Believe it or not, I don’t often crave chocolate. I leave that particular craving to women.

There are a number of theses why women hunger for the dark stuff, my favourite being this. Progesterone, a female hormone that is important in ovulation and in the menstrual cycle, prompts a craving for fat and pleasant tasting food. Ergo, chocolate!

I crave chocolate about four times a year (medical opinion welcome as to why this is so). When I do, I choose from the following:

• a ripple (chocolate covered flake bar)
• a packet of minstrels (chocolate covered chocolate buttons)
• a bar of Lindt milk chocolate
• a chocolate souffle.

You can buy any of the first three at any store in England and any Anglo-centric store in the US. For the souffle, I would like to suggest the following recipe.

Ready

• 125g (4oz) unsalted butter, plus extra, melted
• 85g (3oz) caster sugar (baker’s sugar)
• 225g (8oz) of good chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
• 25g (1oz) cocoa powder
• 4 eggs, seperated (yolks and whites)
• a pinch of salt
• 175ml (6 fl oz) chocolate sauce

Set

• 8 x 110g (4oz) ramekins
• Double boiler (bain marie)
• Large mixing bowl
• Electric whisk
• Rubber spatula
• Heat the oven to 425°F.

Go

1. Butter the inside of your ramekins and dust the bottom and the sides with a little caster sugar. Turn the ramekin upside-down to shake out any excess sugar.
2. Use the double boiler to melt and mix the chocolate, butter and cocoa powder. Keep the heat low. The water should at a gentle simmer. Keep stirring until all the ingredients are combined. Then let the mix cool for a few minutes before stirring in the egg yolks (not the whites).
3. Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until just foamy. The sugar should be added 2 tablespoons at a time, whisking in between. Whisk until the whites are stiff.
4. Then stir a spoonful of the whites into the chocolate mix.
5. Now carefully fold in the remainder of the whites. Use a rubber spatula for this.
6. Fill the ramekins with the mixture to three-quarters full. Bake in the oven for about 8 minutes. They should have risen a little, but will still be moist and juicy in the middle.
7. Turn them out onto a plate and serve with warm chocolate sauce and any accompaniment of your choice (vanilla ice cream is particularly yummy with it).