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Apple souffle

From Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets, http://www.raymondblanc.com/
VYou can prepare the Crème Patissière, Sabayon and apple garnish several hours in advance, leaving you only the soufflé to make. Serves 4

For the apple shell & garnish
4 Jona Gold Apples, large
5g/1tsp Unsalted Butter, melted
5g/2tsp Caster Sugar
3ml/1 squeeze Lemon juice
3ml/1 dash Calvados
15g/1tbsp Caster Sugar
5g/1tsp Unsalted Butter
For the garnish
1 tsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp caster sugar
100g/3½oz ready-made apple sorbet, to serve
For the Sabayon sauce
4 free-range egg yolks
130ml/4½fl oz Calvados or apple juice
65g/2¼oz caster sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
75ml/3fl oz whipping cream, whisked to soft peaks
For the Crème Patissière
1 tsp vanilla purée
170ml/6fl oz full-fat milk
2 free-range egg yolks
20g/¾oz caster sugar
30g/1¼oz plain flour
For the soufflé mixture
5 free-range egg whites
squeeze lemon juice
55g/2oz caster sugar
20ml/¾fl oz Calvados
2-3 tbsp icing sugar, for dusting, plus extra to serve

1. For the apples, preheat the oven to 170C/350F/Gas 3.

2. Slice the base of the apples so they sit flat on a baking tray. Slice one-third off the top of each apple and reserve them. Place a pastry cutter in the centre of the apple as a template and scoop out the flesh using a melon baller, (reserve these apple balls for your caramelised apple garnish), leaving a 0.5cm/¼in 'wall'.

3. Heat the butter, lemon juice, sugar and Calvados in a small non-reactive saucepan until the butter has melted. Brush the insides of the apples with the mixture. Bake the apples in the oven for 9 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Once cool, cover the tray with cling film and chill until needed.

4. For the garnish, heat the butter and sugar in a small pan over a low to medium heat until it has melted and formed a golden caramel. Add the reserved apple balls and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring to coat the apples in the caramel. Set aside until ready to serve.

5. For the sabayon, bring a little water to a simmer in a large saucepan. Suspend a heatproof bowl over the water (do not allow the base of the bowl to touch the water as it will cook the eggs too quickly and scramble the sauce).

6.Whisk together the egg yolks, Calvados and sugar in the heatproof bowl until pale and fluffy. Use a food thermometer and cook the sauce until it reaches 78C/172F.

7. Remove from the heat and whisk the bowl of sabayon over crushed ice to cool as quick as possible.

8. Once the sabayon mixture is completely cold, fold in the whipped cream and Calvados until well combined. Cover the sabayon with cling film and chill in the fridge until needed.

9. For the pastry cream, bring the milk and vanilla purée to a simmer in a saucepan. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and flour in a bowl until well combined. Add half of the warm milk mixture and whisk well, then add the remaining milk and whisk until smooth.

10. Return the milk and egg mixture to the saucepan, then return to the heat and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes, whisking continuously, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

11. For the soufflé mixture, preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

12. Whisk the egg whites and lemon juice until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed. Gradually whisk in the sugar, until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed. The whites need to be firmer than other sweet soufflés as there is more steam generated in the apple mould during the final stage of cooking and the soufflé mixture has to withstand the additional heat.

13. Spoon 50g/2oz of the warm pastry cream into a bowl and whisk in the Calvados and one-third of the egg whites. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites until just combined. (NB: The remaining pastry cream can be set aside until cool, then frozen in 50g/2oz batches for use in other recipes).

14. Remove the baked apples from the fridge and divide the soufflé mixture equally among them. Dust with icing sugar, then place the filled apples onto the prepared baking tray. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, or until the soufflés have risen and are golden-brown.

15. To serve, paint a line of sabayon down the centre of each of four serving plates. Arrange 4-5 caramelised apple balls at one end of the line. Place one apple soufflé into the centre of the line of sabayon. Spoon a quenelle of apple sorbet at the other end of the line of sabayon. Dust with the remaining icing sugar.

chef’s Notes: ( *)

*1 the base of a soufflé is very important; this is what gives stability, texture and flavour. It is essential it is warm when you mix in the egg whites to give you a smooth, even distribution of base and whites.

*2 Using a pastry cutter will prevent you taking too much flesh out of the apple and will protect the outside wall. Any tears or cracks in the apple skin or flesh will expand during cooking and ruin the dish.

*3 if the shell is too thick it will be undercooked; too thin and it will collapse during cooking.

*4 this is essential, the lemon juice will heighten the flavour and prevent oxidation

*5 if the water is too hot it will cook and scramble the eggs.

*6 if the cream is added before the sabayon has chilled it will cause the cream to loose all its volume.

*7 the addition of lemon juice at the start of whisking the egg whites will stabilise them throughout the entire whisking process, giving you a more stable mass to work with.

*8 Unlike other soufflé mixtures, the egg whites must be very firm to minimize the effects of steam on the soufflé cased by water evaporation from the apple skin as it cooks.

Calvados Sabayon

From Gordon Ramsey

4 large free-range egg yolks
60g icing sugar, sifted
1 tbsp Calvados
½ tsp cornflour
1 tsp liquid glucose, optional (this helps to stabilise the foam)

Bring a pan of water to a gentle simmer. Put all the ingredients in a large, clean bowl and place over the water. Using a balloon whisk or small hand-held electric whisk, whisk slowly and steadily until the mixture starts to turn a pale cream colour.

Increase your speed and continue whisking until a pale stable foam forms. You should be able to lift up a ribbon of foam with the beaters that you can almost write with. This will take about 10 minutes. Remove the bowl from the heat and cool, whisking occasionally until tepid.

To serve, this can be browned using a blow torch to just caramelise.

Chef’s Notes:

*1 The base of a soufflé is very important; this is what gives stability, texture and flavour. Iit is essential it is warm when you mix in the egg whites to give you a smooth, even distribution of base and whites

*2 Using a pastry cutter will prevent you taking too much flesh out of the apple and will protect the outside wall. Any tears or cracks in the apple skin or flesh will expand during cooking and ruin the dish

*3 I if the shell is too thick it will be undercooked; too thin and it will collapse during cooking

*4 this is essential, the lemon juice will heighten the flavour and prevent oxidation

*5 if the water is too hot it will cook and scramble the eggs

*6 if the cream is added before the sabayon has chilled it will cause the cream to loose all its volume

*7 the addition of lemon juice at the start of whisking the egg whites will stabilise them throughout the entire whisking process, giving you a more stable mass to work with

*8 Unlike other soufflé mixtures, the egg whites must be very firm to minimize the effects of steam on the soufflé cased by water evaporation from the apple skin as it cooks