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Make a
Soufflé
All about eggs |
 Beaten
egg whites are used in many baking recipes as a form of
leavening. Soufflés rely solely on it for its rise.
Meringues
are made from beaten egg whites where sugar, if the soufflé is sweet,
is added during the process. It can either be soft, firm or peak.
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Escoffier
said "kings wait for soufflés; soufflés do not wait for kings." |
SOUFFLÉS: A soufflé can be sweet or savory and served as a main
dish, appetizer, side dish or dessert. It is
made from a flavored base, then lightened with egg whites and baked in a round,
straight-sided earthenware dish. It bakes very high and then falls quickly, so
it is served straight from the oven. The outer crust is crisp and the interior
is soft. It's a classical dish with many flavors!
"Soufflé" by its very definition mean "to blow
up", suggesting a delicate and fragile structure. There are many styles of
soufflés - sweet, savory, and frozen dessert ones, but not matter what type,
they should always have a light airy texture and creamy center.
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"The only thing that will make a soufflé fall is if it
knows you are afraid of it." - James
Beard |
The entire soufflé structure is a delicate one.
It is made by folding
whipped egg whites into a flavored
base. When it bakes, the heat of the oven causes the trapped "air" in the egg
whites to expand. During this process, steam also assists in the mechanical
leavening and the soufflé pushes up ! Once the mixture reaches its maximum
expansion, proteins in the flour and other ingredients begin to coagulate, and
the starches gelatinize, setting the structure.
People seem to be intimidated about opening the
oven; soufflés are pretty stable while cooking, but when they come out of the
oven, you have to serve them right away. When you remove it from the oven, the
steam subsides and cools, and the trapped air contracts, causing the soufflé
structure to start to fall.
A savory soufflé starts with a roux (pronounced
roo) -- in this case, a mixture of flour and butter. Béchamel (pronounced
bay-shah-MEHL) sauce is made by blending hot milk with the roux to form the base
of the soufflé; egg yolks and cheese are then added. Beaten egg whites are
folded in.
SOUFFLÉ TIPS: Here are a
few tips to help you keep the wind in your
soufflés
and keep the compliments flying. See also, "How
to Beat Eggs.
Equipment:
The Soufflé Dish, sometimes referred to as a mold, is usually made in white
porcelain. The standard size is an 8-inch, 1-1/2-quart white porcelain, but it
can vary depending on the recipe. No matter what size, the dish should have
straight, tall sides and
must withstand heat. When filled, the unbaked soufflé mixture should come to
about 1-inch above the rim of the dish. Purchase from any good cookware store,
such as Williams-Sonoma.
You could also use a smaller porcelain dish as well, called
ramekins. They tend to be used more
 Q:
If you don't have a soufflé dish, can you
make a soufflé? A: Of course you can!
Better cooking success is
achieved with a deep dish with sides that are at a right angle to the
bottom. They rise more evenly than those with flared, or angled sides,
such as some custard cups. In fact, when I made my
first one, I used a deep Pyrex (heatproof glass) 2-quart measuring cup
that has straight sides and it worked well. |
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 | Precise measurements
are the key to a successful soufflé. To measure flour: with a spoon,
lightly pile flour into the tablespoon measure. With a knife, scrape the
flour across the top of the tablespoon measure. |
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| Make sure you have prepared all added
ingredients, called "Mis
en Place", a French term for pre-assembling your wet and dry
ingredients. It helps so that recipes can be assembled quickly and easily
and helps to prevent your leaving something out.
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| Once the egg whites are beaten, they start
to deflate so you need to work quickly.
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| If you don't have cream of tartar, you may substitute
salt or 3 drops of lemon juice. |
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| Do not overwhip the egg whites, or they
will not incorporate evenly into the base and, when baked, the soufflés
will have pieces of chewy egg white in the center.
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| Make sure you line the soufflé dish with butter and
sugar for a sweet soufflé, or butter and cheese, butter and crumbs, or
cornmeal for a savory one. |
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| The oven should be properly preheated
before placing the soufflé inside. To rise properly, a it initially needs
a very hot oven. |
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| Soufflés can be made 3 days ahead. Wrap in
foil and freeze; do not thaw. Uncover before baking.
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| A cheese soufflé will always crack slightly. If your
soufflé forms a tough crust, the oven temperature was too hot. If it
doesn't rise, the oven temperature was too low. |
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ADVICE ON BAKING SOUFFLÉS:
Prepare the soufflé dish.
1. Brush the inside of the soufflé dish
(ramekin) with melted sweet butter, being sure to butter the rim. Also,
make sure you sprinkle it with about 2 tablespoons sugar for a sweet
soufflé or flour for a savory soufflé. Turn the mold
on its side, tapping the mold to lightly coat the entire interior. Invert
the mold and tap to release any excess
2. Sometimes you can place the soufflé mixture
into the dish by using a large pastry bag with a 2-inch opening (no tip). If you do not have a pastry bag, you can use a
rubber spatula to gently spoon the soufflé mixture into the dish. Pipe into
the soufflé dish. The best way to do this is to hold the pastry bag directly
over each mold with the tip down. Place the tip inside the mold about 1 inch
from the bottom. Using even pressure, pipe the soufflé mixture into the mold,
lifting the pastry bag straight up as the mold fills. When you have filled the
mold about 3/4s full, stop squeezing and lift the tip straight
up, leaving a small tail at the top of the soufflé. If
you fill a soufflé dish more, it may be necessary to extend the height of
the dish with a collar, needed to support the top of the soufflé until the
contents set.
To make a
collar: Cut a band of waxed or lightly greased baking paper, double
thickness, 4 inches wide and long enough to go around the dish, allowing for at
least a 3-inch overlap. Butter and sprinkle the band with flours or crumbs. Wrap
it around the outside of the dish with the buttered side in and fasten it to the
ramekin with a string or rubber band. The collar should extend 2 to 3 inches
above the rim of the container.
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Q:
Can a soufflé recipe be doubled? A:
Yes, it can be doubled. But it
cannot be baked in a mold that is larger than two quarts because it won't
bake right. You will need to use a second mold. |
Creating a Top Hat
Design: Once the soufflé mixture is in the dish you can use a spatula
or knife and trace a circle 1 inch deep about one inch from the side of the
dish. This will let the soufflé rise more in the middle, making it look like a
top hat. If you're making a frozen soufflé, you can replace the string with a
rubber band. Fill the mold to the top of the collar and smooth off the top. Put
it in the freezer until the soufflé is firm, then remove the collar.
 If a sweet
soufflé doesn't rise serve it as a warm mousse. It's still very good to eat.
If it's a
savory soufflé, it then becomes a warm cheese mousse that also tastes good.
It's light, just not as light as a soufflé. |
Baking. Some
recipes call for a water bath (Bain-Marie). Have ready a shallow roasting pan to
set the filled soufflé dish into when you are ready to bake it. The roasting pan
should be half filled with hot water. The water bath with the filled soufflé
dish in it is then placed in the properly preheated oven to bake the soufflé. Be
very careful not to splash any of the water into the soufflé.
It will be easier to remove the soufflé from the
oven if you place the dish on a baking sheet. Set the baking sheet in the center
of the oven; do not place the baking sheet under a rack. If the soufflés are too
close to the top of the oven or under a rack, they will stick to the oven or the
rack when they rise. If the soufflés are too close to the bottom of the oven,
the bottoms will burn before the insides are properly cooked.
If a soufflé cooks too quickly from too hot an
oven, it will rise well but collapse when removed. Generally, dessert soufflés
should bake at a higher temperature than savory soufflés, as the dessert
mixtures tend to be more liquid.
Bake soufflés until doubled in size, puffed and
almost firm to touch but center still moves slightly when dishes are gently
shaken. The color of the top of the soufflé is also a guide; it should be a
nice, golden brown color.
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Q:
If you made the soufflé in little ramekins, could
you remove it intact and put it on something? (Like a plate.) Or would you
have to eat it from the container?
A:
Not easily. If you do, you'd ruin that lovely top, and you'd have
to rely on some serious garnish to hide the ragged edges. Just place the
ramekin on a plate and serve. |
Serving
Have the sauce ready, if one is to be served.
Have your individual plates and silver ready.
Carefully remove the soufflé from the oven, then
set the soufflé dish on a flat platter or large plate. If using a waterbath,
leave it in to cool along with the oven. Then, remove.
Dust the top with a little confectioners sugar
for sweet soufflés or Parmesan cheese if the soufflé is savory, and cheese is
called for in the recipe. Carefully remove the string tie and very gently peel
away the paper collar.
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My soufflé often has a wide crack in it. How do I
prevent that from happening?
A:
Your oven is too hot. A cheese soufflé
will have a little crack. But if you have a HUGE crack, that means the oven
is too hot, the soufflé will rise too quickly. The crust forms before the
soufflé has finished rising and it cracks. Just like a cheesecake. |
Serve the soufflé quickly!! But, not before you show it off to
your guests prior to it falling -- which it will !! Hot soufflés must be served
immediately, as they'll start to sink if they stand for more than a minute or
two; don't worry if it falls just a little bit.
You can use a fork to cut the soufflé and serve,
which will be easier on it than a spoon which will deflate it faster. If
properly cooked, the center should still be slightly runny. Each serving should
include a portion of the top crust and some of the creamy inside. Spoon the
sauce on the side.
If you want a classic presentation, wrap a white
linen napkin around the sides of the soufflé dish after the paper collar is off.
Fasten it securely with a small straight pin. But this is not really necessary;
the main thing is to get the soufflé "to the church on time."
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