Cheese Souffle

I admit, I was hesitant to ever make a souffle. Sounds fancy, delicate, and therefore, complicated. A lot of people shy away from making souffles. What if it falls flat?

I decided I didn't care anymore, I was just going to dive in and do it! I read many different recipes over and over, and watched countless Youtube videos to prepare myself for the upcoming challenge of finally conquering the elusive "souffle".

Let me tell you, it was not as bad as I thought. You just need to be gentle with it.

*Warning: if you want to take the ultimate "tall, perfectly puffed" souffle picture to tout your cooking skills and show off to friends and family, I suggest taking the pics right after it comes out of the oven. Even the best made souffle will start to fall as it cools, as mine did*

I decided to try a recipe by Alton Brown. He seems to know what he's doing, and he had a good recipe that was a no frills cheddar cheese souffle. I love sharp cheddar, happened to have it on hand, so that's what I went with. It turned out PERFECTLY! This souffle was like eating a cloud made of cheesy goodness.

This recipe makes about 5 souffles depending on how big your ramekins are. Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients:

3 Tbl butter plus more for greasing the inside of the ramekins

2 Tbl grated parmesan

3 Tbl flour

1 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/3 C hot milk

4 large egg yolks

6 oz freshly grated sharp cheddar

5 egg whites + 1 Tbl water

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

2. Use room temperature butter to grease an 8-inch souffle mold. Add the grated Parmesan and roll around the mold to cover the sides. Cover with plastic wrap and place into the freezer for 5 minutes.

3. In a small saucepan, heat the butter. Allow all of the water to cook out.

4. In a separate bowl combine the flour, dry mustard, garlic powder, and kosher salt. Whisk this mixture into the melted butter. Cook for 2 minutes.

5. Whisk in the hot milk and turn the heat to high. Once the mixture reaches a boil, remove from the heat.

6. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks to a creamy consistency. Slowly add the yolks into the warm milk mixture, constantly whisking. Remove from the heat and add the cheese. Whisk until incorporated. You'll want a consistency like this:

7. In a separate bowl, using a hand mixer, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until glossy and firm. Add 1/4 of the mixture to the base. Continue to add the whites by thirds, folding very gently. I would recommend using a spatula for this. You want a mixing tool with a soft, large surface area to ever so gently mix in the egg whites. If you mix it like you would say, a cake batter, your souffle will not rise. You don't want to disturb the air content in the egg white mixture.

8. Pour the mixture into the souffle mold. Fill the mold to 1/2-inch from the top. Place on an aluminum pie pan. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. It's also important to note that you'll want to just check on your souffle from the oven window. Don't open the oven door to check on it. Any slight temperature disturbance may cause the souffle to fall.

Enjoy!