The recipe included here contains the instructions Lord Rothschild’s cook, Mrs. Prentice, used to prepare dessert from 1953–1986.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons chopped glace fruit
- 2 tablespoons brandy or Danziger Goldwasser
- 15g (½ oz) butter
- 2 good tablespoons (2 oz) castor (powdered) sugar
- 45g (11/2 oz) butter
- 3 tablespoons (11/2oz) flour
- 11/4 cups (9 fl oz) milk
- 1/2 punnet ripe strawberries
- 3 tablespoons (3 oz) sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla essence or 1/2 vanilla pod, crushed
- 4 egg yolks
- 5 egg whites
Preparation
Soak the chopped glace fruit in the brandy overnight.
Butter the inside of a 15 cm (6 inch) souffle dish generously with 15g butter and lightly dust with 1 tablespoon castor sugar. Cut a band of greaseproof paper about 18 cm (7 inches) wide and long enough to go round the outside of the dish with a 5cm (2 inch) overlap.
Fold paper in half lengthways, butter the top half of one side and tie round the souffle dish with string. Melt 45g butter in a saucepan, add the flour and cook over a gentle heat for 1/2 minute. Add the milk and stir continuously until the mixture thickens and boils. Simmer for 5 seconds.
Remove from heat and stir in 3 tablespoons sugar and vanilla essence or vanilla pod and the glace cherries. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Whisk the egg whites very stiffly until firm peaks are formed. Fold a large tablespoon of egg white into the egg mixture to soften it, then fold in the remaining whites lightly.
Cook in the centre of a moderate oven for 30 minutes. Add the strawberries to the top of the souffle, cutting them in half if they are very large, then sprinkle with the remaining castor sugar. Continue cooking for a further 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
Bon appetit!