So, I promise that one of these days I'll start posting more healthy recipes. It just happens that April is birthday month in our home which equates to decadent, homemade dessert! It has also turned out to be one of the busiest months (personal life wise) that I've had in a while. We made the big decision to commit ourselves (at least for the foreseeable future) to living in LA and purchased a condo in Santa Monica. So, what started with looking at houses which we only did for one weekend, then turned into a series of offers and counter-offers, preparing documents to get qualified for a home loan, and an inspection, and more documents, and an appraisal, and more documents, and packing, and more documents, and posting stuff on Craigslist, and more documents, and donating stuff, and more documents, and finally...approval and moving! And then, unpacking, remodeling, re-arranging, more donating.....you get the drift. It's been a busy crazy month and if I had to send one more letter explaining why I make more money now than when I graduated college -- I might have just said, never mind -- we'll just keep renting!

BUT, we made it. We're moved in. Our house is beautiful. It feels like a home. And I've never felt happier about a big life decision!

Thanks again to April for filling in with a guest post last week as it was one less thing I didn't have time to add to my long list. It was so bad that I forgot to wear my Fitbit for 4 days straight which means I'm now at the bottom of the charts with my friends and now need to kick my ass to catch back up!

What I did make time for was to cook my husband Chocolate Souffle on his birthday at 10 PM -- it happened. But before you think this was a pure act of love, it may have also been a tiny bit selfish. Every time we move, we go through a process of cleaning out our stuff and then questioning each other on things the other person doesn't want to get rid of. For Jason, it's bike stuff. For me, kitchen stuff. In order to save my ramekins, I had to prove I use them -- so, ta-da, birthday SOUFFLE!

Chocolate Souffle
Ingredients:

• Unsalted butter and sugar for ramekins
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten, plus 4 large egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter each ramekin and coat with sugar, place in freezer to set.

   

2. In a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, combine chocolate, vanilla, and 1/4 cup water. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, 20 minutes. Pour in separate bowl to cool faster.

   

3. Stir egg yolks into cooled chocolate mixture until well combined. Set souffle base aside.

4. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium-high until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5 additional minutes (do not overbeat). I timed this and it was really helpful!

   

5. In two additions, fold egg-white mixture into souffle base: With a rubber spatula, gently cut down through center and lift up some base from bottom of bowl. Turning bowl, steadily continue to cut down and lift up base until just combined. Just be careful and keep it fluffy!

6. Take ramekins out of freezer and place on baking sheet. Transfer mixture to each ramekin, taking care not to get batter on top edge of dish; smooth top. Bake souffle until puffed and set, 18 to 20 minutes. (Do not open oven during first 15 minutes of baking.) At about 18 minutes, when it looks like they aren't rising anymore, you can gently shake the ramekin to see if the top is set or if it still jiggles in the middle. This makes sense once you're in the process, I promise!

7. Top with whipped cream or ice cream and serve immediately. Don't wait! These are not good once they cool and every minute that goes by makes them less gooey and yummy...

   I modified a few things but mostly used this recipe from Martha Stewart