20 April 2010

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.

15 comments:

  1. I also love citrusy flavours and souffle is always a favourite! Thanks for the recipe! :-)

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  2. oh yum that souffle sounds perfect i love limes!

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  3. Oooh, i love light fluffy souffles! This reminds me of the passionfruit one, Jason Roberts cooked up for me at an event not too long ago which was absolutely divine! I'll have to give your recipe a go ;)

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  4. Not like you need a meal beforehand to enjoy one of these...

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  5. Wow they are so pretty! Very impressive, and they don't look too difficult either!

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  6. Looks so fluffy and moussey. Mmm I can imagine the melt-in-your-mouth limey tang!

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  7. I can never pass up dessert either - this looks perfect, nice and light

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  8. Yummo! So light and limey, I reckon I would end up polishing off a whole batch

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  9. Mmmm this looks great. I love Souffles. Great use of the word cloying.

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  10. Mmm a lime souffle sounds like my type of dessert. Not too sweet & a bit tart :) Perfect digestive!

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  11. Ooh these look so light and airy! I shall have to give it a go

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  12. Ohh your souffles look perfect! I like how you described them as lime flavoured clouds - awesome!

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  13. Wow, after many years of baking I have still not dared to venture into souffle territory! The other issue for me, as always, is what to do with the poor egg yolks afterwards =p

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  14. Hi Karen - Hehe my bf loves limes as well so I think he might have made these ones extra lime-y =P

    Hi Maria - No problems, hope you enjoy it!

    Hi chocolatesuze - perrrfect but probably not as perfect as the dude on the perfect italiano ad lol

    Hi Jen - Ooh passionfruit souffle sounds yum! I prefer passionfruits to limes actually so I might try that next time :)

    Hi The Ninja - Once again, you are correct.

    Hi Stephcookie - Thanks, they were actually a lot easier than I anticipated! Except you have to be quick with the photography before they sink too much

    Hi tangerine eats - Thanks lily, glad you enjoyed the post! I could so go for that melt-in-your-mouth limey tang that you described right now hehe

    Hi missklicious - I have the worst sweet tooth, I always need something sweet after savoury things just to "balance" things out lol

    Hi Mr Taste - Hehe yep and I wouldn't feel guilty after it either since there's pretty much no fat! Let's just forget about the sugar content...

    Hi Mark - Why thank you ;) I love souffles too!

    Hi Forager - Yep, a great way to end a meal (especially one that's particularly rich!)

    Hi FFichiban - Please do! Maybe you can pair it with some lime-flavoured alcomohol (if such a thing exists) =P

    Hi Betty - Thanks!

    Hi mademoiselle délicieuse - I'm quite the opposite, I always seem to have lots of egg whites sitting in the freezer so souffles are perfect for me :) You should give it a go, it's not as hard as you might think! As for the egg yolks, I'm sure there's plenty of custard-based desserts you can make with them ;)

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