Goat Cheese and Herb Souffle Recipe | Sur La Table (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to a soufflé? ›

Heat matters. Make sure the oven is preheated; that initial hot blast expands the air trapped inside the bubbly foam of batter, which makes it rise. Having the soufflé base hot or warm when you fold in the egg whites helps the temperature rise quickly, too.

If the egg whites are not mixed enough, they will be too heavy to rise, but if they are over-whipped they will collapse in the oven. Finally, and most problematically, any cross-contamination between yolks and whites will cause the whole concoction to collapse, which is the bane of many dessert chefs' days.

To rise properly, soufflés need a heavy, straight-sided vessel with a fluted rim. Uses for these small dishes, also sometimes called ramekins, go far beyond the eggy French classic. “They're perfect for any time you want to construct a charcuterie board or cheese board,” says Gold.

When the egg mixture is baked in a 350-degree oven, those air bubbles trapped in the egg whites expand, making the souffle rise. The heat also causes the protein to stiffen a bit, and along with the fat from the yolk, it forms a kind of scaffold that keeps the souffle from collapsing.

According to La Varenne Practique (a timeless masterwork you should consider owning if learning more about classic French cooking appeals), there are only a few critical points to perfecting a souffle: a base of the right consistency, stiff egg whites, and the careful folding of the base and the beaten whites.

The key is in the ingredients. The lighter the base mixture, the longer it will hold. The most flexible mixtures are those made for light dessert souffles like lemon, lime and raspberry. They can easily be refrigerated for two to three hours.

Also, some tips from Better Homes and Gardens: use a collar, beat your egg whites to a stiff peak but remember to GENTLY fold them in, and don't open the oven door for at least 20-25 minutes to prevent cold air from collapsing the rising souffle. And yes, even properly cooked souffles do deflate somewhat.

The Washington Post explains that the protein in egg whites can only expand so much; if you over-whip them, they won't have the elasticity needed to continue to expand in the oven heat, which causes the soufflé to collapse.

If you take too long to use the batter, the egg whites will become watery over time. This is why I preheat my pan ahead of time and use all the batter immediately. If the egg whites are not stiff enough, they will cause the batter to fall flat and become watery.

'The reason a soufflé doesn't rise sometimes is because during this folding process, you have beaten out too many air bubbles. 'So we tell people to under-fold rather than over-fold. Even if there's still little streaks of egg whites, leave it,' he says.

How far in advance can you make a soufflé? ›

You can make the soufflés up to this stage up to 2 days ahead. Cover and chill. When ready to serve, turn the soufflés out of their dishes, peel off the lining paper, then put them on a baking sheet lined with small squares of baking paper.

Don't peek until after the first half of baking is completed, or the soufflé could collapse. It should rise two to three inches above the rim; you want a dry, firm, golden-brown crust with a moist, creamy inside (when testing with a knife, the blade will be wet, but not covered with runny liquid).

If you don't have a soufflé dish or another deep casserole dish, try making your soufflé in a straight-sided saucepan. For individual soufflés, bake them in ramekins — you can divide the batter from a larger batch between each dish.

The acid in cream of tartar helps strengthen and stabilize the proteins in the egg whites—making the foam studier and less likely to collapse. Think of cream of tartar as your insurance policy for soufflés that rise perfectly!

Egg yolks get whisked in for even more richness, and coagulation—as the eggs cook, they set, just like when you fry or scramble them, allowing the soufflé to hold onto its loft for at least some time before deflating.

Some souffle dishes have a collar, and some people add one with tin foil in order to make the souffle rise higher. If your dish has a collar, fill it all the way to the top of the pan. If it doesn't have one, three quarters of the way will do. Those souffles that collapse when a pin drops are too dry.

Place the ramekins on the hot baking tray (to give them an immediate burst of heat) in the top of the oven and bake for 8–12 minutes until well risen and cooked, but still uniformly wobbly when lightly shaken. Serve immediately. There should be about 1 tsp undercooked soufflé mixture in the centre.

Bake 17 — 20 minutes until souffles are puffy but still jiggle slightly when the baking sheet is gently nudged. Remove the souffles from the oven and immediately place each ramekin on a small plate topped with a napkin or doily to keep the ramekin from moving while in transit.