S. Worthen | Weblog

I ordered a Grand Marnier iced soufflé and, despite the presence of the word "iced" on the menu, was immediately suspicious when it arrived at the table as my first birthday dessert of the day. It wasn't a soufflé as I know it. Eggs may never have been anywhere near it. A very thin circle of white cake base was the foundation for a three-inch-tall cylinder of clean-cut sides and a fun, sweet, crunchy, powdered topping. The "soufflé" itself was almost-but-not-quite too sweet, its infusion of Grand Marnier along with inner cream creating the smooth orangeness of its flavoring. I remain unconvinced that it had any more orange it in than the liquor alone could provide.

The creamy bulk had been whipped in its cooling, but does that make it a soufflé? Is anything with a whipped ingredient a kind of soufflé, and I just never realized it? It seemed like whipped ice cream, but perhaps that's what a recipe like this will produce. My meal at the Brasserie Chez Gerard was reasonably good, but I remain unconvinced by its souffléishness.