Chocolate Souffle Cake
It was time for our annual summer book club dinner. We all bring a favorite dish to share. Of course, I nabbed dessert. A chocolate dessert is always a hit with my friends, so I made a Chocolate Souffle Cake topped with juicy berries and cream.
Chocolate Souffle Cake
Like most souffle, this chocolate souffle cake puffs up to perfection then slowly collapses, making it less than picture-perfect with cracks and crevasses. But from gravity’s pull comes the ideal concave surface to hold a cloud of sweetened vanilla whipped cream and loads of ripe berries. Plus, it has the bonus of being a flourless cake which was terrific for one of my book club friends who follows a gluten-free diet.
Hold off on topping your souffle cake till right before your event. I knew I’d bring leftovers home so I added a packet of Whip-It, a whip cream stabilizer, to prevent the cream from separating. The berries deteriorated more quickly than I had hoped, so if you won’t eat this all in one sitting, I’d recommend serving wedges of unadorned cake along with cream and berries to garnish.
20 Years of Book Club
My book club starts its 20th year in September. My college senior was a chubby 3-year-old toddler when I walked next door to my first meeting. Many who gathered were already friends, but the rest of the gang became dear to me as well.
We’ve been through deaths of parents, births of grandchildren, divorces, cancer and more. We don’t meet in the summer except for the highly anticipated pitch-in dinner. This chocolate souffle cake was my contribution. For those of you who love to read, here is our comprehensive book list with ratings on a scale of 1 to 10, with higher rank given to those books that elicited wonderful discussion, that we would recommend to friends and other book clubs, and that we personally enjoyed. I’ve only given a handful of books a perfect 10.
This chocolate souffle cake is perfect for gatherings with your dearest friends, family, on holidays and more!
You Might Want:
Chocolate Souffle Cake
A flourless chocolate cake topped with whipped cream and fruit. Adapted from Richard Sax
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1/2 pound (8 ounces) good quality semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
- 5 egg yolks
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 egg whites
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Toppings:
- 2 cups sliced strawberries, peaches or whole raspberries
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Line the bottom of a 9-inch spring form with parchment.
- Gently melt the chopped chocolate in the microwave. Whisk in the butter, then 1/2 cup of the sugar followed by the egg yolks. Set aside.
- In another bowl, beat egg whites till foamy. Gradually add the other 1/2 cup sugar and beat on high till whites become firm but not stiff.
- Stir about a quarter of the whites into the chocolate to lighten, then fold in the rest of the whites.
- Pour batter into the pan and smooth the top.
- Bake till cake is puffy and the center is firm, about 35-40 minutes.
- Cool on rack. Note that center will sink as it cools.
- Before serving, gently toss fruit with a little sugar and set aside.
- Whip cream with powdered sugar and vanilla till soft peaks form. Fill the center of cake with whipped cream and top with fruit.
- Carefully run a knife around the perimeter of the cake to loosen, then remove sides of the pan to serve.
Notes
Cooling time not included in total time.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 239Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 111mgSodium: 40mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 1gSugar: 23gProtein: 4g
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33 Comments on “Chocolate Souffle Cake”
This is definitely a winner:) chocolate souffle cake looks great
Dear Liz, what a wonderful group and friends – love the idea of a book club! And your cake looks absolutely fabulous – I love, love the combination of chocolate, cream and fresh late summer strawberries! I would have loved to eat a slice of your cake!
And how wonderful that you got to meet Mary in Aspen – great pictures of fb!
Have a great weekend,
Andrea
LIzzy,
I’ve never made souffle. It makes me nervous since it can be tricky to make. It certainly looks delicious.
Your book club has so many members. It’s amazing that it’s been going for so long.
Annamaria
Look beautiful Lizzy!!
Nice picture!!!
xoxoxo
Liz, this cake is a beauty!!!! Stunning! I want to be in your book club! love that you’ve been in that group for 20 years! AMAZING!
Great cake and great book group, great pleasures in life! Your cake looks delicious, Liz and I’m sure it was a hit!
This is stunning cake, Liz! I would love a slice right about now ๐
I think it looks picture perfect, Liz. You must be a perfectionist.
Those perfect strawberries (at least to start with) and that perfectly lovely cake make an amazing photo. I know your book club was thrilled with this (and everything else you bring!). How fun to have this group going for all those years, it seems like there’s nothing like the friends you raise your kids with. Those bonds are so deep!
Oh, can I come? Books and cake are a few of my favorite things ๐
Amalia
xo
Oh my goodness, im absolutely drooling here! The cake looks awesome but that cream topping and the way you cut those strawberries? Jeeeeez, Pass me a plate!
Se ve preciosa.
Un saludito
You’re in a book club! How wonderful. And I LOVE this souffle cake! xxx
Great treat ๐ you definitely know what to do with chocolate ๐
I remember making chocolate souffle cake like this a couple years ago and being horrified when it sank right down after getting pulled out of the oven! Really thought I screwed up, but it was delicious anyway so I didn’t care ๐ I guess that’s part of the charm of souffle cake, not being totally perfect–and you’re right, it does make the perfect place to put a lot of whipped cream and fruit ๐
I dont think it gets any better than this dessert Bravo my friend! WOW!
Dear Lizzy, this cake is beautiful with every nook and cranny. I love a flourless chocolate cake, it makes it even more rich and decadent. xo, Catherine
Tasty food, good books and wonderful friends – what could be better. BTW, the cake looks delicious.
The Surprised Gourmet
This looks like another show stopper Liz! Bet it was light and wonderful:@)
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a cake that’s made even more beautiful by covering up a few flaws. I do love the abundance of strawberries – plenty there for everyone. I’m super-impressed with how long your bookclub has been going. What a great social event and I bet you’ve been a wonderful support to each other through all the highs and lows that life contains xx