OVERVIEW
This dessert is perfect for July and August, when the British apricot season is at its peak. The soufflé is made with quark, a soft, unsalted curd cheese popular in northern and eastern Europe – you should be able to find it in the dairy section of a larger supermarket.
SET UP YOUR EGG
Set up your EGG for indirect cooking, with the ConvEGGtor in a legs-up positions, topped with the Stainless Steel Grid. Target temperature is 200°C.
On your stove, bring a large pan of water to a gentle boil. Blanch the apricots briefly (and carefully) in the boiling water – 30 seconds to a minute will do it. Allow to cool slightly, then remove the skins.
Halve the apricots, remove the stones and place them with any of their residual liquid in a Round Drip Pan.
Sprinkle the apricots with the honey. Slice open the vanilla pod lengthways, distribute the seeds over the apricots, then add the empty pod to the pan.
BAKE THE APRICOTS
Place the Drip Pan onto the grid, close the Dome and bake the fruit for about 10 minutes. Remove from the EGG, fish out the vanilla pod and pour the liquid into a jug.
ASSEMBLE THE SOUFFLÉ
In a saucepan on your stove, gently melt the butter, then stir through the flour. Allow to cook for around 5 minutes until a roux is formed.
Remove the pan from the heat, then stir the milk through the roux and whisk into a smooth mass. Add the quark, the sugar and the liquid from the baked apricots. Separate the eggs. Stir the yokes through the mixture, then beat the egg whites stiff with an electric mixer before folding them into the pan.
Grease a 2-litre oven dish with butter and sprinkle with half the chopped almonds. Pour in the quark mixture, then distribute the baked apricot halves evenly around it. Sprinkle with the remaining almonds.
Place the soufflé onto the grid of the EGG, close the Dome and bake for around 35 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Serve immediately.
