Twice Baked Cheese Soufflés

 

Twice Baked Cheese Soufflés. I am really excited to share this recipe with you today for these fool proof twice baked cheese soufflé.  Wonderfully rich and incredibly easy to make, the recipe makes 6 individual soufflés. 

These are just perfect for when you are wanting a nice light supper.  They are also great as a first course when you are entertaining as they can totally be made ahead, napping with cream and cheese and reheating just prior to your needing to serve them.

 

Quick, easy and convenient, what more can you ask for?  Not a lot I tell you.  These are fabulous! 

I discovered the recipe many years ago when I was waiting in the Doctor's office when I was living down in Brenchley.  I discovered it in a magazine in the waiting room, copied it out onto paper and have been making them ever since.

In fact, they were a real favorite in the Manor where I worked also.  They just loved them!  I served them at various functions and they were actually something which was I requested to leave in the refrigerator for them to heat up at the weekends on occasion.

A lot of people are really intimidated by the idea of making soufflés, but trust me when I tell you these are very simple to make. I have never had the go wrong. Never.

They also use incredibly simple ingredients.  Eggs, flour, milk, butter, grainy mustard, a good cheddar, an onion, some seasonings and aromatics and cream to finish. Nothing extraordinary here.  Nothing.

 

It should go without saying that you want to use a really good cheddar cheese for these. I like to use a quality extra sharp cheese.  This will give you a lovely flavor.

  

Oh how I am going to miss the great cheddars I was able to buy in the UK.  They made the absolute best cheddar cheese there.  Rich and delicious.

Just buy the best that you can get and you will be okay.  Since cheddar is one of the main flavoring ingredients, this is really important.

 

The recipe does require the use of whole milk. Don't be tempted to stint on this. You will not get as nice of a result if you use low fat milk. 

The milk is steeped with the flavor of a whole peeled onion, bay leaf and a whole clove.  This adds additional flavor.

The milk is used to form the basis of the soufflés, which is basically a very thick cream sauce into which you will melt most of the cheese and beat in the egg yolks.  If you can make a cream sauce, you can do this.  

 

The only thing you really need to be careful of here is that you don't scramble the egg yolks.  Whisk the creamy cheese mixture until it is lukewarm and then beat in the yolks one at a time.  This is also when you add the grainy mustard.

You can use any whole grain mustard you like, but I, personally, like a Dijon style of grainy mustard.

Next thing you do is to whisk your egg whites until stiff and begin folding them into your mixture.  This is best done in thirds. Stir the first third in and then fold in the remainder.  

 

Its okay to have a few visible streaks of egg white. What you don't want to do is to knock all of the air out.  

These are baked initially in well buttered single sized ramekins.  Straight sided ones work best.  Butter them really well so that they don't stick.

The filled ramekins are put into a roasting tin and boiling water is added to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. This is called a Bain Marie.  

I always find this a lot easier to do if I put the roasting tin holding the ramekins into the oven first and then add the water, carefully from the side.

 

That's it! This initial bake will see the rise beautifully.  Once this is done, you simply need to tip the out into another baking dish, nap them with some cream, dust with more cheese and bake again.

This is where you can do them ahead of time. You can do everything but the final napping and baking well ahead of time, even up to a day ahead, which makes them perfect for entertaining!

Just make them to that point, pop them into a baking dish, and cover with some plastic cling film, if you are going to bake them all at once.  If you are going to bake them in smaller numbers, then just pop them into a plastic container with a lid.  

Then you can just take out as many as you need when you need them.  Pop into your baking dish, nap with the cream, sprinkle on the additional cheese and bake. Easy peasy!

They rise again beautifully on the second bake and end up with a lovely cheesy crust, not to mention that rich cream sauce.  DELICIOUSLY simple! 

For a luncheon all you need is a tossed salad on the side.  For a heartier supper I would add some cooked vegetables on the side.

I have never frozen these so I can't say for sure if you can successfully do that or not. I suggest you freeze one and see how that works before you freeze them all. (Freeze one, then thaw and bake as below.)

These truly are simple to make and fabulously tasty. I really hope you will be inspired to give them a go!

 

Twice Baked Cheese Soufflés

Yield: 6

Author: Marie Rayner

These are wonderfully rich and light and so very easy to make. I got the recipe from out of a magazine in the Doctor's waiting office one day (I couldn't begin to tell you which one) and I brought it home and adapted it to our tastes. They have become a firm favourite in my repertoire.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup (300ml) whole milk (1 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 of a small onion, peeled and studded with 1 clove and 1 bay leaf
• 3 TBS (40g) butter, plus more for greasing
• 1/3 cup (40g) plain flour
• 1 1/4 cup (150g) of good strong cheddar, grated and divided
• 1 TBS coarse grainy mustard
• salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg to taste
• 3 large free range eggs, separated
• 1 cup (240 ml) of double cream

Instructions

1. Place the milk in a small pan along with the onion, clove and bay leaf. Bring slowly just to the boil, then remove it from the heat and leave it to infuse for 30 minutes. At the end of that time, remove the onion, clove and bay leaf and discard.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F.
3. Take another pan and place it over medium heat. Melt the butter in this, then stir in the flour. Cook, stirring until smooth and completely amalgamated, for about one minute.
4. Remove from the heat. Add the infused milk in a slow and steady stream, whisking the whole time. Return to the heat and cook, stirring, until thickened and just beginning to boil. Remove from the heat.
5. Stir in 1 cup (125g) of the grated cheese and all of the grainy mustard. Season well with salt and pepper and a good grating of fresh nutmeg. Whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time.
6. Butter six medium ramekins well and place them into a large shallow roasting tin.
7. Beat the egg whites until stiff with an electric whisk. Stir about a third of the egg whites into the cheese mixture to help slacken it and then gently fold in the rest.
8. Spoon and divide the mixture evenly into the buttered ramekins.
9. Carefully add boiling water to the roasting tin to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins and then carefully place the roasting tin into the heated oven. (If you have strong oven racks it is probably best to place the roasting tin into the oven first and then add the water)
10. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are well risen and nicely browned on top.** (see notes below)
11. Remove from the oven and remove from the roasting tin, placing them on a wire rack to cool. Increase the oven temperature to 220*C/425*F.
12. Once they are cooled enough to handle, carefully tip them out onto the palm of your hand, one at a time, and place them, right sides down, into a buttered baking dish large enough to hold all six of them.
13. Season the double cream with some salt and black pepper and spoon it evenly over top of each souffle. Sprinkle the remaining grated cheddar cheese evenly over top.
14. Place back in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until they are well risen and the cream is bubbling and the cheese is melted and beginning to brown nicely. Serve hot.

Notes:

**You can complete the recipe to the end of the first baking and put them in a buttered dish, cover them, and then store them in the refrigerator for up to a day ahead before proceeding. Bring them to room temperature before finishing them off as outlined in the recipe.

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