Parmesan & Gruyere Cheese Souffle – Fluffy eggs are mixed with rich Gruyere cheese and baked into perfectly airy and light cheese souffle
This week marks the return of the Recipe Challenge, after a couple-week hiatus (you can blame Thanksgiving, work, and numerous holiday parties for that). Last week, I attempted the #1 hardest thing to make, according to this list: savory souffles. I had never made souffles before so I really wanted to tackle that one.
When people hear of souffles, they mostly think about the dessert (usually chocolate). But there are also many varieties of savory souffles. The one I decided to make was a Gruyere and Parmesan Souffle. Check it out!
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| This is only 2 minutes after taking them out of the oven. It’s already started to fall a little. So make sure to serve them immediately! |
Souffles have always scared the crap out of me. I blame pop culture for that. Every time you see someone making a souffle on a TV show or movie, it goes terribly wrong. Souffles are extremely delicate objects; and sudden movements and, dare I say it, loud noises can make them fall back into their ramekins. Also, it’s important that you cook them all the way so that the souffle is sturdy enough to stay elevated. Since my oven is 100 years old, it doesn’t have a viewing window in the front for me to check the souffles without opening the oven. Oh yeah…allowing cool air to enter the oven before the souffles are done could also make them fall. Needless to say, souffles are pretty high-maintenance little biatches.
I didn’t trust my oven at ALL so I left the souffles in for like 2 more minutes than suggested just to be absolutely certain that they were cooked all the way. And when they were done, you can bet your britches that I removed the souffles from the oven ever so slowly, to the point that my arms began to cramp. You can’t take any chances, people!
Don’t be scared to try this out; it’s a lot easier than it may seem. And it only took me about 2 hrs from start to finish, so it’s less labor intensive than any of the other challenges I’ve done. Good luck!
Parmesan & Gruyere Cheese Souffle
Ingredients
- 1/2 stick butter unsalted
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk
- 1/4 cup white wine dry
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons shredded Gruyere cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter each ramekin generously and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
- Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, cayenne pepper and nutmeg. Cook without browning until mixture begins to bubble, whisking constantly, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, then wine. Cook until smooth, thick and beginning to boil, whisking constantly, about 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Mix yolks, salt and pepper in small bowl. Add yolk mixture all at once to sauce and whisk quickly to blend. Fold in 1 1/4 cups Gruyère cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (cheeses do not need to melt).
- Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/4 of whites into lukewarm souffle base to lighten. Fold in remaining whites. Transfer soufflé mixture to prepared dish. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Gruyère cheese.
- Place souffle in oven; reduce heat to 375°F. Bake until puffed, golden and gently set in center, about 25 minutes. Serve immediately.
This is a delightful take on the classic dish, showcasing the rich flavors of these cheeses, and is sure to impress your guests.
love your recipes yummy
Congratulations. What an amazing job. Think about the possibility to make this a business, it looks great.