Iced Soufflés - Citrus, Berry & Coffee:

So the weather in England is finely hotting up again so I thought it might be a good idea to delve into iced desserts. I already did baked soufflés so maybe you’d fancy an iced one? Let me know what you think…

1 x 1¼ litre soufflé mould

This would work with any citrus fruit but remember to change not just the juice, but the liqueur accordingly too. OnI've heard lime and amaretto to be quite nice...

8 egg yolks, 4 whites

240g + 1 good tbsp caster sugar

3 gelatine leaves

250ml orange juice (freshly pressed & approx. 3 good oranges *see Tips*)

20ml Grand Marnier

380g crème fraîche

In a saucepan, beat the yolks with 120g of the sugar until the mix whitens and is really creamy. Soak the gelatine in a teeny bit of water and let it ‘sponge’ then drain it and incorporate it into the yolk-sugar mixture. Heat this in a bain-marie stirring constantly until the cream coats the back of the wooden spoon. Take off the heat, add the juice and the alcohol, stir well, then pour the cream in a bowl and place in the fridge to harden slightly.

Whisk the egg whites to very stiff but not dry peaks whilst very slowly adding the remaining sugar (excluding the tbsp) bit by bit. Now take the bowl out of the fridge and fold in the egg whites. Beat the crème fraîche and add the last tbsp of sugar – again fold in gently.

To make the mould taller, make a ring of acetate/greaseproof paper approx. 1½ inches higher than the mould itself. I.e. for a 4” high mould the paper would measure 5½”  x circumference of tin. Seal with Sellotape around the outside. Fill with cream and make sure the top is perfectly smooth and neat. Put in the freezer overnight and before serving, remove ring and dust with cocoa powder.

VARIANT I: Coffee

Replace the juice and Grand Marnier with 250ml very strong sugared coffee, and 20ml coffee liqueur (Café Rica isn’t bad).

Serve, if you like, with a warm cherry sauce made by adding 75g caster sugar and ¼ tsp ground cinnamon to the juice of 450g cherries (approx. 1 glass). Bring to the boil then bind with 2 tsp cornflour.

Top with roughly chopped roasted hazelnuts.

VARIANT II: Red Fruits

Replace the juice with a mixture of lemon juice and white wine. Experiment with different wines and proportions until you find something you like. Wines vary so much it would be hard to set this in stone. Blitz the strawberries / raspberries etc… in a blender then mix into half of the finished soufflé mix. Pour in and then cover with the remaining lemon soufflé mix.