Chocolate Soufflé

    We recently tried one the of the recipes that from Weight Watchers.  To be honest, they usually aren’t very good but we whipped together the chocolate soufflé which utilizes chocolate milk and whipped egg whites and they are really quite good and not terribly difficult to make.  Here we have doubled the recipe to make larger ones (which would make them six points each for those of you counting).  If you are making a double batch in a single bowl, make sure to nearly double the cook time, you should probably rely on a toothpick to see when they are done rather than the time.  They certainly don’t puff up the way a traditional soufflé would, but they do “rise” a bit.  Be sure not to open the oven while they are cooking.  You can find the original recipe we used here.

Fig and Thyme Cake Recipe

Last week, I was given a ton of figs and I’ve been eating them on my yogurt but we just couldn’t eat them fast enough so I started looking up recipes for figs and I found a bunch of delicious ones but they were time consuming – whip egg whites, separate this, blah blah, and I’m making this at 8 p.m. after working a 10 hour day. I wasn’t into complicated and I remembered my favorite cake recipe for a pear cardamom cake. I interchange the pears for figs and the cardamom for thyme. It is fantastic.

figs sitting in the brown sugar and butter mixture

Fig and Thyme Upside-Down Cake

Serves 8

1 1/2 cups flour (i used cake flour which required 3 more tablespoons)1/4 teaspoon salt2 teaspoons baking powder

1 – 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme (this is to taste – I added almost 2 based off how the flour and thyme smelled together. I didn’t want it to be overpowering but I wanted it to be noticeable)

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature, divided

3/4 cup packed golden brown sugar

10 small figs sliced into discs (I covered my entire cake with discs of figs so depending on the size you might need more or less)

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk, room temperature

black pepper (optional)Whipping Cream (optional)

pint of heavy whipping cream

sugar -to taste

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9-by-1 1/2-inch round cake pan.

2. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together. Stir in the thyme and set aside.

3. Melt one-fourth cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sugar has melted and combined with the butter. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan, spreading it to reach the sides.

4. Cut the figs, cut into discs and discard the stems. Arrange the figs in a circle around the cake pan, starting at the center and working outwards. Sprinkle with a dash of pepper (optional). Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

5. Beat the remaining one-half cup butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until soft and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl when needed. Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk, beating after each addition just until combined.

6. Gently spoon the cake batter on top of the figs, smoothing out to the edge of the pan and making sure the cake batter fills in around the pears.

7. Bake until the top is a deep golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Place the cake on a rack to cool for 5 minutes in the pan.

8. Run a small spatula or knife around the edge of the pan and invert onto a cake plate, leaving the pan on the cake for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature

9. Make whip cream, pour pint of heavy whipping cream into bowl and add sugar to taste (usually 1-2 tablespoons) and whip with either hand mixer or stand mixer until cream becomes thick and fluffy.

10. Serve, wait for everyone’s mouth’s to drool while you’re plating up this sugary, figgy cake and service with a big dollop of homemade whipped cream.

The only slightly sad warning is this cake doesn’t last if you don’t eat it past the second day. It might have lasted longer in the fridge but its so moist that it will turn before you can eat it all!