Soufflés aux poires

This really is the simplest and quickest of desserts, and ideal for someone like me who seems to always have leftover eggwhites hanging about in the freezer after making custard (crème anglaise).

Soufflé aux poires, ready to serve

First, butter some individual soufflé dishes, then coat the inside of the dish with sugar. Set these aside and turn on the oven to heat to 180°C.

Pears for soufflé don't have to be beautiful

Now prepare the soufflé. You will need eggwhites, sugar (use some of your vanilla sugar that you made after using the vanilla pods for cannelés), some fruit (I've used pears here, but I also make this recipe with oranges, raspberries or blackberries) and a liqueur that goes with the fruit (for pears I use Poire William, for oranges Grand Marnier, and for red berries, cassis). The proportions for each serving are: 1 eggwhite, 1 rounded tablespoon of sugar, half a pear, 0-1 teaspoon of liqueur (depending on personal preferences).

Be generous with the sugar coating on the soufflé dish

Peel and core the pear and chop into small dice (1cm or less). Beat the eggwhites until stiff, add the sugar, then fold in the fruit and liqueur. Spoon into the sugar coated soufflé dishes and bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven, set the hot soufflé dishes on side plates and rush to the table so everyone can be amazed at how high they rose.

Susan