Hot Chocolate Rum Soufflé with Chocolate Sauce

This is very light and chocolatey, and made even more wonderful by the addition of cream. It is also reasonably well behaved and though it may shrink a little, it won't collapse. It's much better to serve pouring cream with this rather than whipped cream. It's important to use chocolate with a 50-55 per cent cocoa solids content for this recipe, as chocolate with a higher cocoa solids content will make the soufflé too bitter.

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This recipe is taken from The Delia Collection: Chocolate.

Method

First of all, pop the baking tray into the oven to pre-heat.

Now break the chocolate into a heatproof mixing bowl, add the rum and cream, and place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water.

Leave it until the chocolate is just soft, which will take about 6 minutes, then remove it from the heat and beat with a wooden spoon until it's smooth and glossy. Allow it to cool. In the meantime, brush the souffle dish with melted butter and dust with caster sugar. Now, in a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks thoroughly and stir them into the chocolate mixture.

Then, in another large, grease-free bowl - and making sure the beaters of your electric hand whisk are clean and dry - whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Then, using a metal spoon, mix a quarter of the egg white into the chocolate mixture to loosen it then fold in the rest gently and carefully. Next, pour the whole lot into the soufflé dish and bake on the baking tray for about 20 minutes, or until the soufflé is puffy and springy to the touch.

Meanwhile, make the chocolate sauce. Break the chocolate into another heatproof mixing bowl and add the cream. Place it over a pan of barely simmering water, once again making sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water. After about 6 minutes, remove it from the heat and beat it with a wooden spoon until smooth. Pour the sauce into a small jug and keep warm.

Serve the soufflé straight from the oven, dusted with icing sugar. Hand around the chocolate sauce and cream separately.