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The word soufflé used to strike terror in the heart of cooks far and wide. I never got that memo, though, and one of the first things I ever baked was a chocolate soufflé when I was less than sixteen years old, from my mother’s copy of The Settlement Cookbook, the 1951 edition. The ingredient list is pretty concise; looking at the book now, there are two chocolate soufflé recipes in it – one with four ingredients and the other with six.
The author explains how to put the soufflés together with only four or five concise sentences. There are no mixing bowl or baking dish sizes given, and chocolate is just listed as “chocolate.” There’s no mention of whether it’s bittersweet, semisweet, or unsweetened chocolate. (There are also no substitutions for any ingredients offered, and storage instructions weren’t included, presumably because people just figured that out for themselves.) It’s fascinating how times have changed in terms of how recipes are written today.
Back in those days, we didn’t have a soufflé mold in our suburban American kitchen. We had an assortment of Pyrex glass baking dishes and measuring cups. Somehow, my little brain (at the time, which hopefully has grown since then) had figured out that a straight-sided dish might be best for a soufflé, so I used a Pyrex measuring cup to bake the soufflé in, guessing at the size I should use. My thirteen-year-old head must’ve either been spinning, or I just used whatever was available without giving it a second thought. My guess is that it was the latter. In spite of all the vagarities that wouldn’t pass muster today, it came out really well.
Even though I now have a collection of French soufflé molds I’ve picked up at flea markets, these days I prefer to use an oven-proof shallow baking dish when I make a soufflé. Why? Because I like the ratio of crust-to-filling better in a wider dish, and the soufflé also tends to bake more evenly, and is easier to serve as well.
(FYI: My recipe for a Chocolate Soufflé baked in a gratin-style baking dish, is in my book L’Appart and I have a recipe for Individual Double-Chocolate Soufflés, baked in ramekins, in The Great Book of Chocolate.)
If you want to use a soufflé mold, or a Pyrex measuring cup, for this, you can. You’ll just need to toggle the baking time a bit, using visual and tactile clues to check for doneness. Soufflés aren’t as fussy as you think but when the top starts to brown, give it a very gentle jiggle; if it moves a lot and seems liquidy, it’s probably not done. If it moves mostly in the center, but the area a few inches close to the rim of the dish is relatively firm, it’s probably done.
But everyone is different. Some people like soufflés very runny and underbaked. I worked a waiter like that, who insisted that customers preferred them that way. In reality, though, I suspect he liked them that way more than the customers. (Or, he liked asserting himself over me.)
Either way, soufflés aren’t hard to make and the only skill required is knowing that you should gently, but with purpose, fold the egg whites into the base. You don’t want to stir the heck out of them so they lose their volume. A few thin, visible streaks of egg whites are better than an overfolded mixture. (Less than what is shown above.) When baked, you won’t notice those.
Cheese soufflé makes a wonderful lunch or dinner with nothing more than a green salad to go alongside. I like to add a handful of aromatic herbs, which, like the cheese, will change the flavor depending on which you use. Here I used chives, but tarragon and chervil are also favorites that I sometimes add.
Cheese Souffle
This is one of those dishes where the less you futz with it, the better it'll be. A perfect cheese soufflé on its own is a thing of beauty and the best-tasting cheese produce the most delicious souffleThat said, you don't usually see chives in cheese soufflés. But why not? I like the pretty little green flecks, and they add a delicate herbal, onion flavor. You could swap it out with a smaller amount of minced chervil, tarragon, or another herb, or leave it out. I do like a flavorful, slightly aged cheese in my souffle but you don't want anything too aged (or dry) because you want it to melt and meld nicely with the other ingredients. Although I suggested Comté or Gruyère, a good-quality Emmenthaler, Gouda, or cheddar would be nice. (Although I did make one with cheddar and it tended to be denser, and not as light, as one made with Comté.) I use 8 ounces of cheese but if you want it lighter, and less-cheesy, you can go with 6 ounces. Cheese can vary in salt so I used a minimum, but feel free to taste the white sauce before using it and if you want to add a bit more salt to it, or the egg whites, you can.What to do with the extra egg yolk? Add it to your next omelet mixture or batch of ice cream (UPDATE: Several commenters said they just added the additional egg yolk when making the soufflé base.)
Servings 6 servings
- 4 tablespoons (60g) unsalted butter, cubed, plus additional softened butter for preparing the baking dish
- grated Parmesan cheese
- 5 tablespoons (45g) flour
- 1 3/4 cups (430ml) whole milk, warmed
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt
- freshly-ground black pepper
- pinch of grated nutmeg
- bigger pinch of cayenne pepper
- 5 large egg yolks
- 6 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 8 ounces (225g) Comté, Gruyère, or another favorite cheese, coarsely shredded, (see headnote)
- 1/4 cup (12g) minced chives
Butter a 1 1/2-2-quart (2l) baking dish generously. Dust the bottom and sides with Parmesan cheese.
To make the soufflé base, Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in the flour and bring to a low boil. Cook until the mixture has thickened a bit, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, whisk in the warm milk and turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Once the mixture comes to a boil, cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly.
Remove from heat and whisk in the salt, a generous amount of freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne. Whisk in the egg yolks vigorously, one at a time. Scrape the mixture into a medium to large bowl and let cool a bit until only slightly warm.
To make the soufflé, preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC.) Reserve a handful of the cheese, and stir the rest of the cheese and chives into the soufflé base. In a large, clean bowl, or in the stand mixer with the whip attachment, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold their shape but are still moist and creamy. Don't overbeat them.
Fold one-quarter of the beaten egg whites into the soufflé base thoroughly, then fold the remaining egg whites in just until there are no (or few) visible streaks of egg whites. Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking dish, gently smooth the top, and strew the reserved handful of cheese over the top.
Bake the soufflé on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes, without opening the oven door. Depending on how you like your soufflés, if you like them on the soft, somewhat runny side, it's probably done. If you like them firmer, usually 25 minutes (total) is the right baking time. The best way to check it to touch the center at the 20 minute mark. If the soufflé still jiggles and moves freely in the center when you touch it, it's done, if you like softly-cooked soufflés. If not, put it back in the oven for another 5 minutes.
Notes
Serving: Serve immediately, with a green salad, steamed green beans, wilted greens, or another vegetable.
Storage: Some people make soufflès ahead then bake them later. I've done that with individual soufflés but have not tried that with a larger one. The egg whites might deflate under the weight of the sauce so if you're a do-ahead type, you can make the sauce up to step 3, then smear a little butter over the top (to prevent a skin from forming and cover it snugly with food-safe plastic wrap. It can be refrigerated for a few days but brought up to room temperature, before using.
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