We love soufflé. After our yummy dairy-free chocolate souffle recipe, we wanted to push the envelop a bit further and do something new and even healthier: matcha souffle.
The goal here is making a dessert that as many people as possible can enjoy, whether they are dieting or have food allergies. So we replaced some troublesome ingredients from the traditional recipe - butter, milk, wheat flour, and sugar - with diet-friendly and allergen-free alternatives.
What came out is a fluffy soufflé made with green tea matcha powder that is gluten-free, dairy-free, and 100% sugar-free. That's right! Free all of all the problematic things but still spongy and mouthwatering, we promise!
As usual, let's peek at the nutritional values and see if our efforts paid out. A classic soufflé has 300 calories, 33g of carbs, and 14g of fats. Our charming green variation, instead, has 150 calories, 17g of carbs, and 5 g of fats. {As you can see, this souffle has way fewer fats and carbs, making it better suited for dieting.} Sweet deal! Follow the well-detailed steps below and enjoy it while it lasts.
How to bake a souffle with a flat top?
In theory, to make one of those perfect looking soufflé with a flat top, you have to do two things:
First, "cut out" the batter, by sliding the back of a knife along the edges of the ramekin
Then, gently drag your fingertip along the inner edge of the ramekin, pushing in the batter.
Now we step into the realm of practice and have to face the biggest unknown in baking: the oven.
Not all home ovens are equal, sadly—some heat more from the bottom, some more from the top. The real problem is when the heat is uneven between the left and the right side, due to ventilation or plate defects.
If your oven is well-mannered, then you want to set it to the static mode and bake the soufflé right in the centre of the oven. Some folks suggest using the bottom rack: not with our oven. The middle rack is a safer bet.
If after doing all this your soufflé still came out asymmetric, don't be too hard on yourself. Remember: it's going to be just as good and it goes in the belly!
My souffle didn't grow, or it wasn't spongy enough. What did I do wrong?
Soufflé doesn't use any baking powder. What makes it grow is the egg whites foam creating tiny air bubbles in the dough and displacing the butter upwards as it cooks. The air bubbles are what make the souffle fluffy and "light".
Over the years, we observed that whenever our soufflé didn't grow as expected, it was because:
We waited too long before baking it, resulting in the batter losing its structure.
We over-mixed the foamy whites with the rest of the ingredients.
What you want to do instead is:
Fold in (not mix) the foam into the rest of the ingredients, briefly and with a wide top to bottom circular motion. Folding seven to ten times is all it takes. It may look like you didn't do it enough, but it's ok like that.
Spend as little time as possible between the folding and the baking. Make sure to have the oven preheated and your ramekins greased before you even start folding in the foam.
Basically, you don't want to knock out the air from the batter. Keep it light and bubbly and place those ramekins in the oven ASAP.
Can I store a soufflé away?
The soufflé is one of those desserts you eat on the spot, hot. Just like a lava cake, waiting for it to cool down would strip the dessert of its most precious quality: warm and foamy sponge cake melting in your mouth.
If you baked too many and can't finish them in one go, the best thing to do is to store them in the fridge and consume within two days top.
You may try to quickly reheat them in the oven or have them cold. They won't be as good, but will still make a pretty decent snack.
Ingredients
| Oat Milk | 300 mL |
| Matcha Powder | 2 tsp |
| Almond Extract(optional) | 1/2 tsp |
| Eggs | 4 |
| Potato Starch | 60 g |
| Erythritol | 100 g |
Step 1
Let's start by getting the ramekins ready.
Grease the soufflé moulds with vegetable oil with the help of a pastry brush, making sure you use upward strokes.
Then, dust the ramekins with erythritol until they are well coated.
By doing so, the soufflé will rise evenly, and it will have nice golden edges.
Step 2
In a saucepan, add the oat milk, matcha, and almond essence.
Whisk well to dissolve the green tea powder and then bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat (1).
Meanwhile, separate the egg yolks from the whites.
In a bowl, beat the yolks with sifted starch and erythritol until smooth(2).
Step 3
Now, remove the matcha milk from the hob and incorporate the beaten yolks with the help of a whisk.
Then, heat the mixture over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, always whisking and stirring to avoid lumps.
As soon as the cream starts to thicken, remove the pot from the hob, and whisk the custard energetically for a half a minute.
Then, transfer the cream to a bowl and wrap it in cling film to cool down.
Step 4
Now, pre-heat the oven to 180°C (355°F) in static mode.
Using an electric whisker, whip the egg whites until they develop firm peaks (1). If, when you tilt the bowl, the beaten whites stay in place and don't slide, then they're ready.
Next, gently fold the foam into the matcha custard with the help of a spatula (2).
Before you add the whites, check that the green tea cream is warm enough not to form lumps when mixed. But, also, make sure it isn't too hot, or it will cook the eggs and affect the soufflé.
Step 5
Now, divide the soufflé batter among the coated ramekins, filling them to the top.
Then, tap the moulds on your worktop to even out the batter. Remove any excess by sliding the back of a knife along the ramekin edges.
To make sure the soufflé rise tall and flat, run your thumb along the rim of the moulds (1).
Finally, quickly place the soufflés in the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes (2).
Serve the soufflés right away, piping hot from the oven.
Tips
You can substitute oat milk with any other dairy-free alternative, such as almond or soy milk.