Susan Jung’s recipe for chocolate soufflé cakes with caramel ganache

When I was a restaurant pastry chef, we always had at least one chocolate dessert on the menu, and it was usually one of the more popular items. My rule about chocolate dessert is that it should be intensely chocolately – otherwise, there’s no point to it. This dessert combines two of my favourite, most-used components: a delicate soufflé cake with an ethereal texture (as long as it hasn’t been refrigerated), and salted caramel, which is a staple in my fridge.

CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉ CAKES WITH CARAMEL-MASCARPONE GANACHE

The caramel recipe gives you much more than you will need for this dessert but it’s a great thing to have on hand: you can warm it (I do it in the microwave), dilute it with cream (and a shot or two of brandy, if you’re serving adults) into pouring consistency, then drizzle it over ice cream; or use it as a filling for tarts or truffles. You’ll also have leftover caramel-mascarpone ganache, which makes delicious truffles. Pipe out blobs of the excess ganache onto a parch­ment-lined baking tray, then chill slightly, or until firm enough to handle. Roll the piped-out ganache between the palms of your hands to shape the blobs into spheres, then chill until firm. Put the truffles into an airtight container and refrigerate. Dust with cocoa powder just before serving.

For the caramel:
200 grams sugar
40 grams corn syrup
60 grams salted butter, chilled
60ml cream
¼ tsp fine sea salt

For the ganache:
150 grams bittersweet chocolate with a cacao content of about 75 per cent, chopped into small pieces
75 grams caramel
100 grams mascarpone

For the soufflé cakes:
2 large eggs
60 grams sugar, divided
60 grams unsalted butter
120 grams bittersweet chocolate with a cacao content of about 75 per cent, chopped
¼ tsp fine sea salt
Icing sugar, for dusting
Fresh fruit and mint leaves, for decorating