Soufflé - or to "Puff Up"

I have been wanting to make and eat chocolate soufflé
 for some days now. So, I found a Gordon Ramsey recipe that seemed yummy and relatively easy to execute. Only that when I returned home after doing my grocery shopping, I realised I had forgotten the cornflour...damn. So I had to opt for a less fancy recipe, one that I kept as a back-up and that wasn't actually for chocolate souffles but for chocolate puddings.
I took it from the DK cookbook and it was very straight-forward and quick to make. Make sure to serve them immediately after baking them though and to have ice-cream or cream to accompany because I served them after a while and they had begun to shrink and also, together with the cornflour I had forgotten the ice-cream which is pretty basic in order to enjoy a chocolate pudding! 


Ingredients for 4:
(You will need 4 pudding moulds)


45 gr butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
250 gr dark chocolate, chopped
115 gr caster sugar
4 eggs
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
45 gr plain flour
pinch of salt


1. Butter the bottom and sides of the moulds and preheat the oven to 200C. Gather all your ingredients.

2. Put the chocolate in a heat proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, without letting the bowl touch the water. Stir for 5 minutes or until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside.

3. Beat the butter and the sugar (I do it with an electric mixer) until blended and smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla extract. Sift the flour and salt together and gently stir in the egg mixture, then stir in the chocolate. Divide the batter equally between the moulds - bear in mind that the mixture should not fill them to the tops, some space has to be allowed for it to rise.

4. Put the pudding mould on a baking tray and in the oven for 12-25 minutes, or until the sides are set but the centres are still soft when slightly pressed with your fingertips. Be careful not to over-bake them.

5. Put an individual plate on top of each mould and then invert both so that the pudding sits on the plate. Serve hot!

While making the puddings I had Gram Parsons playing in the background.