Île flottante, crêpe Suzette, baba au rhum, chocolate soufflé . . . all such grandiose-sounding desserts that, until recently, used to be reserved for the menus of bygone French restaurants and brasseries (and those dwindling few remaining gems like New York’s La Grenouille). But thanks to a number of chefs gaining attention for their fresh perspectives on haute French cuisine classics, these traditional, often labor-intensive desserts are also experiencing a nouvelle vague of sorts.
Take the standard soufflé, for example, a light and airy egg-based dish that puffs up and rises when cooked. At The Dutch in New York’s Soho neighborhood, a soufflé might be an unlikely fixture on the American restaurant’s seasonal dessert menu, but pastry chef Summer Bailey’s Bananas Foster soufflé, a nod to her New Orleans background, makes an appealing case for permanent status. “They’re classic. Classics are there for a reason,” Bailey said, before adding that she actually isn’t such a fan of soufflés—at least not in their standard-issue, typically chocolate-flavored form. But just as rules are meant to be broken, classics are open to interpretation. At other restaurants—including The Grill at The Dorchester, London’s famed hotel, where pastry chef Ludovic Cuny rotates a seasonal selection of flavors including Sicilian pistachio and raspberry (and very soon, blueberry), and New York’s Le Coq Rico, where early summer rhubarb rises to the occasion—the old-school dessert is having a fantastic revival.
While these showpiece desserts are often seen as challenging for home cooks due to their delicate nature, a little savoir faire goes a long way. Below, some of the pros offer up their tricks of the trade for making soufflés in your own kitchen.
Eggs Are Key
“The freshness and temperature of the eggs really affect the result. They should be fresh, but not too fresh. For example, don’t use an egg that was laid the same day. Wait two-to-three days after the egg is laid to get the best result. And always use an egg that is room temperature!”
—Antoine Westermann, owner and chef of Le Coq Rico
Mistakes to Avoid
“I think most people under-whip or over-whip the egg whites. I tell my cooks they have to get them to a shaving cream consistency. That’s a visual comparison that works really well.”
—Summer Bailey, pastry chef at The Dutch
