Step-by-step cheese souffle

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 20g butter, softened
• 1 cup (90g) dried (packaged) breadcrumbs
• 30g butter, extra
• 1/4 cup (40g) plain flour
• 1 1/4 cups (310ml) milk
• 2 cups (160g) coarsely grated vintage cheddar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 large (60g) eggs, at room temperature, separated

• Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Place an oven tray in the oven to preheat. Brush the base and side of four 1 1/2 cup (375ml) ramekins with butter to grease. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs in the ramekins and rotate to coat each base and side with breadcrumbs. Turn ramekins upside down and gently tap to remove excess crumbs.
  2. Melt the extra butter in a saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until mixture bubbles and starts to come away from the side of the pan. Remove from heat and add half the milk. Use a balloon whisk to whisk until mixture is smooth. Add remaining milk and whisk until smooth. Return to heat and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat. Add the cheese, mustard and pepper and stir until cheese melts and mixture is smooth.
  3. Add the egg yolks and stir until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Use an electric mixer to whisk the eggwhites in a clean, dry bowl until soft peaks form.
  4. Add one-quarter of the eggwhites to the cheese mixture and use a metal spoon to fold through until just combined. Add the remaining eggwhites and gently fold until just combined.
  5. Pour the cheese mixture into the ramekins and smooth the tops. Run your finger around the inside rim of each ramekin, about 2cm into the souffle (this will help the souffle rise more evenly and give a top hat appearance). Place the souffle on the preheated oven tray and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown and puffed. Serve immediately.

  Notes

  • Use eggs at room temperature as eggwhites will incorporate more air while whisking than cold eggwhites will - producing a lighter souffle.
  • Preheating the oven tray provides instant heat for the souffle to rise.
  • Use a clean, dry bowl with clean beaters to whisk the eggwhites. Any residual oil or detergent reduces the amount of air incorporated in whisking, resulting in a flatter souffle.
  • Add only one-quarter of the whites to the roux (cheese sauce) initially to loosen mixture. Less work is involved in folding the remainder into the roux, preventing the mixture from deflating.