A soufflé is a culinary masterpiece. Serve one at a dinner party and you will establish your reputation for all time. Of course, soufflés have a reputation of their own, a bad one, which is why many home cooks avoid them. Even chefs treat them with suspicion. When did you last see one on a restaurant menu?
But the plain fact is that they are quite simple to do and will not fail if you follow the simple steps given below. All you really need, is an understanding of what you are trying to do.
A soufflé is nothing more than a basic white sauce to which you can add flavorings such as cheese, shrimp, sweetcorn, fruit etc, and which is 'lifted' by the addition of whisked egg white into a kind of fluffy omelet.
It can be made as one dish, or in individual pots. For our basic recipe we are going to make a simple all-in-one cheese version.
Ingredients
30g (1oz) butter
30g flour
1 cup milk
salt and white pepper
1 cup grated cheddar cheese in two portions
pinch cayenne pepper
4 egg yolks
4 egg whites
Method
Preheat the oven and a baking sheet to 180°C/350°F. Butter a soufflé dish.
Melt the butter in a thick-bottomed pan, sift in the flour and cook for 2 minutes while stirring. Remove from the heat and stir in the milk. Season with salt and pepper.
Return the pan to the heat and, while stirring, cook through for about 3 minutes. The sauce will thicken considerably so be careful not to burn it.
Remove the pan from the heat and allow things to cool down before beating in the egg yolks. Then add half the cheddar cheese and the cayenne pepper. Mix thoroughly.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff. They will stand up in peaks when you draw out the whisk to let you know they are ready for action.
This next part is the key to your success: take one tablespoon of the egg whites and stir it into the sauce. This will loosen it considerably.
Now take the sauce and pour it into the remaining egg whites. Using a spatula, lift this mixture from the bottom, turn it over, give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Do this enough times so that the whites are distributed through, but not thoroughly mixed with, the sauce.
At this stage, you will still be able to see unmixed egg white. Don't worry about that, the two mixes will come together as they cook.
Now carefully transfer half your soufflé mix to the prepared dish, sprinkle on this the rest of the cheese and then add the rest of the mixture. Smooth the top with a palette knife.
Cook on the preheated baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven, undisturbed, for 35 minutes. Don't even think about opening the oven door!
At the end of this time give the baking sheet a little tug. If the top of the soufflé wobbles a bit, carefully close the oven door and give it a further five minutes.
Take to the table whole and serve it there. It will look spectacular, taste fantastic and be as light as the beat of a gossamer wing.
