Cheese Soufflé is a French dish made primarily with egg yolks, whipped egg whites, and cheese. Its characteristic is that it “lifts” or “puffs,” while being baked in the oven. The verb “souffler“means “to puff” in French. It is quite fun to watch it puff, and makes for a light, delicious, and fun appetizer, or main course.
Utensils
I chose to bake my cheese soufflé in 4 individual ramekins for a light appetizer for 4 people. You could also make one big cheese soufflé in a soufflé dish as a main course, with salad on the side.
You will need an electric hand mixer to whip the egg whites.
Recipe
The recipe I am using is quite easy. You can find it in French here. I made some changes, so as to make it easier to make in the US. Among other things, I converted measurements to US cups.
The cheese traditionally used for cheese soufflé is the French gruyère, but you can use any cheese you like.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
ramekins
|
- 4 eggs
- 1/3 cup Shredded Cheese ( any cheese of your choice)
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup milk
- 1/3 cup All purpose flour
- pepper (for seasoning)
Ingredients
|
|
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Season the milk with pepper, and warm it up (you can do so in the microwave.)
- In a pot on the stove, melt the butter. Take it off the stove, and add the flour. Mix off the stove.
- Add the warm milk. Put the pot back on the stove, and warm the mixture while mixing the whole time for about 1–2 minutes, until you get a creamy mixture (see picture).
- Take the pot off the stove, Off the stove, add the egg yolks 2 by 2. Mix well. Add the shredded cheese, and mix again.
- Whip the egg whites. To do so, put a pinch of salt in the egg whites and beat the egg whites, always in the same direction, using an electric hand mixer, first on low speed and then on higher speed (see picture for result). Gently and progressively, add the whipped eggs to your cheese mixture. You do not want to break your whipped egg whites, so mix very gently.
- Pour the mixture into individual ramekins (or a soufflé dish).
- Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Make sure you do not open the oven before it is ready, as this will interrupt the puffing process. Eat immediately. Enjoy!
Bon Appétit!
French Mom
