Slice Of Life

By Eileen Goltz

Simply put, a soufflé is a light and airy baked dish that consists of egg yolks and beaten egg whites combined with a variety of other sweet or savory ingredients and served hot or cold as an appetizer, main course, or dessert. Simple, right?

So many people think that a soufflé is a really complicated, hard-to-make-it-right dish, but with a little practice and the right ingredients, even kids can make it.

Savory soufflés usually start with a béchamel sauce to which other ingredients are added to provide flavor, and sweet soufflés start with a crème pâtissière base.

The following basic soufflé instructions, modified from a great website called Mahalo.com, are great. The rest of the recipes are just variations on the soufflé theme. v

Savory Soufflé Béchamel Base Recipe

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

1 cup milk

4 eggs, separated

salt and pepper

½ tsp. cream of tartar

optional add-ins (grated cheese, puréed vegetables, etc.)

Directions:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then whisk in the flour.

Stir constantly for a couple of minutes, but not long enough for the mixture to brown.

Meanwhile bring the milk to a simmer in another pan. Slowly whisk the warm milk into the butter-and-flour mixture.

Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook for several more minutes, until thick. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Voilà–a basic béchamel sauce.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks together and set the whites aside. Whisk a small amount of the hot béchamel mixture into the beaten yolks. Repeat this two more times, then pour the hot egg/béchamel mixture back into the béchamel sauce. Whisk to combine. Gently fold in any cheese, vegetables, or other ingredients (no more than 1½ cups total). Don’t add too much, or the soufflé will be too heavy to rise. In the clean bowl of an electric mixer, whip up your egg whites with ½ teaspoon cream of tartar until they form a firm peak, then gently fold them, by hand, in one-third portions, into the béchamel mixture.

Crème Pâtissière Soufflé Base Recipe

Ingredients:

3 eggs, separated

¼ cup sugar

2 Tbsp. flour

1 cup milk

2 tsp. vanilla

add-ins (chocolate, fruit purées, extracts, etc.)

½ tsp. cream of tartar

grated cheese, sugar, flour, or bread crumbs to coat baking dishes (optional)

Directions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar together until they are pale yellow. Stir the flour into the yolk mixture. In a saucepan, combine the milk and vanilla to simmer; then, while whisking the egg mixture, pour the milk mixture into the egg mixture. Over a low heat, whisk constantly until the mixture thickens and bubbles or, if you want to use a candy thermometer, cook until 160°F. Cook for a minute or two, then remove from heat and cool. When adding the fruit purée, chocolate, or extra ingredients, don’t add too much or it will weigh it down and it won’t be light and fluffy.

In the clean bowl of an electric mixer whip up your egg whites with ½ teaspoon cream of tartar until they form a firm peak, then gently fold them, by hand, in one-third portions, into the crème pâtissière mixture.

You’ll need 1 soufflé dish or 6 small ramekins for mini soufflés and grated cheese, sugar, flour, or bread crumbs to coat baking dishes (optional).

Preheat oven to 350°F. You may want to coat the greased sides of the dishes with flour, bread crumbs, cheese, or sugar depending on if it’s a sweet or savory soufflé. Make sure that you leave room in the ramekin for the soufflé to expand. You don’t want the mixture to overflow from the dish before it cooks enough to prevent liquid spilling.

Bake the soufflé in your preheated oven until puffed and golden-brown (around 30 minutes). You can use a toothpick stuck in the side of a soufflé to test. It comes out clean when it’s ready. Do not open the oven door for the first 15—20 minutes of baking. Serve your soufflé immediately, as it will begin to fall almost immediately.

Mini Apple Soufflé

Ingredients:

8 eggs

1 cup flour

1 cup skim milk

¼ cup butter, melted

12 tsp. brown sugar

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced

12 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. In a bowl, beat the eggs for about 2 minutes, then stir in the flour and milk. Mix to combine, but do not overmix. Divide the butter between 12 muffin tins and place 1 teaspoon of brown sugar on top of the melted butter in the muffin tin. Divide the sliced apple among the 12 muffin tins and pour batter equally on top of the apples. Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and sprinkle it over the top of the soufflés. Bake for 10—15 minutes or until top is golden brown. Serve immediately. Makes 12.

Modified from Yummly.com

Corn Soufflé

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, cubed, softened

1 can (15.25 oz.) whole-kernel corn, drained

1 can (14.75 oz.) cream-style corn

1 pkg. (8.5 oz.) corn muffin mix

2 eggs

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish and set it aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and cream cheese and beat until blended. Add the corn, cream-corn, muffin mix, and eggs. Mix to combine and then place the mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake 45—50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Modified from About.com

Good Housekeeping Cheaters Chocolate Soufflé

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips (scant 1 cup)

â…“ cup sweetened condensed milk

3 large eggs, separated

2 Tbsp. confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously coat four 4-ounce ceramic or glass ramekins with nonstick baking spray with flour. In microwave-safe large bowl, microwave chocolate chips on high in 20-second increments, stirring, until just melted (1—2 minutes). Remove from microwave; with wire whisk, whisk in condensed milk. Whisk in 2 egg yolks until blended; refrigerate remaining egg yolk for another use.

In another large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat egg whites until medium-stiff peaks form (3—4 minutes). Add one-third of beaten whites to chocolate mixture, and whisk gently until incorporated. With rubber spatula, gently fold in remaining whites until just incorporated. Divide batter among prepared ramekins. If preparing ahead of time, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake. (Uncover before baking.)

Sift confectioners’ sugar over tops. Place ramekins in jelly-roll pan for easier handling. Bake 11—13 minutes or until tops rise about 1 inch above rim; do not open oven while baking. Serve immediately.

Modified from GoodHousekeeping.com

Classic Cheese Soufflé

Serves 2

Ingredients:

4½  tsp. butter

4½  tsp. flour

½ cup whole milk

½ cup sharp shredded cheddar cheese

2 eggs, separated

Directions:

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in flour until smooth; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 1—2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted. Remove from the heat. Beat egg yolks. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into egg yolk mixture. Pour into two ungreased 8-oz. ramekins or custard cups.

Bake 20—25 minutes or until the tops are puffed and centers appear set. Serve immediately.

Modified form tasteofhome.com

Egg-And-Grits Soufflé

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk

½ cup stone-ground grits (not instant)

4 large eggs, separated

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 dashes Tabasco sauce

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly butter a 1-quart soufflé dish.

Combine 1½ cups water and the milk in a heavy saucepan and warm the mixture over medium-low heat. Slowly stir or whisk in the grits until smooth and thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Lightly beat the egg yolks in a bowl. Gradually stir some of the hot grits into the yolks to temper them. Then stir the tempered egg yolks into the grits. Set aside to cool slightly. Stir the Parmesan cheese, Tabasco sauce, salt, and pepper into the grits.

Place egg whites in a bowl, add a pinch of salt, and beat with an electric mixer until the whites are stiff but not dry. Using a rubber spatula, fold the whites into the grits until just combined. Scrape the mixture into the soufflé dish and bake in the center of the oven until the soufflé rises and is lightly browned on top, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Modified from Parade, March 2009, by Sheila Lukins

© Eileen Goltz

Eileen Goltz is a freelance kosher foods writer. She graduated from Indiana University and the Cordon Bleu Cooking School in Paris. She lectures on various food-related topics across the U.S. and Canada and writes columns for the CJN in Chicago, kosherscoop.com, and the OU Shabbat Shalom website, www.ou.org. She also wrote the Perfectly Pareve Cookbook (Feldheim).

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