Mini Carrot Souffle

I just got back from Manitoba, Canada. It was great to visit family and friends... I am in the midst of unpacking, putting away my suitcase and catch up with laundry. I made this souffle the day before I left on my trip and had every intention of posting it when I was away but that did not happen :) Anyways here it is!



I was digging through my recipe file and came across this mini carrot souffle. It is from the Martha Stewart magazine. It was the picture of the beautiful mini souffles right next to the recipe that caught my eye. Please don't fear the souffle. Many find it rather daunting to take on the souffle. The biggest fear is what if the souffle does not rise or worse- what if it collapes? A souffle is made of stiffly beaten egg whites, mixed with a thick puree or sauce containing a flavouring. It is poured into a mold with high sides and baked until the top puffs up and browns. The key to a light and puffy souffle is to beat the egg whites till it is stiff and incorporated carefully into the thick puree or sauce. The eggs used should be at room temperature before you start whipping . The recipe below makes 8 mini souffles. I halved it for the two of us.


Mini Carrot Souffle
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 small shallot - minced
4 cups thinly sliced carrots
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup heavy cream
6 tb all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
6 large egg yolks
4 large egg whites


Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot, bay leaf, sliced carrot and salt. Cover and cook on low heat until carrot is tender. Stir occasionally.

Stir in cream. Bring mixture to a simmer and remove from heat. Puree mixture. I used a blender, a hand held blender will work here as well. Be careful when pureeing hot liquid in a blender, it may end up all over the counter! Set pureed carrots aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter 8 ramekins and set aside.

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour with a wooden spoon - stir for 3 minutes. Whisk in milk slowly and cook on low. Continue to stir mixture ( mixture should be smooth). Cook for 15 minutes. Add nutmeg, salt, ground ginger and pepper. Remove from heat and whisk in pureed carrots.

Transfer carrot puree to a large bowl and cool completely. Then add egg yolks one at a time to the cooled carrots, whisk well.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites till stiff. An electric beater will work well here. Gently fold in carrot mixture. Ladle mixture into ramekins, filling almost to the rims. Place filled ramekins in a roasting pan and fill pan with boiling water . The hot water should come up to 3/4 up the ramekins. This will keep the souffle from drying out. Bake for 35 minutes or until the top is brown and the souffles are puffed and set.

Place souffles on a rack and let it cool 10 minutes before serving. When ready to serve, run a butter knife along the rims of the ramekin and invert each souffle onto a plate, then invert again to the serving plate. Serves 8