You did read that correct, this is a recipe for a Chocolate Soufflé Omelette! Ok so this is a recipe from a lady called Isabella Beeton, from the 1800’s! She wrote a book called Mrs Beeton’s ‘Book of Household Management’ and within it, there were many recipes. As time went on she released dedicated cookbooks and I managed to get hold of a modernised / colourised version of her cookbook and picked out this recipe to try!
It’s actually devastatingly delicious but very naughty, it has a foamy texture to it and very omelette like in taste and appearance. The rum to me did not make a difference really, maybe use some vanilla extract instead if you fancy it, the apricot jam does not really pop in the chocolate sauce either, so maybe garnish with that too, that said it is an amazing tasting sauce and the jam gives it a great texture!
First make the sauce by adding all of the chocolate sauce ingredients into a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir until all smooth and the butter has melted. Keep on a steady medium / low heat for the time and let it bubble away for 5 minutes to thicken slightly, leave it on the hob to cool and we’ll warm this up later when serving.
Right, make the omelette part then….. grab 2 bowls put the egg yolks in one and beat together with the sugar, the yolks will thicken a little and go lighter in colour, should take no longer than 3 minutes really, no need to go crazy here! Add in the rum if using and whisk this through quickly, leave to one side.
Now whisk your egg whites using a hand whisk or electric whisk, I have visions of Mrs Beeton beating her egg whites rather than using an electric appliance so give it a go if you fancy it! Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and then gently fold in small batches into the egg yolk mixture, do not over fold but get it all merged.
Grab a frying pan and warm it up over a medium flame, add in the butter and as soon as it is melted add in the egg mixture, fry gently using a spatula check that the bottom is browned, this happens pretty quickly indeed so keep an eye out. Once you spot the browned bottom, take off the heat and place under a hot grill for a few minutes to brown the top, meanwhile quickly heat the sauce back up for a minute or so on the hob.
Turn the browned omelette out onto a plate and fold in half whilst still warm to keep it’s shape, open it up a bit and drizzle in the chocolate sauce, close it and add some more on top… the picture in the book had some extra sugar sprinkled on top so do that if you wish, although not essential! There we go, a recipe over 150 Years old that tastes despite the quirky name and steps, very good indeedy!