Pineapple souffle

Ingredients

• Cream, chilled 1 ¼ cup (1/4 liter)
• Pineapple, canned 4 slices
• Pineapple syrup or juice ¾ cup
• Gelatin 1 tbsp (8g)
• Lemon  juice 2 tbsp
• Sugar ¾ cup (180 g)
• Water  at room temperature ½ cup
• Eggs, separated 3
• A double boiler, or a smaller sauce-pan that fits into larger one containing water

Preparation

• Drain out the pineapple slices and squeeze out excess liquid. Shred two of the slices into tiny pieces and leave to drain further in a colander.

• Separate the eggs. Put the yolks into the double boiler and the whites into a very clean, greaseless bowl. Do this one at a time, so that if the egg is bad or the yolk of one breaks, it does not spoil all the eggs. It is very important that the yellow does not go into the whites; otherwise the whites will not get beaten stiff enough.

• Sprinkle the gelatin in the ½ cup water and let it soak. Add the sugar to the yolks and beat till light and creamy.

• Place the double boiler or the container with the water over low heat, so that it is hot but not boiling.

• Add the ¾ cup syrup to the yolk mixture and place the pan over the hot water, stirring all the time. This is the ‘custard’ for the soufflé.

• When the custard is warm, add the soaked gelatin and continue stirring till it reaches a coating consistency. Remove from heat; add the lemon juice and leave to cool. This has to cool till the custard gets partially set.

• Beat the egg whites to a state of stiff peaks. Cover. Beat the cream to a thick consistency (beating of cream is a bit tricky so see to it that the cream is thoroughly chilled or keep it over ice and beat).

• Reserving a little cream for decorating, mix in the rest into the custard, in folding motions, and then ‘fold’ in the egg whites too, till no lumps are left. In case there is watery egg white at the base when you lift off the whipped portion, leave it there, as adding it will make a difference to the consistency of the set soufflé. Mix in the chopped pineapple.

• Pour this into the bowl, decorate with the cream and the other two pineapple slices and leave it to set in the refrigerator and not the freezer.