Prune and Armagnac soufflé and vanilla ice cream by Alan Murchison

A soufflé is an integral part of the dining experience for some guests – light and elegant, a lovely way to finish a meal.  This is perfect served with Vanilla ice cream.  If you would rather purchase the ice cream than make it yourself, make sure you choose a good quality one to complement the soufflé.

Serves 4

Ingredients for Prune & Armagnac base purée

250g pitted prunes
60ml dark rum
61ml Armagnac
30ml water
30g sugar

Ingredients to finish

10g cornflour
25ml Armagnac
25g sugar
15mls water
12 egg whites
13 120g sugar

Preparation

The soufflé base can be made 24 hours in advance using the basic recipe. Just before you begin to cook, brush four large ramekins evenly and thinly with soft unsalted butter and dust with sugar. Place in the refrigerator to set.  Remove and repeat the process then set aside.

To create the prune puree bring 30mls of water and 30g sugar up to 180ºC and pour over the prunes and alcohol. Marinade for 24 hours then blend and pass through a fine sieve.  Weigh out 150g of the puree and either warm over a low heat or leave somewhere warm to reach room temperature.  In the meantime bring the remaining 25g of sugar and 15mls of water to 180ºC and pour over the puree stirring constantly.  Next, mix the cornflour and armagnac together and add to the puree & sugar mixture, again stirring constantly.  Simmer for 5-8 minutes then transfer to a thermomix or blender and blend until smooth

Whisk the eggs whites with the 120g of sugar until they form stiff peaks then fold one third of the egg whites at a time in to the base purée.

Place the mixture in the prepared ramekins and cook at 180ºC for 6-7 minutes.  Serve immediately.