I believe in miracles, and this is probably why they happen to me. This spring, in the most unexpected circumstances that I could not even dream of, I worked side-by-side with the great Sylvestre Wahid. Perhaps you follow Belonika and cook by her recipes. It was Nika who brought Sylvestre immense popularity in the Russian-speaking world. Sylvestre is a person with unique talent, willpower and an interesting biography. You can read about Sylvestre just by googling him, but I want to share the recipe with you. I wanted to reproduce it after working together. Anyone who considers themselves an advanced cook should be able to cook this French classic, the cheese soufflé. All you need is to master some classic techniques, and the result will exceed expectations.
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 10 minutes
- Serves: 3
- Difficulty: easy
- Course: breakfast
- Cookware: mixer, whisk, saucepan, silicone spatula, 3 ramekins or porcelain cups
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 50 g hard cheese, grated
For béchamel sauce:
- 75 ml milk
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp flour
For cheese sauce:
- 100 ml cream
- 50 g hard cheese, grated
- butter for greasing
Cooking method
Step 1
Heat the oven to 180°C. Gently butter the ramekins with a brush along the entire inner side surface in a vertical movement from bottom to top. This will help distribute the butter so that it does not obstruct the growth of the soufflé.
Step 2
Cook the béchamel sauce. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir with a whisk and gradually add flour. Constantly stirring, wait for the mixture to simmer, and slowly pour in the milk. Whisk until creamy and remove from heat.
Step 3
In a large bowl, mix the yolks until smooth. Add béchamel sauce and mix well. Then add cheese and stir.
Step 4
Beat the whites until stiff. Using a silicone spatula, transfer a portion of the whites into the yolk-cheese mixture and mix gently. Repeat portion by portion until complete.
Step 5
Fill the ramekins to about two thirds full with the mixture. Bake for 10 minutes.
Step 6
Cook the cheese sauce. In a saucepan, warm the cream over low heat. Add the cheese and, stirring constantly, let the cheese dissolve completely. Remove the sauce from heat. Serve the soufflé immediately, topped with cheese sauce.
My tips and tricks:
The soufflé that you and I have now learned to make is an exquisite breakfast worth waking up a little bit earlier for. When you master all the techniques and it will be very easy for you to make a soufflé, I propose to complicate the task and prepare a soufflé with different fillings: mushrooms, bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, crab meat, salmon, truffle, shallots or chives, and any other that come to mind. The main rule: they should be added to soufflé finely chopped or puréed and pre-cooked, so as to minimize their liquid content. Otherwise, the soufflé may not rise.
- 3 eggs
- 50 g hard cheese, grated
- For béchamel sauce:
- 75 ml milk
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp flour
- For cheese sauce:
- 100 ml cream
- 50 g hard cheese, grated
- butter for greasing
- Heat the oven to 180°C. Gently butter the ramekins with a brush along the entire inner side surface in a vertical movement from bottom to top. This will help distribute the butter so that it does not obstruct the growth of the soufflé.
- Cook the béchamel sauce. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir with a whisk and gradually add flour. Constantly stirring, wait for the mixture to simmer, and slowly pour in the milk. Whisk until creamy and remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, mix the yolks until smooth. Add béchamel sauce and mix well. Then add cheese and stir.
- Beat the whites until stiff. Using a silicone spatula, transfer a portion of the whites into the yolk-cheese mixture and mix gently. Repeat portion by portion until complete.
- Fill the ramekins to about two thirds full with the mixture. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Cook the cheese sauce. In a saucepan, warm the cream over low heat. Add the cheese and, stirring constantly, let the cheese dissolve completely. Remove the sauce from heat. Serve the soufflé immediately, topped with cheese sauce.