Hot Cocoa Souffle, Reduced Sugar

 

The original recipe for Hot Cocoa Souffles called for a whopping 13 tablespoons of added sugar in a recipe for six people. That was 6 1/2 teaspoons per serving, more than half the added sugar allowed for an entire day. I wanted to get that down to 4 tablespoons of added sugar in the whole recipe-2 teaspoons per serving.

• My first step was looking at the recipe's call to dust the baking dish with sugar-I eliminated that step.

• The remaining add sugar comes from the dry cocoa mix and in the sugar used to stiffen the egg whites. I used 1 tablespoon of sugar for the egg whites and 3 tablespoons in the cocoa mix.

• Finally, these baked souffles produce a dip in the center-a perfect place for a scoop of ice cream. I wasn't going to eliminate that, but I did opt for a smaller serving of ice cream: a 2 tablespoon dollop of ice cream per serving instead of the 2/3 cup.

Hot Cocoa Souffle with Vanilla Ice Cream

(6 Servings)

Combine 3 tablespoons sugar, cocoa and flour in a bowl.

3 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

 

Melt buttery spread in a small saucepan over medium heat.

1/4 cup buttery spread

Stir in dry cocoa mix.

 

Add milk to the saucepan.

1 cup skim milk

Cook and stir constantly for several minutes, until mixture turns thick and bubbly. Remove from heat.

 

In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg yolks by hand until combined. 

4 egg yolks

Gradually stir thick cocoa-milk mixture into beaten egg yolks.

 

In bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. 

4 egg whites

Gradually add remaining sugar, beating at high speed until stiff peaks form.

1 tablespoon sugar

 

Fold 1 cup of the beaten egg whites into egg yolk mixture.

Fold egg yolk mixture into the remaining beaten egg whites.

Divide batter between individual souffle dishes greased with olive oil spray.

 

Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes.

 

The souffles can be made 1 hour ahead of time and refrigerated until served. When ready to eat, microwave for 30 seconds before adding ice cream.

 

The original post appeared on the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Stone Soup Blog in February 2016.