Prune and armagnac soufflé with tutti frutti ice cream

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The key to making the perfect soufflé is keeping the mixture light and fluffy - and making sure the ramekins are evenly coated with butter and sugar to help the soufflé rise. This delicious recipe from Galton Blackiston makes the perfect wintry end to a meal and has a cheeky accompaniment in the shape of tutti frutti ice cream.

First published in 2015
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Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Soufflé meringue

Crème pâtissière

  • 6 egg yolks
  • 100g of caster sugar
  • 35g of plain flour
  • 1/2 vanilla pod
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 175ml of milk

Soufflé base

Ramekins

Tutti frutti ice cream

  • 225g of glacé fruits, chopped into small dice
  • 6 tbsp of Grand Marnier
  • 2 vanilla pods, split lengthways
  • 570ml of double cream
  • 300ml of full-fat milk
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 175g of sugar

Equipment

  • Fine sieve
  • Ice cream maker
  • 6 ramekins

Method

1
For the ice cream, place the chopped glacé fruits into a bowl. Pour over the Grand Marnier and leave to marinate overnight
  • 225g of glacé fruits
  • 6 tbsp of Grand Marnier
2
Place the cream and milk into a pan and scrape in the seeds from the vanilla pods. Add the pods too. Bring to a gentle simmer, remove from the heat and set aside to infuse for 30 minutes
  • 2 vanilla pods
  • 570ml of double cream
  • 300ml of full-fat milk
3
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale and smooth. Bring the milk and cream back up to simmering point. Whisk into the egg mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan
4
Place over a low heat and stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, cook the custard until it coats the back of the spoon or reaches 80˚C. Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl and cool completely
5
Churn the custard in an ice cream machine and when the ice cream starts to thicken, add the chopped fruits. Transfer to a suitable container and freeze
6
For the ramekins, begin by buttering 6 ramekins with half the butter using upward strokes round the ramekin and chill. Butter again and then sprinkle with caster sugar and return to the fridge
7
For the crème pâtissière, whisk together the egg yolks with the sugar until light and thick, then stir in the flour
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 50g of caster sugar
  • 15g of plain flour
8
Put the vanilla pod and milk in a saucepan and slowly bring it to the boil. Remove the vanilla pod and pour the milk onto the egg mixture, whisking all the time
  • 1/2 vanilla pod
  • 175ml of milk
9
Return the mixture to the pan and stir over a low heat until it comes up to a gentle boil. Continue to cook, stirring all the time, until it has thickened. This should take approximately two minutes
10
Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the vanilla extract and pour into a bowl. If you find the mixture has turned a little lumpy, pass it through a fine sieve before progressing to the next stage
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
11
Cover the bowl with cling film and allow the mixture to cool. This prevents a skin forming. Set aside until needed
12
To make the soufflé base, mix the prune purée, crème pâtissière, egg yolks and Armagnac together
13
To make the meringue, place the egg whites into the bowl of a food mixer and whisk on a high speed until they have started to swell. Slowly add the sugar to make a glossy meringue mix
14
Using a slotted metal spoon briskly work about a third of the meringue mixture into the prune and Armagnac base mixture. Carefully fold in the remaining meringue
15
Fill the ramekins to the top with the mixture; level off with a spatula and run your thumb round the inside edge of each ramekin. Cover with clingfilm and freeze
16
Heat the oven to 175°C/Gas mark 6 and bake the soufflés for 8 minutes until doubled in volume. Allow to cool slightly, then serve with the ice cream
First published in 2015
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There can't be many Michelin-starred chefs who started out selling homemade cakes, biscuits and preserves on a market stall in Rye in 1979. Yet, the quietly spoken, endearingly eccentric Galton Blackiston isn't like other chefs.

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