Lemon Soufflé

Directions

1. Brush the insides of four 250ml ramekins with melted butter (this is the method I used, however smaller ramekins and making six may be a better option after a big meal, just cook for about 10 minutes instead of 14). Use a pastry brush, brush with upstrokes up the sides, as this will help the soufflé rise. Add sugar to each ramekin and shake around to coat all sides and base evenly, tipping out any extra. Put sugar coated ramekins in fridge to cool.
2. Use a grater or microplane to zest the lemons into a bowl making sure to grate only the yellow and not the white pith below. Cut the lemons in half and juice, adding to the zest for later.
3. Separate the eggs, you will be left with two spare yolks, which can be made into something at a later date. My fool proof method to separating eggs is to have three clean bowls, two small and one large. Crack the egg into your hand as below and allow the whites to drop through your fingers into one of the small bowls. Keep your fingers reasonably close together as you don’t want the yolk to break or drop through. Gently place the yolk into the other small bowl. Transfer the whites into the large bowl. Repeat by cracking another egg into your hand over the now empty small bowl allowing the white to fall through then adding the unbroken yolk to the other yolk.
4. Add 6 tbsp of caster sugar to the two egg yolks and set aside. At this point you can preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F) and place your rack in the center of the oven.
5. Add the cream, flour and corn flour into a separate medium sized bowl and whisk to a smooth paste.
6. Warm the milk in a large saucepan over medium heat until beginning to boil then remove from heat.
7. Mix a little of the hot milk into the cream and flour mixture with a whisk. Break up any lumps and then add the remaining milk, whisking until smooth.
8. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan and place over gentle heat. Beat quickly with a whisk, not stopping at any time until mixture has thickened, this won’t take long. When you feel it thickening, remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon juice and zest a little at a time until it is all incorporated.
9. Using a wooden spoon, beat the egg yolk and sugar mixture to form a thick, smooth paste.
10. Add the sugar-yolk paste to the mixture in the saucepan and whisk until smooth. Place the saucepan back over a low heat and whisk until it begins to bubble (almost boiling) and thicken slightly, then remove from the heat. This should look like a thin custard, set aside and leave to cool before adding egg whites.
11. Meanwhile, beat your egg whites in a clean glass or metal bowl with a clean electric mixer or whisk. Ensure that there is no yolk in the whites as this will prevent the whites from fluffing up. Whisk until soft peaks form.
12. Ensure that your custard mixture is cool before folding in your egg whites. Dipping a clean finger in the mixture and it feeling no warmer than your body temperature will ensure great results. Add a spoonful of your egg whites to the custard mixture. Mix thoroughly to loosen the custard.
13. Add the remainder of the whites and fold gently into the mixture with a spatula, moving around the outside of the saucepan and then cutting through the middle. Incorporating the egg whites well is important, but you also want to keep as much air in the mixture as possible, as air in the whites is what makes it rise.
14. Pour the mixture into sugared ramekins right to the top. Level off with a knife or spatula and run the tip of your thumb, nail pointing towards the center of the ramekin around the inside to create a border.
15. Place the ramekins on a tray and into the center of the oven for 14 minutes (if using smaller ramekins, cook for a shorter time) or until well risen and golden on top. Resist the tempation to open the oven during cooking, as this can make the soufflé’s fall- peek through your oven window instead!
16. Remove from the oven, dust with icing sugar and serve immediately, as they will fall over time. And just like that, bam! You've now made a soufflé.