Secret tips to achieve high success making your cheese soufflé.

Such a classic French recipe. In my family, this is the type of dish we prepared anytime we needed a simple, quick dinner. The basic ingredients, cheese, milk, eggs were always on hand. Here I’m using four cheeses but you can you just one or two. Be sure to respect the quantities.

Ingredients:
For the Béchamel sauce
1 cup/250 ml milk
1 1/2 Tbsp/25 g butter
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 Tbsp potato starch
Pinch nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
For the Soufflé
4 egg yolks
6 egg whites
20-25 g each of Conté, Emmenthaler, Parmesan and Pyrenees Sheep (or gruyère)
Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 400F.

separate egg whites from egg yolks. Ideally, if you can separate them several days in advance and keep them in an air tight container, the egg whites will develop higher volume when whisking them.
Grate the cheeses and keep the Parmesan separate so you can use some for coating the soufflé dish and some to sprinkle on too of the soufflé before baking.

butter the soufflé with a pastry brush and soft butter (not melted, just softened at air temperature) thoroughly. Add 2 Tbsp of flour and 1 Tbsp of grated Parmesan and shake them around the dish until completely coated.

once all the sides are coated, shake off the excess.

prepare the ingredients for the Béchamel sauce.

Melt the butter.

once the butter is completely melted, add the flour and potato starch. Using potato starch will help the soufflé stand up a little longer after taking it out of the oven.

Cook the mixture until it bubbles look like a ‘bees nest’.

Meanwhile, scald the milk.

Remove the pot from the stove. Add the hot milk to the butter-flour mixture at once, mixing constantly. The sauce should immediately thicken. You may use a whisk instead of a wooden spoon at this point to ensure no lumps appear.

Place back on the stove, medium heat, and continue cooking another few minutes to thicken the sauce further. Mix constantly either with a wooden spoon or whisk.

Season with salt and pepper and grate some nutmeg.

Add the egg yolks one by one, mixing vigorously after each one. This will render the sauce a bit more liquid.

Continue to cook a few minutes longer, whisking constantly, to thicken the sauce again and the color changes to a paler yellow.

transfer to a large bowl.

Place the egg white in a metal mixing bowl, add a pinch of salt, and start whiling on low speed.

Whisk until medium firm. The egg whites should not be too firm so they keep rising in the oven.

Place about 1/3 if the egg whites into the bowl with the soufflé mixture.

Mix thoroughly with a spatula. No need to be careful at this point as we just want to lighten the consistency of the soufflé mixture so it can easily be incorporated into the rest of the egg whites.

Add the remainder of the egg whites, either at once or in two parts.

now fold the egg whites delicately into the mixture. If you are adding them in two parts, repeat.

Add the cheeses by folding them in. Reserve a little Parmesan to top the soufflé.

Carefully pour the mixture into the prepared soufflé dish, making sure non gets on the rim/sides.

Sprinkle with the reserved grated Parmesan and place in the preheated oven.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes until golden brown. If you are using individual soufflé fidhes, decrease baking time to 17-20 minutes.

Enjoy! Can be served with a green salad as an accompaniment for a meal.