This is a wonderful combination of flavours and textures and perfect for an early Autumn dinner party dessert.
I made the apple puree by peeling, coring and chopping 2 Cox apples and cooking with a little water in a saucepan over low heat and then blitzing with a stick blender. By the time I set the photograph up the souffles had subsided a little but when just out of the oven they are beautifully risen.
For the apple souffle (serves 6)
- 100g of caster sugar, plus extra for lining
- 100g of apple purée
- 10g of cornflour
- 2 egg whites
- butter for greasing
- icing sugar and ground cinnamon for dusting
For the biscuits makes 25-40 biscuits depending on size
- 175g bleached, finely ground almonds
- 300g icing sugar
- 3 medium egg whites, 90g
- 1 orange, zest only
- A few almond flakes
For the baked plums
- 6 plums
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- A little butter for brushing
Method
Preheat the oven to 1700C.
In the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk the ground almonds, icing sugar, 1 egg white and orange zest. Then, using the paddle attachment, whisk adding the remaining egg whites, one at a time. You should have a slightly runny mix.
Transfer the mix to a piping bag and pipe onto a lined tray well spaced apart, no larger than 2cm diameter. Top with a few almond flakes each, and bake for 16-18 minutes until golden. Leave the biscuits to cool.
Increase the temperature of the oven to 190C. Wash and cut the plums in half. Lay out in a baking tray and sprinkle with the sugar. Scatter the thyme sprigs amongst the fruit and bake until soft. Brush with some butter and serve.
To make the souffle, start by brushing 6 small ramekins with softened butter, chill for 30 minutes, brush with butter again, sprinkle with caster sugar and chill again.
for the soufflé base, place the fruit purée and 50g of the caster sugar into a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
Combine the cornflour with approximately 2 tsp of water and add to the fruit purée. Cook for 5 minutes until it thickens to a thick, jammy consistency.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Put the egg whites into a bowl and whisk to soft peaks. Add the remaining 50g sugar and continue whisking until it reaches semi-firm peaks. Carefully fold one third of the whites into the fruit base. Fold in another third then finally fold in the rest.
Fill the prepared ramekins and bake in the top of the oven for 5 to 7 minutes until well risen. Remove, sprinkle with icing sugar and cinnamon and serve immediately.