Here is a Holiday or Any day kind of dessert. I thought making a souffle would be too complicated, but I was surprised by how easy it was. The key is to Not Over Mix the egg whites when combining them with the pear puree. I recommend Bartlett Pears, but any will work. I also always use freshly squeezed lemon juice rather than the stuff in a bottle or little plastic lemon container. Make sure your butter is at room temperature, and you’ll do great. Get those cute little ramekins ready. You’ll need about 40 minutes to make this one and plan to serve it immediately. Everyone is going to love this sweet, warming dessert. It’s so fluffy.
Here are the basics before we dive in:
Pear Puree: Pears and fresh lemon juice. I puree them in my food processor; see the instructions below.
Soufflé Batter Base: This includes room-temperature butter, coconut sugar or BochaSweet, honey, arrowroot flour, and egg whites.
Spices: A combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice makes the warmest, spiced flavor that complements the sweet pears so well.
Helpful Tips & Substitutions
Arrowroot Flour: If you don’t have arrowroot flour, you can use tapioca flour or cornstarch as well.
Sugar: I always use Bochasweet as a sugar substitute. It comes from a squash and is zero sugar, zero calories, and zero glycemic index, but it’s a bit pricey. So you can use coconut sugar or any of your favorite granulated sugars in this dessert recipe.
There are a few important steps to make a soufflé. But if you carefully follow the steps below, you’ll be a pro in no time! Just be most careful when you’re stirring together the soufflé batter—- Don’t Over Stir. It’s ok to keep stripes of egg white in the batter.
Holiday Spiced Pear Soufflé
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon room temperature butter
- 3 tablespoons Bochasweet or coconut sugar or other granulated sugar
- 2 large pears peeled, cored and quartered
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons local honey
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon allspice
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot flour or tapioca or cornstarch
- 3 teaspoons filtered water
- 4 egg whites room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). To prepare your ramekins: grease the inside of six 6-ounce ramekins with butter. Lightly dust with coconut sugar or another granulated sugar. Place on a baking tray and set aside.
- To make the pear puree, place the pear and lemon juice in a food processor and pulse until pureed and smooth.
- In a small pot on medium heat, add the pureed pear, one tablespoon of honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Stir and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes.
- While the puree is simmering, stir together the arrowroot flour and water in a separate small bowl, this creates what’s called a slurry.
- Pour the slurry into the pear puree and continue simmering and stirring for another 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Pour the puree into a large bowl (as more will be added to it shortly) and place it in the fridge to cool.
- After the puree has cooled, place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Slowly add the remaining two tablespoons of honey, beating until slightly glossy.
- Stir ⅓ of the egg whites into the puree, until well combined. Don't worry about deflating the egg whites with the first addition. Gently fold in another ⅓ of the egg whites until combined, but Do Not Over-mix. And repeat for the last ⅓ of egg whites. It's okay if light streaks of white remain.
- Spoon the mixture into the ramekins, level the top with a knife, and bake for 11 to 14 minutes, until slightly puffed up and lightly golden on top. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
