BOOST your dessert repertoire for World Baking Day on Sunday, May 16 and whip up a deliciously delicate soufflé with the help of Tryn Restaurant’s talented pastry chef, Mark Festus.
Baking up a storm at Steenberg Vineyards for the past 13 years, Festus is an expert at making the perfect soufflé. “One of the highlights as a pastry chef was making 100 soufflés for a function and every single one turned out to be awesome!” he says.
Festus’s passion for pastry and desserts started at a young age helping his godmother preparing puddings and cakes on Sundays. While honing his skills at Silwood Cooking School, he found himself gravitating towards the pastry section during his in-service training.
“I have had the opportunity to work alongside amazing and talented chefs. Being patient and calm is a big bonus as pastry is an art. I am very passionate about what I do and love every moment doing it,” say Festus, who is in his element at Tryn, grabbing every opportunity to express his creativity.
Making a perfect soufflé need not be as daunting as you may think. Take a leaf out of Festus’s recipe collection and give his sumptuous soufflé a try.
GRAND MARNIER AND WHITE CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉ
Pastry cream (10 portions)
300ml orange juice
10ml Grand Marnier (optional)
150ml milk
2 eggs
10g sugar
25g cornflour
25g butter
Place the orange juice and Grand Marnier if using in a pot and bring to the boil.
Cook until the liquid has reduced to a third (100ml).
In a bowl, mix the eggs and cornflour together.
In a separate pot, mix the milk and sugar and bring to the boil. Whisk this into the egg mix bowl.
Pour the egg mix back in the pot and cook until thickened.
Whisk in the butter and reduced juice.
Soufflé (10 portions)
How to line the soufflé ramekin:
1 – Brush the inside of the ramekin with melted butter
2 – Dust with caster sugar
3 – Allow to set in the fridge while you prepare the soufflé
Pastry cream
60g grated white chocolate
Whites of 8 eggs (should weigh 250g)
60g sugar
In a bowl, mix the pastry cream and white chocolate together.
In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites. When frothed up, add the sugar a little at a time while whisking. Whisk until stiff peaks form.
Mix a small amount of the meringue into the pastry cream and then fold in the rest of the meringue making sure you don’t over mix.
Pour into prepped ramekins and scrape off the excess on the top making sure it’s even on the top and the sides are clean. This will make sure the soufflé rises evenly.
Place in an oven at 175°C for 12-15 minutes
Take out gently and enjoy.
