This grand marnier souffle recipe is a beautiful French dessert with a golden, dome-shaped top and a sweet, orange-flavored crumb. It’s the kind of dessert that will impress your dinner guests and delight all of their senses!
Grand Marnier Souffle
The first time I made a grand marnier souffle, I used a recipe that had you fill hollowed oranges with the batter and bake them in the oranges rather than ramekins.
To say my beautiful orange souffle ended in failure was an understatement.
The soufflé rose a bit, but it also overflowed out of the oranges as it baked, running down the orange skin like molten lava and, thereby, destructing the little bit of rise the top had gotten.
They also didn’t fully cook on the inside, despite the fact that I had let them bake longer than the suggested time. Suffice it to say, I was intimidated by the soufflé from then on.
I share this story in case anyone else gets nervous making them like I used to, and still sometimes do.
What does a grand marnier souffle taste like?
A grand marnier souffle is very similar in texture to a moist, bread pudding and vibrant with the flavor of orange laced throughout.
Even though a souffle can incite some trepidation, it’s still worth working through the fear and tackling this French dessert recipe.
Unlike a vanilla souffle or chocolate souffle, a grand marnier souffle has the fresh zing from the citrus elements in the recipe. Orange zest and grand marnier liqueur (an orange liqueur) give the souffle that lovely orange flavor.
That, combined with the tender and almost creamy texture of the soufflé makes this one sensational dessert.
How to Make a Grand Marnier Souffle?
I always recommend practicing a souffle recipe at least once before you attempt it for guests.
The way I look at souffles are kind of like how I view French macarons. Both macarons and souffles are heavily reliant on how well you beat your egg whites.
They both require that perfect consistency or else they won’t rise the way they should. You need to beat the egg whites until they’re stiff but not yet glossy.
This is typically the stage right after they look like shaving cream yet they’re not glossy yet like they would be for meringue cookies. An electric mixer or stand mixer is your friend here!
In the case of a souffle, theegg whites are whisked vigorouslyto incorporate air into tiny, protein-encased bubbles that expand once exposed to heat in the oven.
As soon as the heat is gone, those bubbles collapse. That’s why you usually only have a minute or two to serve a souffle once it’s out of the oven. After that, you can say goodbye to its puffy dome.
It’s also the reason I’ve struggled to ever get a good photo of my souffle; one of these days I’ll have to forego my usual photography set up and take a photo with my iPhone.
In any case, once you’ve whipped your egg whites to the perfect consistency, you’ll fold them into your main batter.
The batter is then poured into sugar-coated ramekins and baked until golden brown on top and puffed up.
For an indulgent finish, feel free to serve your grand marnier souffles with creme anglaise (a French custard sauce).
If you’re interested in getting the perfect egg white-whisking technique down or learn the science behind the soufflé, NPR did an interesting article on the subject.
For another classic French orange dessert, be sure to try my recipe for Crepes Suzette! Bursting with the flavors of fresh orange and caramelized sugar, there’s a reason it’s a French bistro staple!
Grand Marnier Souffle
Yield: 2
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 16 minutes
Total Time: 31 minutes
A classic French dessert made with whipped egg whites and orange liqueur.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs, separated
- 1 tbsp plus 2 tsp melted butter, plus more for greasing ramekins
- 1 tbsp plus 2 tsp all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cold milk
- 2 tsp freshly grated orange zest
- 1 tbsp Grand Marnier
- 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup white sugar, plus more for sprinkling ramekins with
- powdered sugar to dust on top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Use a pastry brush to coat the insides of 2 (8 oz) ramekins with melted butter. Sprinkle sugar inside the ramekins, then rotate ramekins from side to side to get sugar crystals coating the entire interior surface of the ramekins. Tap out any excess sugar. Set aside.
- Pour the 1 tbsp + 2 tsp of melted butter into a small pan. Add the 1 tbsp + 2 tsp flour to the pan, then turn on the heat to medium low. Use a wooden spoon (not a whisk) to combine the two together to form a roux - about 30 seconds.
- Once combined, stream in the cold milk. Continue stirring with the spoon until a dough has formed and doesn't stick to the pan. Turn this dough out into a clean, large bowl. Set aside.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer, add your egg whites. Make sure you don't get ANY yolks in the whites, otherwise repeat this step as the yolks will ruin your merengue. Once you've got your egg whites in the bowl, whisk on high speed.
- Once the egg whites have lost their yellowish appearance and have become frothy white, gradually sprinkle in the sugar. Continue to whisk until the egg whites until they're past the shaving cream stage and have started to form stiff, yet matte peaks.
- To the bowl that contains your dough, add your orange zest, Grand Marnier, and vanilla extract. Stir them in with your wooden spoon before adding the egg yolks. Use your spoon to incorporate the yolks until you have a thick, lava-like batter.
- Add about half of your egg whites into the batter, folding them into the batter with a rubber spatula. Be gentle so that you don't deflate your egg whites. Once incorporated, add the remaining half of egg whites and again gently fold them into the batter, using big, long strokes. Fold just until the whites are no longer apparent.
- Divide the batter among your ramekins, stopping a quarter inch from the rim of the ramekins if you want a straight, slightly puffy look. If you want the soufflés really high and don't mind them going slighty lopsided, then fill to the rim of the ramekins.
- Use an offset spatula or your finger to smooth out the tops of the batter. Bake in the oven for 16 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately (soufflés will deflate within a minute, so hurry!)
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 463Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 199mgSodium: 119mgCarbohydrates: 89gFiber: 0gSugar: 84gProtein: 8g
