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1
Preheat the oven to 425.
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2
Butter eight 1-cup ramekins and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
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3
Butter the paper and dust the bottoms and sides of the ramekins with confectioners' sugar.
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4
In a glass bowl, melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave oven, checking every 10 seconds.
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5
Stir until smooth.
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6
In a large stainless steel bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt at high speed until soft peaks form.
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7
Add 1/4 cup of the confectioners' sugar and beat the egg whites until they are firm and glossy peaks form.
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8
In another large stainless steel bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining 1/2 cup of the confectioners' sugar until the mixture is thoroughly blended.
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9
Whisk the melted chocolate and butter mixture into the egg yolks, then gradually whisk in the all-purpose flour.
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10
Using a large, clean rubber spatula, fold in one-third of the beaten egg whites to lighten the mixture, then fold in the remaining beaten whites until almost no white streaks remain.
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11
Spoon enough souffle cake batter into each of the prepared ramekins to reach three-fourths of the way up the side.
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12
Bake the cakes for about 15 minutes, or until they are puffed and just set in the middle.
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13
Leave the oven on.
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14
Let the souffle cakes cool in the ramekins for about 5 minutes, or until the edges of the cakes start to pull away from the sides of the ramekins.
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15
Invert the cakes onto a large baking sheet, then peel off the parchment paper and set the cakes upright on the baking sheet.
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16
Reheat the cakes in the oven for 2 minutes.
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17
Transfer the souffle cakes to plates and serve them with vanilla ice cream that has been sprinkled with the chopped thyme.
