Tea Party Diva - Life & Craft

My best ever cheese souffle recipe is a real show stopper. It’s worked perfectly for me every time. Enjoy!

The finished souffle looks like you pulled off a magic trick, but the real magic is that it is so simple. Souffles can be quite daunting, but I’ve found this one consistently reliable.

Ingredients

• 100 g butter
• 1/2 cup flour, sifted
• 1 1/2 tspns salt
• 1/2 tspn paprika
• pinch dry mustard
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups grated matured cheese
• 8 x 55 g eggs
• 1 extra egg white

Method
Preheat oven to 250 degrees C (475 degrees F). Grease a souffle dish or a ceramic dish with straight sides. Wrap a double thickness of foil or greaseproof paper (I use foil) around the outside of the souffle dish and secure it with string. The foil collar should stand approx 6 inches (15 cm) higher than the rim of the dish.

Melt the butter on a gentle heat. Add flour, salt, paprika, mustard and cayenne pepper into the pan and mix well. Gently and gradually stir in the milk. Continue to stir until the sauce thickens. Add grated cheese and mix until melted. Remove from the heat.

Separate the eggs. Beat yolks lightly. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add egg yolks to the cheese sauce, mixing well.

Here comes the crucial part and the secret to the whole souffle recipe
Mix 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the sauce (removed from the heat). Pour this mixture gently over the back of a spoon into the souffle dish. Using a spatula, very lightly fold the rest of the egg whites into this.

Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated oven at 250 degrees C (475 degrees F). Reduce heat to 200 degrees C (400 degrees F). Bake for a further 20 minutes. Remove the foil collar and serve immediately.

Serve with a garden salad. Serves 6.

Tips
When folding in the egg whites, keep a light hand, but ensure they are mixed thoroughly and evenly through the cheese sauce mixture.

Experiment with different types of cheese or combinations of cheeses

Variation
For 2 smaller souffle dishes, halve the quantities. Bake for 10 minutes at 250 degrees C (475 degrees F) and then 13-14 minutes at 200 degrees C (400 degrees F).

Make sure everyone is already seated at the table for the big moment of the arrival of the souffle. The souffle is at its crowning moment straight out of the oven, and starts to sink within a few minutes.

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