Lime Soufflés

I always like to finish off my meals on a sweet note. It just doesn't feel right sometimes to eat all that savoury food for dinner and not enjoy dessert at the end to balance it all out. But I hate when I've eaten way too much food and then out comes this rich, cloying dessert which I struggle to finish - not because it doesn't taste awesome but because even my reserve dessert stomach is reaching its limits. Sad, but true.

That's why this lime soufflé is so great - the tartness of the lime means it's not sickeningly sweet and the light, marshmallow texture of the soufflé almost makes you think you're eating lime flavoured clouds which melt away in your mouth. Better still, it's the dessert which I can eat heaps of without feeling like I'm going to explode afterwards.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can pretty much use whatever fruit you have on hand, just adjust the amount of sugar according to how sweet the fruit is. My favourite part of making soufflé though is taking them out of the oven to see them standing tall and proud above the edge of the ramekin and the lovely golden brown tops. And then eating them afterwards!

Lime Soufflé

100ml lime juice
2/3 cup caster sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 tablespoon water, extra
5 egg whites
1/3 cup caster sugar, extra
Butter, melted, for greasing
Caster sugar for dusting

1. Place the lime juice, 2/3 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan over low heat and whisk to dissolve sugar. Increase the heat and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, combine cornflour with 1 tablespoon extra water and mix to form a smooth paste. Whisking constantly, add paste to the pan and cook for 1 minuteuntil slightly thickened. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate to cool.

2. Preheat oven to 180ºC. With the melted butter, grease 6 x 3/4 cup capacity ramekins and dust with caster sugar. Place the egg whites into a large bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the extra 1/3 cup of sugar, beating until glossy. Stir 1/4 of egg whites into the cooled lime mixture, before adding remaining egg whites and folding gently to combine.

3. Distribute mixture evenly among the ramekins and level. Wipe the rim of each ramekin with your finger to ensure a clean rise. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until risen and golden. Serve immediately.