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Rice Souffle
Wash 6 tablespoonfuls of rice, and throw it into quickly boiling water for five minutes. Drain it, and put it into a clean saucepan with 1 quart of milk, a pinch of salt, 4 tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, 2 ounces of butter, and any flavoring that may be liked, such as orange, lemon, vanilla, coffee, chocolate, orange-flower water, rose-water, or any liqueur. If the rice is not sweet enough to suit the palate, a little more may be added, but it should be remembered that the less sugar used the lighter will be the souffle. Let the rice boil, put the lid on the saucepan and simmer very slowly until it is tender and has absorbed the milk. Let it cool a little, then add, one at a time, the well-whisked yolks of 6 eggs. Warm and butter a souffle-dish or tin which the preparation will half fill, or failing these, use a deep pie-dish or thin earthenware basin. Whisk the whites of the eggs to a firm froth. Mix them lightly with the rice, and bake the souffle at once after they are added. In order to ascertain whether the souffle is sufficiently baked, run a straw into the centre of it. If it is set throughout, it is done enough. It should be baked in a quick oven. Sift sugar over the top, tie a hot napkin round the tin, and serve immediately. The success of a souffle depends on the ingredients being well beaten, frothed, and mixed on their being put into the dish; on their being baked immediately afterwards; on the sufficient temperature of the oven; and on the rapid transfer of the souffle from the oven to the dining-room. Time to bake, about twenty minutes.
A baked rice pudding lightened with six whipped whites -- closer to a soufflé-pudding than a true soufflé, and more forgiving for it. The one thing that will sink it is delay: the whites go in and the dish goes straight into an already-hot oven.
- Quick ovenRead this as roughly 400-425F. Have it fully preheated before the whites are whipped, and a lower rack helps keep the top from colouring before the centre sets.
- Powdered sugarIn this period the term means finely ground granulated sugar -- what is now sold as caster or superfine. Modern confectioners' sugar contains cornstarch and will dull the texture; use caster sugar and reserve a little for sifting over the top.
- Butter and rice quantitiesTwo ounces of butter is 4 tablespoons. Six tablespoons of rice is roughly 2 1/2 ounces, or a scant half cup -- a small amount of rice for a full quart of milk, which is what gives the finished mixture its softness.
- Cooking the riceThe recipe gives no time for this stage; expect 45 minutes or more at a bare simmer for the milk to be absorbed, and stir often or it will catch on the bottom. Use a heavy saucepan and keep the heat as low as it will go.
- Adding the yolksLet the rice cool to warm, not hot, before the yolks go in one at a time, or they will set into threads. The mixture should be thick but still slack enough to fold rather than stir.
- The dishHalf-filling a dish with this volume means a large one, appreciably bigger than a 2-quart soufflé dish, buttered and warmed as directed. Filling it further leaves no room for the rise.
- Testing and servingA straw here does the work of a wooden skewer; the recipe's test is that the centre is set throughout. The hot napkin tied round the tin is insulation for the journey to the table, and the recipe's own emphasis is on speed.
- YieldServes six as a dessert course.