IMMB: Pomegranate Souffle

Well, this week is a week of first's. My first SHF (see previous post) and now my first participation in Is My Blog Burning, hosted by Kitchen Chick. When I first heard about this blog event I couldn't wait to participate. But then, I found out that this month is souffles and immediately grew sad because I didn't think I could participate, given my self-imposed limitations. I had never heard of a vegan dessert souffle and had no idea where to even begin.

But, at the last moment (of course), I decided that I was not going to let a small thing like egg whites get in my way, even if they are the main ingredient. I did some research on the web and came up with virtually nothing and again grew disinhearted.

But I thought about it for awhile and decided to break down the components of a souffle - what is it really. It's a flavored "base" with whipped egg whites folded in that is then baked. Well, making the flavored base isn't a problem -- fruit juice and arrowroot should take care of that. But what to do about the egg whites?? The only solution I could come up with is a vegan whipped cream that is then folded into the fruit base to make it light and airy. I'm not sure if this still qualifies as a souffle (it might be more of a light mousse) but it's all I got. So here it is.

I also decided to spice up the presentation since this isn't baked in a ramekin and therefore doesn't have the same poofy eye appeal, and piped it into pre-made filo cups which can be found in the freezer section of your local supermarket. They are fabulous and vegan.

I used the POM pomegranate-blueberry juice mix. I think it can be found most places.

Pomegranate Souffle

Vegan Whipped Cream
12.3 oz soft silken tofu
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth
Pour into a bowl and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Pomegranate base
1 cup pomegranate juice
1 tbl sugar (adjust to your taste)
1 tbl arrowroot
5 tsp pomegranate juice

Put the 1 cup pomegranate juice and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.
While that is heating, mix the arrowroot powder and 5 tsp juice together to make a "slurry".
When the juice/sugar mix comes to a simmer, add the arrowroot mixture and whisk constantly until it comes to a boil. Let boil for 1-2 minutes. You will see it thicken.
Take it off the heat. If any lumps have formed, pass it through a strainer.
Let cool. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours until gelled.

When folding the cream into the pomegranate base, I used a formula of 2 tbl of the base to 1 tbl of cream (such small amounts because I was filling the filo cups). This leaves a lot of extra cream but I'm sure you can find a use for it!!

This can be served immediately or refrigerated for several hours.









Tagged with: IMBB # 20 + Souffle