Basic Cheese Souffle

Photo: Sheri Wetherell

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Additional butter to grease dishes

1 1/2 tablespoons unbleached flour

1/2 cup whole milk

2 eggs; separated

1/4 cup Gruyere, grated

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preparation

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Grease two 1-cup soufflé dishes or ramekins with butter and dust with Parmesan cheese.

Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over medium low heat, add flour, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Meanwhile, heat milk in the microwave at medium power for 30 seconds.

Whisk in milk and continue to cook, stirring, until thickened.

Whisk together egg yolks and spices, then add to sauce mixture, whisking steadily to avoid scrambling the eggs.

Stir in the cheese, melt, and mix thoroughly.

Mix in any additional ingredients, remove from heat, and allow to cool to room temperature.

Beat egg whites to medium stiff peaks. If you're not using a copper egg bowl, add cream of tartar.

Fold 1/3 of whites into sauce mixture until thoroughly incorporated, taking care to not over mix.

Gently fold mixture back into remaining whites.

Pour into soufflé dishes, place in oven, reduce heat to 375F, and bake 30 to 35 minutes.

Do not open the oven for the first 20 minutes and open the oven door slowly to prevent the souffle from falling.

Comments

Permalink Sheri Wetherell
March 30, 2011

Photo is by Flickr user: diekatrin (http://www.flickr.com/photos/diekatrin/4523189958/sizes/m/)

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About

The beauty of cheese souffle is that virtually any cheese works as long as it melts. The trick to creating a successful souffle is to not overwork the mixture when folding and to keep the oven door closed, then open slowly before removing the souffle.