Never-Fail Chocolate Souffles - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/4 cup cocoa
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup whipping cream or 1 cup evaporated skim milk
1 tablespoon Kahlua
4 egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375\u00b0F.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine cocoa and cornstarch thoroughly.
Add a little of the cream and whisk to make a smooth paste.
Whisk in remaining cream and the liqueur.
I have made this with Kahlua, Grand Marnier, Chambord and brandy-- they're all good.
If you use the evaporated milk instead of cream, expect the mixture to be pretty soupy.
In a large bowl, beat egg whites until almost stiff.
Slowly beat in sugar and beat until stiff and glossy.
Now gently whisk a quarter of the egg whites into the cocoa mixture.
Gently fold in another quarter.
Now add all this mixture into the remainder of the egg whites and gently fold until well blended.
Spoon the souffle batter into 6-to-8 1/2-cup sized custard cups.
The volume you get will depend on how well you beat the egg whites and if you folded them into the cocoa mixture without deflating them too much.
Don't worry, even if you only get 6 they will be wonderful.
Set custard cups into a deep baking pan and carry this to the oven.
Open oven, pull out rack, and set down pan.
Now pour very hot tap water in the baking pan to come up about one-inch around the outside of the custard cups.
(I do it this way so I don't have to carry the pan with the souffles and water to the oven-- it's heavy and you risk sloshing water into your souffles.) Slide in oven rack, close oven door and bake for 25 minutes.
The centres will be a little runny, as they should be.
Serve immediately.