Today I made my first Cheese Souffle. It was a recipe adapted from Julia Child’s by Sur la table. At the Cooking School** the students make small individual souffles.
Here’s my baked souffle. It would have risen higher if I used a smaller baking dish.
It’s important to get all your ingredients ready before you start any of the cooking. Here is the melted butter before I added the flour, hot milk, seasonings and the prepared baking dish.
Separated eggs and cheese at the ready.
The finished béchamel slightly tinted by the paprika…
The whipped egg whites… should have kept whisking a bit longer for stiffer peaks.
The egg whites and cheese mixed into the béchamel…
The mixture poured into the prepared baking dish ready for the oven. Unfortunately, too big of a dish.
- 2 tbs finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 2½ tbs butter
- 3 tbs flour
- 1 cup hot milk
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- pinch of white pepper
- pinch of nutmeg
- 4 egg yolks
- 5 egg whites
- 1 cup coarsely grated Swiss cheese
- Preheat over to 400 degrees F
- Set rack on the lower ⅓ level
- Measure out all ingredients
- Butter a 7½ inch diameter x 3 inch deep baking dish
- Roll the grated cheese in the buttered baking dish
- Melt butter in 2½ quart saucepan
- Stir in flour until smooth about 2 minutes
- Let cool for a moment
- Pour in hot milk
- Whisk vigorously to blend
- Return pan to heat
- Stir with wooden spoon
- Boil slowly for 3 minutes until sauce is very thick
- Whisk in seasonings
- Remove from heat
- Whisk in 4 egg yolks one at a time
- In a separate bowl, beat egg whites to stiff peaks
- Scoop a quarter of the egg whites into the sauce
- Stir them in with a wooden spoon
- Add some of the remaining egg whites
- Rapidly but delicately fold egg whites in with a spatula alternating egg whites with some of the grated cheese until all are incorporated
- Turn the oven down to 375 degrees F
- Put mixture into prepared baking dish
- Bake until the souffle has puffed 2 to 3 inches and the top has browned
- Bring to table as soon as it is done
You can see in this how-to video, Jacques Pepin and Julia Child making a souffle. There are some commercials in the middle but keep watching. It’s much easier with 2 people/4 hands. Pepin is such a Master. I now know I used too big of a baking dish and didn’t have stiff enough egg white peaks. Next time I will also use a “collar”. I need some copper pans. All in all, not bad for a Greek Gal’s first try at a French Cheese Souffle.
** ICYMI I work at Sur la table Cooking School.
