Coffee Liqueur Souffle

What says I love you more than a souffle? Perhaps a coffee liqueur souffle on Valentine’s Day!
I have been wanting to make a souffle ever since I saw Whitney perfect one on MasterChef, I found a recipe and of course I altered it slightly. This was a fun experience, it’s easy to do it just requires multiple tasks at the same time, which can be achieved if you read the recipe thoroughly beforehand to get yourself familiar with what will be happening next. Also, the tricky part for me was the last step, our oven is at least 30 years old and has no internal light and the temperature tends to be off and so it was difficult for me to leave the souffles in the oven without being able to see through the oven door to make sure everything was rising correctly etc, but I made it through and for the most part they turned out great.

Serving size: 4 souffle ramekins

Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter, for ramekins
white sugar for dusting
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup white sugar, divided
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
3/4 cup milk
4 egg yolks
4 egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup coffee liqueur or the liqueur of your choice
2 tbsp semisweet chocolate chips, melted (optional)
1/2 cup fresh fruit, like raspberries or strawberries for garnish (optional)

Optional strawberry sauce:
1/2 cup strawberries and1 tbsp powdered sugar blended together in food processor

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Thoroughly grease the the bottom and sides of four ramekins with the tablespoon of butter. Coat with sugar, tipping out any excess. If desired, place a raspberry or strawberry and/or a drizzle of chocolate or strawberry sauce as a “surprise” at the bottom of each cup.
Combine the cocoa powder, cornstarch, and a tablespoon of the sugar; set aside. Mix the butter and flour to form a paste; set aside. Lightly whisk one egg yolk in a larger heatproof bowl; set aside.
Heat the milk to the boiling point in a heavy saucepan; stirring often to prevent burn. Whisk in the flour-butter mixture until it melts.
Gradually pour the hot milk into the egg yolk in a steady stream, whisking constantly.
Return the mixture to the saucepan and bring the custard to a simmer over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula. Cook and stir the custard until it thickens, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat, stirring occasionally to keep it smooth.
Combine the three remaining egg yolks with the vanilla, liqueur, and the sugar-cocoa-cornstarch mixture. Whisk in the warm custard, cover, and set aside. (The custard can be made ahead of time up to this point and refrigerated for a day before proceeding with the recipe.)
About 35 minutes before serving, whip the egg whites until they are thick and foamy and have quadrupled in volume. Gradually mix in the remaining 3 tablespoons of the sugar, whipping until the egg whites are stiff but not dry.
Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the custard to lighten it, using a whisk or rubber spatula. Fold in the remaining meringue.
Immediately transfer the souffle batter into the prepared ramekins, making a smooth mound slightly above the rim of each ramekin. (If you have a piping bag, you may pipe the mixture into the ramekins.) Bake at once in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the souffles have risen and the edges are set (do not open the oven before time is up).
Serve hot almost immediately, with fruit sauce and fresh fruit or chocolate sauce to garnish, if desired.