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Apple or Other Fruit Souffle
Reduce half a dozen apples to a pulp, sweeten, and flavor them nicely, and place them in the middle of a large dish. When cool, pour over them a good custard, made with 1/2 pint of cream, the yolks of 4 eggs, sugar, and flavoring. Whisk the whites to a solid froth, place it in rock-like pieces over the custard, and sift 1 dessertspoonful of white sugar over it. Put it in the oven till the icing is lightly browned, and serve cold.
Despite the name, nothing here rises: this is a layered dish of apple pulp, pouring custard and a baked meringue, served cold. The order of assembly is the whole of the technique.
- The hinge: everything must be cold before the meringue goes onThe hinge: the apple must be cool before the custard goes over -- as the recipe specifies -- or the two will bleed into one another. Let the custard set before the whites are dropped on.
- Half a dozen applesRoughly 2 lb of cooking apples, peeled and cored, which cooks down to about 2 cups of pulp. Bramley or another tart variety collapses on its own with a splash of water; eating apples need mashing or a quick blitz.
- Half a pint of cream, four yolksRead as 1 cup of cream if the book is using American measure, 10 fl oz if English. Four yolks to a cup is a rich custard; stir it over low heat until it coats the back of a spoon, around 175-180F, and never let it approach a simmer.
- A dessertspoonfulTwo teaspoons. It is there to give the meringue a crisp surface, not to sweeten it, so a light even dusting is the point.
- Whites to a solid frothWhisk to stiff peaks with no added sugar, as written, and drop it on in irregular spoonfuls -- the "rock-like pieces" are deliberate, giving peaks that catch colour. Unsweetened whites hold less well, so build it just before baking.
- OvenThe recipe gives no temperature, only "till the icing is lightly browned." Use 325F and give it 12-18 minutes, watching from ten minutes; the aim is tipped brown peaks over a set custard, not a dried meringue.
- FlavouringPeriod flavouring for both apple and custard would be lemon zest, cinnamon or a little brandy; vanilla suits the custard. Keep the two different so the layers read separately.
- Yield and servingServes six from a wide shallow dish. Cool completely, then serve within a few hours -- the meringue softens against the custard overnight.