Egg-free soufflé you say? Impossible! How on earth could you make a soufflé without any eggs? It’s another one of those dishes that seems out of reach.
As you should know by now, my mission is to recreate dishes so that no-one misses out, so that everyone can say, ‘oh yes I’ve tried a soufflé and I loved it’, or even just ‘yes, I’ve eaten a soufflé but I’m not that bothered about having another one’. So have always wanted to tackle the soufflé, it is after-all one of those stand out [get it?] ‘wow’ dishes!
It’s another recipe that I’ve been scheming and planning for years. As we know, the use of aquafaba has been a revelation in replacing eggs, surely that might help with the light soufflé texture? The hard truth is that baking it doesn’t really work. I tried. No soufflé-like rising was happening.
So, this is a no bake soufflé, so you could say it’s a bit of a cheat, but it has the light, fluffy aerated rise that you want, and is egg and dairy-free.
I’ve given it its height by chilling it in a risen soufflé shape. Despite not being baked, the texture is spot on, it’s delicate but with ‘holding power’.
There are a fair few stages to this recipe, but none of them difficult, so with a little bit of time, it’s easy to achieve. This particular recipe is a strawberry soufflé as we’re in prime strawberry season in the UK, and you’d be crazy not to use that in season produce. I’ve already got plans for other variations…. I’m dreaming of chocolate, lemon ….
So, there are a few steps to go through, but don’t be put off, it’s easy.
Step 1 is to make the jelly, I used a strawberry puree set with carraghenane kappa to ensure the finished soufflé had hold. There’s no point to a soufflé that flops instantly!
Step 2 is to make the meringue
Step 3 is to whip the cream and combine with the strawberry jelly
Step 4 is to fold in the meringue and set in the molds. Easy peasy!
Egg-free Strawberry Soufflé
(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan)
100ml strawberry puree
1g carragennan kappa or the veggie gelatine equivalent of 2 leaves of gelatine
1/3 cup aquafaba
Pinch of cream of tartar
4 tbsp icing sugar (I used Sugar and Crumbs strawberry flavour)
300ml whipped dairy-free cream
Strawberry essence, a few drops
A few drops of pink food colour
- Prepare the ramekins by tying or taping a collar of parchment around the tops so they can be filled above the rim. Set aside.
- Bring the strawberry puree and carragennan kappa to a boil, stir and simmer for one minute. Set aside to cool and set
- Whisk together the aquafaba and cream of tartar until light and fluffy. Best in the sugar 1 tbsp at a time to make a thick, smooth, glossy meringue. Set aside.
- Whip the cream to form soft peaks. Break up the strawberry jelly and whisk into the cream, adding strawberry essence and food colour if desired.
5. Gently fold in the meringue until the mix is evenly combined.
6. Spoon into the prepared ramekins and level off so the top of the soufflé is 1 or 2 cm above the rim.
7. Place in the freezer for half an hour to an hour to set. Then transfer to the fridge.
