Cheese soufflé in 4 easy steps
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Cheese soufflé in 4 easy steps

By Good Food

Didn't think you could manage a souffle? Try this simple step by step recipe and conquer a classic

  • Prep:15 mins
    Cook:30 mins
    Plus cooling time
  • Serves 4
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 402
  • fat 29g
  • saturates 15g
  • carbs 18g
  • sugars 4g
  • fibre 1g
  • protein 19g
  • salt 1.02g

Ingredients

  • 50g butter, plus extra for greasing
  • 25g breadcrumbs
  • 50g plain flour
  • 1 tsp mustard powder
  • 300ml milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 100g grated extra-strong cheddar, (blue cheese, goat's cheese and smoked cheeses also work well)

Tip

Vanilla soufflé
Line dish with butter and caster sugar, then make the soufflé as above, adding the seeds from 1 vanilla pod and 100g caster sugar and omitting the cheese and mustard.Soufflé hasn’t risen?
Why? The egg whites may have been overwhisked (see below) or folded in too vigorously, causing the air to be knocked out of them. And if the oven door is opened before the 25 minutes is up, this would also cause the soufflé to collapse.Make individual soufflés
Fill six small ramekins up to three-quarters full, top-hat and then bake as before for 10-15 mins.Molten chocolate soufflé
Line dish with ground almonds. Replace 2 tbsp of the flour with cocoa powder; omit mustard and cheese. Bake. Meanwhile, make a sauce by heating 142ml carton cream, pouring over 100g chopped dark chocolate and stirring until smooth. Drizzle onto the soufflé to serve.Soufflé is runny inside
There should be a little runny mixture in the very centre of the soufflé, but if it is completely runny inside it will need to cook for longer.

Method

  1. Preparing the soufflé dish: Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 and place a baking sheet on the middle shelf. Butter a 15cm soufflé dish generously, then sprinkle in the breadcrumbs and rotate the dish to ensure the butter is evenly coated. Tip out any excess breadcrumbs.

  2. Making a thick white sauce: In a pan, melt the butter over a medium heat; stir in the flour and mustard. Cook, stirring, for 1 min. Take off the heat and gradually stir in the milk, mixing it in thoroughly before adding more. Return to the heat and stir continuously until very thick (around 10 mins). Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool. Crack the eggs, placing the whites into a clean bowl and stirring the yolks into the sauce. Stir in cheddar and season well.

  3. Adding the egg whites: Use a clean whisk to beat the egg whites until peaks form that just hold their shape (electric is best as it will make the job much quicker). Then take a metal spoon and gently stir the whipped whites into the white sauce in a figure of eight.

  4. Top-hatting: Spoon the mixture into the dish. Run a cutlery knife around the edge to create a ‘top hat’ effect; this ensures the soufflé rises above the rim and doesn’t stick. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 25-30 mins until the top is golden and risen and has a slight wobble. Serve immediately.

  5. EQUIPMENT: 15cm soufflé dish, saucepan, 2 large mixing bowls, wooden spoon, spatula, baking sheet, large metal spoon, measuring jug, grater, electric whisk, cutlery knife.

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