Chilled lemon soufflés recipe

Make this sweet and citrusy lemon soufflés for dessert. They're light, creamy and perfect served with fresh berries like raspberries and blueberries.

Ingredients

• 2 sheets gelatine
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 125g caster sugar
• Finely grated rind and juice of 2 lemons
• 150ml whipping cream
• Crème fraîche, raspberries and mint sprigs, to decorate
• Small biscuits, to serve

Equipment:

• 6-7 x 100ml ramekin dishes
• Baking parchment

Method

1. To prepare the ramekin dishes, cut strips of baking parchment long enough to go around the dishes, and about 2cm higher than the dishes. Place the dishes on a small baking tray and then secure a strip of paper around each dish, using sticky tape, with the paper flat against the baking tray.
2. Place the sheets of gelatine to soak in a bowl of cold water — the amount of water isn’t important.
3. Place the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk in a tabletop mixer, until the mixture is thick and creamy and a trail is left when the whisk is lifted out of the bowl. Alternatively, place the bowl with the yolks and sugar over a pan of simmering water and whisk with a handwhisk until the mixture is thick and creamy. Whisk in the lemon rind and juice.
4. Pour 2 tbsp boiling water into a small bowl. Squeeze as much water as possible from the gelatine. Add it to the boiling water and stir until it dissolves. Whisk it into the lemon, sugar and yolk mixture.
5. Whisk the egg whites until they’re so stiff that you can turn the bowl upside down without the mixture running out. Whisk the cream until it forms soft peaks. Whisking the whites first means that you can use the same whisks without having to wash them in-between, as the whisks need to be grease free for the whites to reach full volume.
6. Fold the whipped cream into the lemon mixture, using a large spoon or spatula, until it’s evenly mixed. Add a spoonful of the whisked whites to the lemon cream mixture and fold in.
7. Gently pour the lemon mixture into the bowl with the whites and fold in, taking care not to knock out too much of the air.
8. Carefully fold the mixture together with the spatula or a large metal spoon.
9. Spoon or pour the mixture into the prepared ramekin dishes, filling them about 1.5-2cm above the rims of the dishes. Place soufflés in the fridge to set for at least 3-4 hrs or overnight.
10. To serve, remove the soufflés from the fridge and loosen the sticky tape. Hold a small palette knife against the side of the soufflé and peel back the paper, pulling it against the knife. Decorate the soufflés with crème fraîche, raspberries and a spring of mint. Serve with sweet biscuits.