DARK CHOCOLATE SOUFFLES

I'd always heard that souffles were tricky to make, so thought it would take a few goes to get them right, but these were very easy! I think the key is to have a well greased ramekin, and make sure that you pour the mixture into the ramekin evenly, not spilling any drops onto the rim or down the sides. I served mine with a chocolate cream, simply made by whipping cream with a little sugar and grated chocolate. If you don't like dark chocolate I would imagine this recipe would also work well with milk chocolate.

INGREDIENTS
Soft butter, to grease ramekins
Caster sugar, to dust ramekins
100g dark chocolate
4 eggs, separated

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 200ºC. Generously grease ramekins, including rims. Pop in the fridge for about 5 minutes and grease again. Pour a little caster sugar into each ramekin and tip and rotate so that the base and sides are lightly covered. Tip out any left over loose sugar. Place ramekins on a baking tray.
2. Melt chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Once smooth remove from heat and stir in the egg yolks.
3. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add about 1/3 of the egg whites to the chocolate and mix in well. Then add the rest of the egg whites and fold in gently.
4. Pour or spoon the mixture evenly among the ramekins, being careful not to spill any drops down the sides or on the rims (as this will stop them rising evenly).
5. Pop in the oven for 8-10 minutes. They are ready when they have puffed up nicely. Dust with some icing sugar and serve immediately!

Makes 4 x 150ml ramekins