GRAND MARNIER SOUFFLE
Learn how to master an Escoffier style Grand Marnier soufflé. 
This is a proper French showstopper — light like air, scented with orange liqueur, and straight from the repertoire of Auguste Escoffier himself. A good soufflé doesn’t like to wait, so have everything ready before you start, including your ladyfinger biscuits (homemade if you can — there’s a recipe on our YouTube channel). Once you’ve mastered the technique here, you’ll be pulling these from the oven with flair to impress guests.
INGREDIENTS
For the pastry cream
2 egg yolks (together weighing 40 g / 1.4 oz — if lighter, reduce flour to 30 g / 1 oz)
1 extra egg yolk (for later)
50 g (1.7 oz) sugar
35 g (1.2 oz) plain flour
½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped
250 ml (8.5 fl oz) whole milk
1 tbsp (15 ml) Grand Marnier (orange and cognac liqueur)
For the meringue
130 g (4.5 oz) egg whites (about 4 eggs)
20 g (0.7 oz) sugar
1 pinch salt
For the garnish
2–3 sponge biscuits (ladyfingers) (recipe video here)
3 tbsp (45 ml) Grand Marnier
For the ramekins (9 cm / 3.5 in diameter, 4.5 cm / 1.8 in deep)
Melted butter
Granulated sugar
MISE EN PLACE
Split and scrape the vanilla bean and separate eggs, weighing the yolks for accuracy. Finely slice the biscuits and soak them in Grand Marnier.Butter the ramekins: brush base to rim, then coat with sugar, tapping out the excess. Preheat a conventional oven (no fan) to 200°C (392°F).
METHOD
To make the pastry cream, warm the milk with the vanilla seeds and pod. In a bowl, whisk 2 yolks with the sugar until dissolved, then whisk in the flour. Strain in half the hot milk, whisk smooth, then add the rest. Now, return to the pan and whisk over low heat until thick, then cook for 2–3 minutes more. Transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film (biodegrable) touching the surface, and keep at room temperature.
Whisk the cooled pastry cream with the extra yolk and 1 tbsp Grand Marnier (plus orange zest if you like). Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt, adding sugar gradually until glossy peaks form. Gently fold a little meringue into the cream, then fold in the rest.
Layer the soaked biscuits in the base of each ramekin, add some soufflé mixture, another layer of biscuits, then fill to the top with more mixture. Level the tops and run your thumb around the rim to help them rise evenly.
Bake on the middle rack for 10–12 minutes, lowering the oven to 190°C (374°F) after they go in. Serve immediately, dusted with icing sugar — and get them straight to the table before they start sinking.