Cheese Soufflé

Yet another venture into the world of the mysterious *soufflé.*

This dish was such a delight due to both its taste and texture.  Though it tasted like scrambled eggs with cheese and near perfect seasoning, the texture was incredibly light and airy.  I imagine that clouds have a texture similar to soufflés.

Unlike chocolate souffles, I cooked the center completely through--so it was not gooey inside.  The recipe which would have made one regular sized souffle, or 5-6 mini souffles, used only 4 eggs (plus one egg white) and one cup of cheese.  That's less than a serving each of egg and cheese per souffle serving.

I used Julia Child's "cheese souffle" recipe in her book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1. So, you can find the recipe in the book.

The texture alone makes the 25 minutes or so prep time worth it.  So next time you are having a lazy morning in, consider making this very special treat.  I served mine with bacon and orange juice, in my sunlit living room.  It's the little things...

Step 1: Dusting the ramekins with bread crumbs or parmesan cheese (If these were dessert souffles, we would use sugar.)  Souffles need something to cling onto so that they can climb the wall of the dish.

Step 2: Make a roux (oil+flour). Correct seasoning.

Step 3: Add the egg yolks, one at a time, whisking well after each addition.

Step 4: Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Incorporate into the egg yolk mixture by folding.  If you overfold or stir, your souffles will not rise.

Step 5: Fill the ramekins with the mixture. Then bake.

Remove from oven when the tops have lightly browned.

Voila!

*If you plan on purchasing Julia Child's incredible book, I recommend Amazon.  The list price is $40, and the Amazon price is $26.40.

Souffle

Being the lover of French food that I am, it should be no surprise that souffle is something I adore. This was my first attempt to make a souffle. I admit, it took me three days, but that's because of the egg whites! Souffles only have a few ingredients--mainly chocolate, eggs, and sugar. The only leavening agent is the egg whites, so if the egg whites aren't prepared correctly, the souffle won't rise. The lightness of a souffle can be attributed to the lack of flour and butter.

So, how do you prepare the egg whites correctly? There are a few cardinal rules:

1. Make sure that absolutely NO egg yolk is in the egg whites. Not even a trace.
2. Don't beat the egg whites until they are at room temperature.
3. If you over-beat the egg whites, you will end up with a sticky mess!
4. Be gentle when "folding" the egg whites into the egg yolk/sugar/chocolate batter.

If you can figure out the egg whites, the rest of the souffle is a breeze (assuming your oven heats evenly).

I was really shocked that my very first souffle came out so well! It was delicious--incredibly chocolatey. It is so chocolatey, you will need vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to go along with it. My roommate made souffle a few days ago (under my watchful eye). We halved the recipe and used the individual-sized ramekins. I also made a whipped cream to go along with it--just beat 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with 2 tablespoons powder sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Enjoy! (Will post recipe soon)