Legends of the Fall: A Cheese Soufflé Drama in Four Acts

ACT I
“Cheese Soufflé, thou art my sworn enemy from this day forward.  D**** you!!!”

*Woah.  I’m actually threatening a dish of baked eggs…Just put the whisk down and back away.*

ACT II
Its been a number of years since I’ve baked this Most Psychologically Intimidating of Dishes.  As a culinary student, the three top techniques that had me quaking in my clogs were:  the clarification of stock into a clear consommé, the whisking of melted butter into an egg mixture to make a gorgeously-emulsified Hollandaise, and of course, the successful rising of a soufflé.

In truth, making a soufflé is not as difficult as myth would have it.  (Or so I used to think.)  Its a lot easier than consistently cooking different-sized blocks of tuna to perfect medium wells with perfect timing to prevent carry-over cooking.  Soufflé is what I call a restaurant menu’s darling, because the cost to make it is quite cheap, but it can be sold at a high price because, well, its soufflé.  As I said, they aren’t that difficult, but they are temperamental. A former co-worker could make hers rise above the rim of the dish like no other, straight sides and everything.  I managed to get mine to rise nicely and evenly upwards, though never as high as hers for some reason.

Water bath soufflé.

ACT III
So…I thought I’d make some cheese soufflés at home for old time’s sake to see if I could still make them…I rue the day I made that decision.

I actually wish that my soufflés hadn’t risen.  It would’ve been an easier defeat to accept somehow.  The balanced flavor and light, airy texture that I remembered were all there.   The problem was, my cheese soufflé looked like Quasi-freakin’-modo.  The top for some reason, shrank to a small circle, as the sides pushed out (or so my theory goes…) and looked like a mess.  It was not the straight, clean tower that I remembered making so many years ago.

Texture.

There were many trials:  Temperatures ranged between 325˚F to 400˚F.  (350˚F seems most ideal.)  I changed the amounts of ingredients, which surprisingly seemed to have no effect on the rising.  Out of all the shelves, the bottom seemed most accommodating.  Tried a water bath, (useless).  Used the paring knife trick to make sure the sides weren’t stuck to the ramekin.  I consulted McGee, Julia Child, my pastry chef friend….not even Lolo could help me.  How could I have lost my skill for something I’d made a million times?

It almost looks better inverted.

It then dawned on me.  The cheap, generic electric oven in my kitchen might’ve been the culprit.  At work, we had used a convection oven, where heat is maintained and evenly circulated throughout the enclosed space.  We would pipe the filling into dishes, bake at 375˚F, on any shelf, for a shorter amount of time than I was doing at home (15 minutes versus 23 at the same temp) and they rose perfectly.  This wonky rising was definitely the oven’s fault!

Or maybe I’m just in denial.  Maybe my memory of cheese soufflés is somewhat gilded.  Or maybe I just can’t bake a good-looking soufflé anymore.  Its kind of depressing, actually. But I can’t deny that they tasted good, (all 1500 of ‘em.)  If one searches pictures of cheese soufflés on the web, they all look so different.  Perhaps I’m being too uptight and too hard on myself.

A fallen soufflé.

ACT IV
Here’s the final recipe that I used, it was the one I liked the most (at least flavor/texture-wise.)  The measurements are in weights, which is better when you are dealing with something like flour.  Scales are just an indispensable tool in the kitchen.  (Check out these 8 great reasons to use a scale over on Well Done Chef!)

CHEESE SOUFFLÉ  (unaffectionately known as the Bane of my Existence)
makes 5 10-oz ramekins

INGREDIENTS
3 1/2 oz butter
2 oz flour
1 1/4 C milk
2 oz grated cheese (I prefer Gruyère)
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
to taste, fresh ground white pepper (or cayenne) and fresh grated nutmeg
5 eggs, separated, room temperature
extra butter, room temperature for brushing
extra flour for dusting

DIRECTIONS
Preheat non-convection oven to 350˚F  (375 for convection).

Brush the inside of each ramekin with butter.  Dust with flour and set aside in the fridge to chill.

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a small pot.  Add the flour and whisk, forming a roux.  Stir and cook for about 5 minutes.  Slowly whisk in the milk, and cook another 5 minutes, until the mixture has thickened.  The consistency should be almost paste-like.

Remove the pot from the heat and add in the cheese and seasonings.  Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, and add in the yolks slowly, whisking constantly (if the mixture is steaming hot, allow it to cool a bit.)

The egg whites:  place the egg whites in a clean bowl and whip to stiff peaks.  TIP:  The bowl and equipment must be clean, there must be no stray bits of yolk, and yes, whites can be overwhipped where they start to turn liquid again and you need to start over.  You just want the whites stiff enough that when you lift the whip out, a peak stands up.

Next, gently fold the egg whites into the cheese mixture in two parts.

Fill the ramekins 3/4 of the way up, and gently tap on a counter to make sure there are no air pockets and the tops flatten.

Place the ramekins in the fridge for at least an hour for them to settle (you can just put them in the oven right away, but I think it helped with the shape a little bit.  By the way, soufflés can be held in the fridge for about up to 4 hours before baking.  They can even be baked the following day if you don’t mind them flat…)

Bake in the oven for about 20-23 minutes (convection oven about 15-17), or until golden brown and cooked through (it shoudn’t jiggle too much when shaken lightly).  Pray (just kidding!).  Serve immediately.

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