Martha Stewart's Technique For Properly Eating A Soufflé
If anyone is a household name, it's Martha Stewart. Her humble upbringing in New Jersey involved gardening, sewing, and various cooking techniques, which seemed to be the foundation for her inevitable product lines (via PBS Food). She's also appeared in various cooking shows, including "Chopped," "Bakeaway Camp," and "Martha Stewart's Cooking School," as mentioned in Biography.
According to her official website, Stewart also has 99 cookbooks, ranging from renovations and gardening to quick recipes and desserts. Her versatility is quite evident, especially when it comes to dessert recipes, such as cookies, cupcakes, donuts, and even soufflés, which can be difficult to execute perfectly, per Martha Stewart.
Soufflés are a composition of egg whites and a base, be it sweet or savory, according to MasterClass. While the finished product looks simple and elegant, its cooking process can be quite intricate. Using metal bowls for prep, room temperature eggs, and proper soufflé bowls are all practically essential to making the best soufflés, as well as your whisking speed and not peeking inside the oven.
When all that work is done, it can be tempting to dive right in with a spoon — but not so fast because Martha Stewart has a tip for eating a soufflé properly.
Add crème anglaise and whipped cream to the middle of your soufflé
Martha Stewart shows us how it's done with a soufflé served by Polo Lounge (via TikTok). First, she makes a small well in the middle of the delicate dessert with her spoon. She then takes crème anglaise and drizzles most, if not all of it, in the hole. The final step involves spooning some whipped cream over the soufflé, making it ready to eat.
So how does this tip work? Well, the hole within the soufflé seems to allow for the dispersion of the crème anglaise. Thus, each bite should combine the flavors of the soufflé with the crème anglaise, resulting in a decadent sweet taste. The whipped cream on top adds a boost of fluffy richness and can be adjusted to your liking.
And if you're wondering what crème anglaise is, it's French for "English cream" and consists of a few basic ingredients, like egg yolks, cream, and sugar, per Recipe Tips. Its texture is light and thin, while its taste can be compared to melted vanilla ice cream if you decide to enhance the flavor with the bean or extract, as noted by Baking Bites.
Should you ever make a soufflé in the future, or order one at a restaurant, be sure to ask for a side of whipped cream and crème anglaise so you can eat this dessert properly like Martha Stewart herself.