk cover and leave to infuse 15 minutes.
• Reheat the milk to a boil, remove the bean and add the sugar.
• If using extract then just add extract to scalded milk.
• Blend the remaining cold milk with the flour and arrowroot to make a smooth paste.
• Stir into the hot milk and bring to a boil and stir constantly. Boil for 2 or 3 seconds, and then remove from heat, dot with the butter, cover and let stand for 6 minutes to slightly meld and cool.
• Now stir to mix in the butter and add more vanilla if desired to taste.
• Beat in the egg yolks one at a time.
• Beat the egg whites until they hold a stiff peaks, using a metal spoon fold in some of the whites about one quarter into the yolk custard mixture to lighten the weight of the custard. Then now add remaining whites mixture and fold together as lighlty as possible.
• Transfer the mixture to the prepared souffle dish and bake at once in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes -- until its puffed and golden brown.
• Remove the paper collar, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve at once.

HOT FUDGE BROWNIE SOUFFLE WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 450°F.
• Butter a 1-quart soufflé dish and sprinkle with sugar.
• Melt butter with chocolate, stirring until smooth.
• Blend in ¼ cup of sugar, yolks, coffee mixture and vanilla; stir in flour (can be prepared several hours ahead and set aside at cool room temperature. Reheat before continuing.) Beat whites in large bowl until soft peaks form; gradually add remaining ½ cup sugar, beating, until whites are stiff but not dry.
• Fold ¼ of whites into chocolate mixture, then fold chocolate back into whites (be careful not to deflate - a few streaks of white may remain).
• Gently turn batter into prepared dish.
• Sprinkle lightly with sugar.
• Bake 5 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 400F and continue baking until puffed, about 20 minutes (center will remain moist).
• Serve immediately with sauce.
• (and remember - A SOUFFLE WAITS FOR NO ONE).
• Vanilla Ice Cream Sauce: Let ice cream soften 10 minutes; add rum and beat until smooth.

VANILLA CREAM OR SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat 2 cups milk in a heavy saucepan over low heat until simmering, about 5 minutes.
• Beat remaining 1/2 cup milk and cornstarch together in a bowl using a whisk until dissolved; add sugar and egg yolks and beat until smooth. Slowly pour milk mixture into simmering milk while gently whisking the simmering milk; simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and stir vanilla extract into sauce.
• Pour the sauce through a wire mesh sieve into a bowl to remove any cornstarch lumps. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the sauce, ensuring the plastic wrap is touching the sauce to prevent a skin from forming; cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
• Move sauce to refrigerator and chill completely cold, at least 30 minutes.

APRICOT SOUFFLES WITH VANILLA RUM CRèME ANGLAISE

Steps:

• To make the apricot soufflé:
• In a heavy saucepan simmer apricots, water, and 1/2 cup sugar, covered, 20 minutes. Transfer hot mixture to a food processor and purée until very smooth. Force purée through a fine sieve into a bowl and stir in lemon juice, rum, vanilla, a pinch salt. Cool purée completely. Purée may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered,. Bring to room temperature before proceeding. Transfer purée to a large bowl.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter 7-ounce (3 1/2- by 1 3/4 - inch) ramekins and coat with additional sugar, knocking out excess.
• In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat whites with pinch of salt until foamy. Beat in cream of tartar and beat whites until they hold soft peaks. Beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar, a little at a time, and beat meringue until it just holds stiff peaks. Whisk about one forth meringue into purée to lighten and fold in remaining meringue gently but thoroughly. Ladle batter into ramekins and bake soufflés on a baking sheet in middle of oven 20 to 25 minutes, or until puffed, golden brown, and just set in center.
• Remove ramekins from oven. With 2 forks pull open center of each soufflé and pour some crème anglaise into each opening. Serve soufflés immediately.
• To make the vanilla rum crème anglaise:
• In a small heavy saucepan bring half-and-half just to a boil with vanilla bean and remove pan from heat. Scrape seeds from bean with a knife into half-and-half, reserving pod for another use if desired.
• In a bowl whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt and whisk in hot half-and-half in a stream. Return custard to pan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thickened (170°F. on a candy thermometer), but do not let boil. Pour sauce through a fine sieve into a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally. Stir in rum. Chill sauce, covered, until very cold, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days. Makes about 2 1/4 cups.

VANILLA SOUFFLES WITH VANILLA CREME SAUCE

Steps:

• Coat the bottom and sides of 4 6-oz baking dishes with vegetable cooking spray; sprinkle with granulated sugar. Set aside.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook flour mixture, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
• Add half and half, stirring constantly; stir in 4 tbsp sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat.
• Beat egg yolks until thick and pale. Gradually stir half of the hot half-and-half mixture into egg yolks; add to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat 2 minutes; stir in vanilla. Cool 15 to 20 minutes.
• Beat egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add remaining 2 tbsp sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Gradually fold egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Spoon into prepared baking dishes.
• Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until puffed and set. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve immediately with Vanilla Creme Sauce.
• Vanilla Creme Sauce:.
• Combine 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 cup sugar, and 2 tsp cornstarch in a heavy saucepan; gradually stir in whipping cream. Cook stirring constantly, over low heat until sugar dissolves.
• Beat 8 egg yolks until thick and pale; gradually stir about half of hot whipping cream mixture into yolks. Add to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly.
• Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until thickened. Pour through a wire-mesh strainer into a small bowl, discarding lumps. Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. Serve with Vanilla Souffles, fresh fruit, or pound cake.