Cherry Almond Soufflé – Light almond cake sits atop a cherry compote that makes for a lovely, balanced dessert.
We have only 4 days until Valentine’s Day. If you’ve let this day slip your mind and don’t have a reservation by now, I think you’ll be making dinner at home. But don’t worry! You can certainly make incredible food in the comfort of home.
Today’s recipe is the perfect romantic dessert and just the recipe you need for your Vday needs. It’s light and flavorful and looks very impressive – the soufflé.
In this version of soufflé, there’s a layer of cherry compote at the bottom of each ramekin and the almond cake on top. Cherry and almond are so perfect together, making this dessert taste like heaven.
Without further ado, here is my Cherry Almond Soufflé!
Tips & Tricks
- Gently fold the egg whites. Fold the fluffy egg whites gently into the batter. If you stir too vigorously, the egg whites will get deflated and won’t help the soufflé rise.
- Grease and sugar the ramekins. You need to grease the soufflé dishes really well and make sure to sprinkle with granulated sugar. The sugar helps the soufflé “climb” up the sides of the dish and stay there instead of falling back down.
- Soufflé dish. Speaking of the soufflé dish, make sure the dish has straight edges. This will make it easy for the soufflé to rise.
- Soufflé with height. If you want the soufflés to rise extra tall, you can add a paper collar to the inside of the soufflé dish before filling it with the batter. But I definitely don’t think it’s necessary.
- Keep oven closed. Do not open the oven door before the soufflé is done! I know it’s hard to leave them untouched for so long, but trust me – if you alter the temperature of the oven by introducing outside air, it could cause the soufflé to fall. This is also the reason why you cannot remove the soufflé before they’re done cooking.
- Serve the soufflé immediately. Yes, straight out of the oven. The longer the soufflé sits after baking, the more it falls into itself. It will still taste great but it won’t be as pretty
Cherry Almond Soufflés
Servings: 4 souffles
Ingredients
For the cherry compote:
- 7 ounces frozen cherries thawed
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
For the souffles:
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup almond flour
- 1½ tablespoons corn starch
- ¼ teaspoons almond extract
- 4 large egg whites
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
For the cherry compote:
- Add thawed cherries, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt to a medium sauce pan. Set over medium heat. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until the juices release from the cherries, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and use a masher to mash the cherries into pieces. Set aside to cool.
For the soufflés:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare ramekins by greasing and then coating in sugar. Set aside.
- Place milk and salt in a medium sauce pan and set over medium low heat. Remove from heat when it starts to steam. In a medium bowl, whisk yolks and sugar together until light in color. Add in almond flour and corn starch. Whisk together. Slowly add ¼ cup of the warm milk to the egg yolk mixture slowly to temper the eggs. Add the rest of the milk and whisk to combine.
- Place egg mixture back into sauce pan and over medium heat. Whisk continusly until mixture starts to thicken and reaches 170 degrees. Remove from heat and place back into medium bowl. Cover and let the mixture cool completely before adding egg whites.
- In a bowl fitted for a stand mixer, add egg whites. Beat on medium high until mixture begins to foam. Sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of sugar while the mixture is going. Once combined, slowly raise speed to medium high and beat until soft peaks form.
- Add 1/5 of the egg whites to the cooled egg mixture and fold together. Be careful not to deflate the egg whites. Repeat with half of the remaining egg mixture and fold gently. Finish folding in the last of the whites.
- Scoop mixture with a medium ice cream scoop and place a couple scoops into each ramekin to the very top. Use a butter knife to flatten the top of the souffle so it is flush with the edge. Clean off the edge so there is no batter that could glue itself to it while it bakes. Place ramekins onto baking sheet. Bake souffles in preheat oven for 23-25 minutes. Do not open oven until souffles are at least 22 minutes, or else they will fall. Remove from oven when done and serve immediately.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Lili’s Cakes
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Ahh this looks so yummy! I just might have to attempt to make thing myself!
OMG that looks incredibly delicious! – and I esp like how the powdered sugar on top is heart-shaped! I am a sucker for any sort of almond flavored desserts, so I will def have to try this soon!
This was such a hit in my house! Your instructions were crystal clear. We loved this soufflé.
What a yummy dessert! I’ve never tried soufflé so this is a first for me, but I can’t wait to share with my family!
Cherry and almond are such a great flavor combination and I love the combination here – I’ve never tried almond as a souffle flavor but this is so yummy, I can’t wait to have again.
I just love the cherry & almond combo! Such a perfect dessert to celebrate Valentine’s Day with. 🙂
All of your great tips make me inspired to make these souffles, which are a perfect Valentine’s Day dessert. I can’t wait to surprise my husband!
Yum! What a great flavor combo. Can’t wait to make these. Thanks for the tip on making a taller souffle; I never knew that.
My mouth is watering looking at this! Definitely adding to the date night at home rotation!