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Cold Lemon Soufflé

This is a dish I've made several times, always substituting some non-sugar sweetener for the sugar in the original recipe. In the past that meant aspartame, which made a dessert that tasted good but never had quite the right appearance or texture.

More recently I made it again but this time I used sucralose (i.e., Splenda). What a difference it made! The sucralose participated in a chemical reaction with the egg yolk much better than aspartame ever had--not a surprise, since sucralose has a chemical structure virtually identical to sugar--and the result was excellent: very light, tart and sweet, with a lovely color. I was utterly delighted by the dish on that occasion.

I've adapted both recipes from Diane Rossen Worthington's The Cuisine of California (San Francisco : Chronicle Books, 1997, 323 pages.

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Cold Lemon Soufflé

  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 1 cup granular Splenda (equivalent to 1 cup sugar)
  • 3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 & 1/2 envelopes or 1 & 1/2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 & 1/2 cups whipping cream
  1. In a medium bowl, combine egg yolks, Splenda, and lemon zest. Beat with an electric mixer until thick. In a small saucepan, heat lemon juice to simmer, then beat into yolk mixture. Continue to beat until the mixture becomes very thick and forms a thick ribbon when beater is lifted, about 10 minutes.
  2. Combine gelatin and water in saucepan and let stand for 5 minutes, or until it becomes spongy. Dissolve over low heat; do not boil, or it will become stringy. Stir into lemon mixture.
  3. Lightly whip 1 cup cream in a chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Set aside.
  4. Beat egg whites until they are stiff. Set aside.
  5. Put lemon mixture over a bowl of ice water and stir gently until it begins to thicken. Carefully fold in whipped cream and egg whites.
  6. Pour the mixture into a glass loaf pan (or other mold) that has been lightly sprayed with Pam.

    7. Refrigerate for about 2 hours, or until firm.

  7. Whip the remaining cream. Unmold the soufflé. Cut slices for serving and serve with whipped cream and raspberry sauce (below).

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Raspberry Sauce

  • 12 ounces fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries
  • 1 & 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons granular Splenda (2 tbsp. sugar equivalent.)
  1. If the raspberries are frozen, thaw and drain them.
  2. Puree the raspberries in a food processor (steel blade). Add lemon juice and Splenda; process until smooth.
  3. Strain if you want--I don't. Refrigerate until needed.