The Soufflé and All Its Variations

Baked soufflés are made by combining a rich sauce or puree with beaten egg whites and are baked in special, deep moulds with straight sides. They come out of the oven brown and risen and must be served immediately, because they "fall" easily.

Salty or sweet, soufflés can be baked in a large tin or in small tins for individual serving. When you buy soufflés moulds, choose pretty ones, because hot soufflés are usually served in the mould they are baked in. For successful soufflés, it is very important to beat the egg whites shortly before you use them. If you let them sit before you add them to the sauce or if you let the soufflé sit a long time before you bake it, the egg whites become watery. It is best to serve hot soufflés with a simple salad. Sweet soufflés can be perfectly combined with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.

Cheese soufflé

Preheat oven to 180 °C. Grease well with butter a soufflé mould with a diameter of 18 cm or four small moulds and then sprinkle them with finely grated rusk. Melt 125 g butter in a saucepan and add 1 cup of all purpose flour. Stir well over low heat for 3 minutes. Take the saucepan off the heat, add 1 cup warm milk, mix or beat and then put the saucepan back on the heat and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Take the saucepan off the heat. Beat 4 egg yolks and add them to the sauce, stirring continuously. Add 125 g grated cheddar cheese, salt, pepper and ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard. Let the sauce cool off a bit. Beat 4 egg whites until they make peaks. Add 1/3 of the egg whites into the cold sauce with a metal spoon and then the rest, stirring slightly. Put the mixture in the mould you have prepared, filling it up to 1 cm from the lip. Add 1 tablespoon of finely grated parmesan. Bake the soufflé for 40-45 minutes for the large mould or 25-30 minutes for the individual moulds. Serve immediately.

Variations

 Soufflé with flavoring
Add 1 finely cut fresh onion and 1 tablespoon finely cut fresh flavorings (chervil, parsley or marjoram) at the same time with the cheese.


Spinach soufflé
Replace cheddar cheese with ½ cup boiled spinach, finely chopped (after you chop it, squeeze it with your hands so that as much water as possible is strained), a pinch of grated nutmeg, 1 tablespoon grated parmesan and 2 tablespoons grated Swiss cheese. Add these to the sauce, before you add the egg whites.


Salmon soufflé
Replace the cheddar cheese with 250 gr canned red salmon, drained and cut and 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley. Add these to the sauce before you add the egg whites.


Basic sweet soufflé
Preheat oven to 190 °C. Cover with very fine sugar a soufflé mould with diameter 20 cm. Melt 45 gr butter into a small saucepan, add 45 gr all purpose flour and stir over low heat for 1 minute or until it becomes a smooth mass. Take the saucepan off the heat and slowly add 1 cup warm milk, stirring continuously. Add ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla and put the saucepan over the heat again, stirring continuously until the mixture sets and becomes smooth. Let the sauce cool off. Beat 4 egg whites and add them slowly, stirring continuously until the mixture becomes thick and smooth. Let the sauce cool off. Beat 4 egg whites and pour them slowly into the cold sauce, stirring well. Beat 5 egg whites until they make peaks and add them slowly to the sauce, using a metal spoon. Pour the mixture carefully into the soufflé mould, filling it up to 1 cm from the lip. Put the mould into a pan half-filled with hot water. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 180 ºC and bake for another 25 minutes. Serve immediately.

Variations

Coffee soufflé: Replace half of the milk with ½ cup strong black coffee.

Chocolate soufflé: Melt 60 gr bitter chocolate over hot water and add it to the sauce before you add the egg yolks.

Huckleberry soufflé: Melt 200 gr fresh huckleberries in the blender. Add them to the sauce along with the egg yolks.

Raspberry soufflé: Melt 250 gr raspberries in the blender. Strain them to remove the seeds. Add them to the sauce along with the egg yolks.

Mocha soufflé: Melt 1-2 tablespoons instant coffee with 1 tablespoon hot water. Melt 60 g bitter chocolate over hot water and mix it with the coffee. Let the mixture cool off and add it to the sauce before you add the egg yolks.

Tips for success:

• Add flavorings to the main sauce before you add the beaten whites
• The eggs must be at room temperature
• In order to successfully beat the whites, there must be no trace of yolk in them. The bowl and the beater must be dry. If a yolk falls into the white while you are separating them, remove it carefully with a small spoon
• For better results, beat the whites with a whisk than with an electric beater
• The whites should be beaten until they make peaks. When it is ready, the mixture must stay on the beater when you have it upright. Do not overbeat the whites because they will become watery when you add them to the sauce and the soufflé will not rise as it should
• Add the beaten whites fast into the sauce
• In order to ensure a uniform baking of the soufflé, you should put the mould into a pan after the oven has heated
• Remove a rack from the oven so that the soufflé can rise
• If you open the oven door while the soufflé is baking, be careful not to pull out the rack