Flourless Chocolate Souffles

Light as air, melt-in-the-mouth souffles are always impressive and sought after. And they never fail to tempt chocolate and non chocolate lovers. They are often based on the simplest store-cupboard ingredients for every baker and this recipe doesn't call for flour. For extra indulgence, serve with an ice cream or whipped cream with dark rum and grated orange rind. You can also top it up with a strawberry.

All you need: (for 6)

50g unsweetened cocoa powder
65g caster sugar
30ml dark rum
6 egg whites

1 Preheat oven to 190deg C. Place baking sheet in the oven to heat it up.
2 Mix 15ml of cocoa with 15ml of sugar in a bowl. Grease ramekins. Pour cocoa and sugar mixture into each dish in turn, rotating them so that they are evenly coated.

3 Mix the remaining cocoa powder with the dark rum.
4 Whisk egg whites in a clean, grease-free bowl until they form stiff peaks. Whisk in the remaining sugar. Stir a generous spoonful of the whites into the cocoa mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whites.
5 Divide the mixture among the dishes. Place on the hot baking sheet and bake for 13-15 mins or until well risen
6 Dust with icing sugar when cooled.

In my version I didn't have rum so I replaced it with orange juice. I'm not sure if that's the cause of the bitterness in my souffle, or that I have folded in the egg whites too much. Anyhow that was my first attempt and it was something sweet and enjoyable :)

Adapted from: Three & Four Ingredients