Pear and Apple Soufflé

Pear and Apple Soufflé
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour 45 minutes
Rating
5(178)
Notes
Read community notes

Fruit soufflés are dramatic and impressive yet so easy to make. This one will impress everyone at your table. Make the fruit puree well in advance, and beat the egg whites before you sit down to dinner. Then, when you’re too full to eat anything more, fold the two together and put the soufflés in the oven. Just when you’re beginning to think you could eat a little dessert, they’ll be ready.

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves six
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 1pound apples, peeled, cored and diced
  • pounds ripe, juicy pears, peeled, cored and diced
  • cup sugar
  • 1teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼teaspoon powdered ginger
  • Butter for the ramekin (or ramekins)
  • 8large egg whites
  • teaspoon cream of tartar
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

198 calories; 3 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 40 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 31 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 76 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Fill a bowl with water, and add the juice of ½ lemon. Place the fruit in the water as you prepare it. When all of the fruit is prepared, drain and transfer to a large, heavy saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon of the sugar, the vanilla and ginger, and 2 tablespoons water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir, and then turn the heat down to low, cover and simmer, stirring often, for 20 minutes. Uncover and continue to simmer for another 30 to 40 minutes, stirring often, until the fruit is very soft and beginning to stick to the pan. It may or may not look like applesauce, depending on the texture of the apples and pears that you used (Granny Smith apples, for example, will break down, whereas Galas will not). Remove from the heat, and transfer to a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Puree until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl, and allow to cool.

  2. Step 2

    Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with the rack adjusted to the lowest position. Butter one 2-quart soufflé dish or six 6-ounce ramekins and dust with sugar (use about 1½ tablespoons of the sugar).

  3. Step 3

    In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the egg whites on low speed for one minute or until they foam. Add the cream of tartar, and continue to beat on low speed for one minute. Turn the speed to medium, and slowly stream in the remaining sugar while you continue to beat until there are firm, satiny peaks. Be careful not to overbeat.

  4. Step 4

    Fold one third of the egg whites into the apple-pear puree to lighten it. Fold in the rest. Gently spoon into the ramekins or the soufflé dish, mounding it up over the top. Put the ramekins on a baking sheet, and place in the oven. Bake individual soufflés for about 10 minutes, until puffed and golden. They should still be runny on the inside. Bake a large soufflé for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve at once.

Tip
  • Advance preparation: You can prepare the puree several days ahead of time. Allow the puree to come to room temperature before proceeding. You can prepare the recipe through step 3 a few hours before folding together and baking. Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.

Ratings

5 out of 5
178 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

These soufflés are delicious and easy but I didn't taste the cooked fruit before adding the sugar. I definitely did not need 1/3 cup.

This is so easy and really good.
When I serve the souffle in individual ramekins, at the table I make a cross incision on top of each souffle and drop a scoop of icecream into it - delicious

Try it with hard sauce or creme Englaise made with Poire William! OVER THE TOP,

If you are referring to the butter for the ramekin, use a substitute. Easy! But the filter is correct; there is no dairy in the souffle.

Recipe says souflees should "still be runny on the inside". Is that a risk for uncooked egg? And how runny is runny--just a little jiggly or truly liquid? would love some clarification from anyone--thanks!

This was okay, but I won't make it again. It tasted like fluffy apple sauce (which I should have expected, since the egg whites do not add much flavor). Also, I used the exact measurements in the recipe but ended up with nine 6-oz ramekins instead of six. And they took about 15 minutes, to cook, not 10.

Tasty. Added a little candied ginger to amp up flavor. Did in large soufflé dish and was a little soupy. Should have cooked a bit longer if done individual ramekins. People thought it didn’t need sugar dusting on the sides but I like it.

Absolutely wonderful end to a very rich meal (cassoulet). In a time crunch pinch, you could sub your favorite premade apple sauce.

Other than pears and apples, you can use fruits that are related to pears or apples. Peaches, for example.

Recipe was great. I would, however, cut back on the sugar to 1/3 C (or even less) if the Pear & Apple reduction is sweet. I made 6 individual ramekins + a small souffle dish of it that served another 6. There was a lot of dessert for Thanksgiving!!!

This was a hit at a dinner party, even though I had to make it in a 9x11 Pyrex instead of ramekins and scoop it out to serve. It looked more like a toasty, baked meringue than soufflé, but it was delicious none the less. Used 1/4 cup sugar instead of 1/3 and it was plenty sweet.

This was okay, but I won't make it again. It tasted like fluffy apple sauce (which I should have expected, since the egg whites do not add much flavor). Also, I used the exact measurements in the recipe but ended up with nine 6-oz ramekins instead of six. And they took about 15 minutes, to cook, not 10.

This is not dairy free as the app filter indicates

If you are referring to the butter for the ramekin, use a substitute. Easy! But the filter is correct; there is no dairy in the souffle.

Ended up using double apples since there were no ripe pears. Probably a little too appley if that is possible but that’s on me. The recipe as written works just right. I halved it and made 3 individual ramekins and it worked.

Recipe says souflees should "still be runny on the inside". Is that a risk for uncooked egg? And how runny is runny--just a little jiggly or truly liquid? would love some clarification from anyone--thanks!

I would just make the recipe and see for myself. If you are afraid of eggs that are not hard boiled, then don't try the recipe. There are many other recipes to choose from the NYT Food Section.

Try it with hard sauce or creme Englaise made with Poire William! OVER THE TOP,

Crème anglaise, I think it's called.

Pear season is here! Made this and loved it. Went over the top by adding calvados hard sauce. Every morsel gone.

Delicious! Had an abundance of pears, but no apples. Used homemade apple butter as a substitute. Worked fine. Topped with a simple hard sauce made with Calvados and every ramekin was scraped clean. Doubled the recipe - two batches) and had some batter left. Put it in small soufflé dish. They devoured that also. WILL MAKE AGAIN!

Hi there! I was wondering if you remember how much apple butter you used to substitute the apples? Thank you!

This is so easy and really good.
When I serve the souffle in individual ramekins, at the table I make a cross incision on top of each souffle and drop a scoop of icecream into it - delicious

These soufflés are delicious and easy but I didn't taste the cooked fruit before adding the sugar. I definitely did not need 1/3 cup.

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