Sweet Omelettes

Sweet omelettes, a bit like soufflés, are the measure of a good cook. They never fail to demonstrate your expertise, or lack of it, in the kitchen.

It's not because they are difficult, as my recipe will show, but because they take confidence and nerve to cook, especially with guests at the table. Unlike soufflés, which can be reheated, they must be prepared and cooked just before serving. There is very little that you can do in advance if you want a perfect outcome, and there is no point in cooking them at all if you do not.

The main difference between sweet and savory omelettes is in the preparation. The yolks and whites are treated differently in the sweet version, the idea being to produce a light and fluffy result. A confection, in other words, worthy of the name 'dessert'.

Let's start with something very simple and widely available in either fresh, frozen, or tinned form - raspberries.

Ingredients

4 egg yolks
60g (2oz) caster (superfine) sugar
250g (8oz) raspberries
1 tbs icing sugar
4 egg whites
1 tsp water
pinch salt
30g (1oz) butter

Method
There are two things you can do ahead of time. The first is to cream the caster sugar into the egg yolks, cover and pop them into the fridge. You can also put the raspberries in a pan with the icing sugar over a low heat and cook gently until the berries spill their juice and all the sugar is absorbed. Set aside, but not in the fridge.

So far so good. Enjoy your main meal with your family and/or friends, but as you are clearing the table casually flick on the grill (broiler) to moderate heat. Have a 23cm (10") pan on the stove with the butter already in it. Set this to a gentle heat and keep an eye on it, you don't want it to burn.

Meanwhile whisk the egg whites with the salt and water until they form stiff peaks when you take out the whisk. Take one spoonful of this and stir it into the creamed egg yolks to loosen them, then fold the egg yolks into the whisked whites.

Please note, after the initial spoonful, the yolks go into the whites, not the other way around.

Folding means to slide a spatula or similar under half the mix, then lift and turn it over in one smooth movement. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat until you have a reasonable mix. Don't overdo this. You want plenty of volume left when you have finished.

Turn up the heat under the pan and check that the butter in your pan is frothing. Turn your mixture into it, smoothing it out with a spatula.

The eggs will cook very quickly in the hot butter, so give them no more than 20 seconds before you slide them under the preheated grill. Watch carefully. The mixture will rise.

Once the top begins to blister and take color, remove the pan and add your raspberries or other fruit to the centre of the omelette. Don't worry if a little of the juice runs wild.

Fold the omelette in two by sliding your spatular under one half and lifting it on top of the other so that you have a half-moon shape. Slide this on to a suitable dish for serving.

This recipe serves four people, or two very generously. Finish serving by cutting your 'half-moon' into triangles and dusting each with icing sugar.

An excellent accompaniment to this is vanilla sauce which, you will be relieved to know, can be made ahead of time.

N.B. As an added refinement to this or any similar recipe you might think up, a small amount of liqueur such as créme de cassis or Grand Marnier can be added to the yolks before folding them into the whites.

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First published on Qassia