Following in the footsteps of our previous surveys on where to eat such gastronomic delights as escargots and crêpes suzette, we're more than happy to add another French favorite to the list. As with the others, it took considerable research to conjure up a decent list for you and some places tend to rotate their dessert menus. For example, although Le Cirque is on our list, since it regularly offers chocolate soufflé and is planning to bring it back soon, at the time of our call it was actually a Grand Marnier soufflé that they were serving. And we must add that we haven't sampled any of these to date (although we got quite hungry researching this answer), so if anyone has any additional information to add in terms of quality or other venues to suggest, please let us know.
Here are some of the options we found:
On the subject of chocolate desserts, Sarah, who is something of an expert in this area and researched this answer, would also like to add the following: "The best chocolate crème brulée I’ve ever had was at the Grand Lux Café inside the Venetian. It comes as a duo, one classic vanilla and one a deep chocolate, and it's only $6.95."
Meanwhile, getting back to soufflés, if you're ambitious enough to try your own hand at making the chocolate variety, here's the recipe for the version served at the Eiffel Tower restaurant, courtesy of HP's Reservations Required: Culinary Secrets of Las Vegas Celebrity Chefs:
Ingredients:
6 oz. dark sweet chocolate, melted 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup flour 1 cup milk 1 tbsp. butter 4 large egg yolks 1 tbsp. vanilla 1 tbsp. espresso, room temperature 6 egg whites confectioner's sugar for the top
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 400°. - Butter four 4-oz. soufflé dishes. - Sprinkle each soufflé dish with granulated sugar, shaking out the excess. - In a bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar, the flour, and 1/3 cup of the milk. - Scald the remaining milk in a saucepan and add it to the bowl in a stream, whisking, until the mixture is smooth. - Transfer the mixture to a saucepan; whisking continuously, bring to a simmer. Cook, continuing to whisk for 3 minutes or until thick. Remove the pan from the heat and beat in the butter. - Beat in the egg yolks, one yolk at a time, then the vanilla, melted chocolate, and espresso. In a separate bowl with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks. - Add the remaining granulated sugar, a little at a time to the egg whites, and beat until the whites hold stiff peaks. - Stir 1/4 of the whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remaining whites gently but thoroughly. - Spoon the mixture into the prepared soufflé dish. - Place the soufflé in the oven and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 375°. - Bake the soufflé for 35 to 40 minutes, or until puffed. - Sift the confectioner's sugar over the top and serve the soufflé at once.
Serve with vanilla sauce
If you're interested in learning more of Las Vegas' celebrity chefs' secrets, visit our on-line store to purchase a copy of Reservations Required, by clicking on the link. Featuring beautiful full-page color food photography, this over-sized book has interviews with and recipes from 26 chefs at Las Vegas' top restaurants.
