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Julia's Superb Soufflés

“The soufflé is undoubtedly the egg at its most magnificent,
the egg in all its puffing power.
~ Julia Child

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Julia Child on Soufflés


The Way to Cook
Julia Child, 1994, Alfred A. Knopf

“The soufflé is undoubtedly the egg at its most magnificent, the egg in all its
puffing power. How impressive is the chocolate or cheese soufflé, its head rising dramatically out of its dish, and swaying ever so slightly as it is borne to the table.
Fortunately, a reasonably well-assembled soufflé can be an automatic happen-stance: a flavor base into which beaten egg whites are incorporated. When the mixture is baked, the heat of the oven expands the air bubbles in the egg whites
and the whole mass rises. It stays puffed the few minutes needed to serve it; then,
as it cools, the air bubbles deflate and the soufflé collapses. Soufflés are not diffi-
cult when you have mastered the beating of egg whites and the folding of them
into the soufflé base.”

The egg whites

 [A typical Julia lesson – everything you ever wanted to know about beating egg whites…Thank you Julia!] Stiffly beaten egg whites have multiple uses, from spongecakes to floating island to soufflés. Again the bowl and beater are of great importance. They must be clean, with no trace of oil or grease, and not even a speck of egg yolk should be among the whites since oil, grease,
and yolk prevent the whites from mounting into a mass of tiny bubbles.
Whether or not you are using a copper bowl, it’s a good idea to pour a tablespoon of vinegar into the bowl and a teaspoon of salt. Rub the bowl
clean with paper towels, but do not wash it – the traces of vinegar and salt help stabilize the egg whites.
Turn the egg whites into the bowl and if they are chilled, set the bowl in a larger bowl of warm water for a minute or two, until your impeccably clean finger feels them to be of room temperature. Chilled whites do not mount well, and tend to fleck.
Using a giant balloon whip, or a hand-held electric mixer, or a mixer on a stand, start beating the egg whites at moderately slow speed until they are foaming throughout – 2 minutes or so. Add a pinch of salt (unless you have rubbed the bowl with salt before you started in,) and add [the] cream of tartar – a stabilizer. Gradually increase the speed to fast (moderately fast if you have a heavy-duty mixer) and continue until soft peaks are formed. Gradually beat in the 2 tablespoons of sugar and continue until stiff shining peaks are formed.
 

Folding – combining the egg whites and the soufflé base

For maximum puff, the beautifully beaten egg whites must retain their volume when they are incorporated. To help retain it, a quarter of the whites are stirred into the base to lighten it so that the remainder may be folded in easily.
[Another great lesson from Julia]: You can beat your egg whites to perfection. But unless you fold them rapidly and expertly into your cake or soufflé batter, you will deflate them and neither your cake nor your soufflé will rise to its proper height. Here’s how:
Have your… soufflé batter in a roomy pan or bowl. Stir a quarter of the egg whites into the batter to loosen it – an important point, since if the batter is stiff, you will deflate the egg whites as you attempt to blend them. Then turn the rest of the egg whites on top. Plunge a large rubber spatula sideways, like a knife, down through the center of the egg whites to the bottom of the pan [illustration included in cookbook]. Rapidly bring the spatula to the near edge of the pan, and rotate it so its flat side brings some of the batter up over the egg whites. Rotate the pan slightly, and rapidly repeat the plunging-scooping turn of the spatula 7 to 8 times, until the egg whites and batter are blended – do not overblend or you will deflate the egg whites.
 

When is it done?

A soufflé baked in a dish should puff 2 to 3 inches over the rim, and the
top should be nicely browned. The puff should hold up when you release
the collar just a little bit to check – if the puff sags, rapidly refasten the collar
and bake a few minutes more. If you want the puff to hold and the soufflé
to stand a reasonable time, test it by plunging a skewer down into the side
of  the puff: if wet particles cling to it the soufflé will be creamy inside and
will not hold as long as if the skewer comes out almost clear. The fateful decision is up to you.
 

Special Note

 For drama, you choose a dish that’s a little too small, so that the soufflé
puffs into a collar. When the collar is removed the puff holds itself 2 to 3 inches over the rim of the dish. Use a double thickness of buttered foil that will rise 3 inches over the top of the dish; secure the collar by inserting a straight pin head down – for easy removal.
 

Master Recipe

Cheese Soufflé

For soufflés baked in a dish, soufflé toppings, and soufflé roulades

“The basic soufflé is a white sauce – béchamel – enriched with egg yolks
and cheese, into which beaten egg whites are folded.”

Timing: You will undoubtedly feel safer hovering over your oven during your
first soufflé experiences. After two or three you’ll have the confidence to set the
timer and take yourself off until it summons you back into the kitchen.

For a 1-quart baking dish 8 inches across, serving 4

 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan or other hard cheese
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup hot milk
Seasonings: 1/2 teaspoon paprika, speck of nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt,
and 3 grinds of white pepper
4 egg yolks
5 egg whites (2/3 cup)
1 cup (3 1/2 ounces coarsely grated Swiss cheese

Special Equipment Suggested: A buttered baking dish 7 1/2 to 8 inches
top diameter, 3 inches deep; aluminum foil; a heavy-bottomed 2 1/2-quart saucepan; a wire whisk, wooden spoon, and large rubber spatula; egg-white beating equipment

Preliminaries. Roll the grated cheese in the buttered baking dish to cover
the bottom and side, and fasten on the aluminum collar (see Special Note). Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and set the rack in the lower third level. Measure out all the ingredients listed [mise en place!]
The white sauce – béchamel. Following [these detailed directions] stir and cook the butter and flour together in the saucepan over moderate heat for 2 minutes without coloring. Remove from heat, let cool a moment, then pour
in all the hot milk and whisk vigorously to blend. Return to heat, stirring
with a wooden spoon, and boil slowly 3 minutes. The sauce will be very
thick. Whisk in the seasonings and remove from the heat.
Finishing the sauce base. One by one, whisk the egg yolks into the
hot sauce.
The egg whites. In a clean separate bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites to stiff shining peaks as described [above].
Finishing the soufflé mixture. Scoop a quarter of the egg whites on top of the sauce and stir them in with a wooden spoon. Turn the rest of the egg whites on top; rapidly and delicately fold them in, alternating scoops of the spatula with sprinkles of the coarsely grated cheese – adding the cheese now makes for a light soufflé.
Ahead-of-time note: You may complete the soufflé to this point 1/2 hour
or so in advance; cover loosely with a sheet of foil and set away from drafts.

Baking – 25 to 30 minutes at 400 degrees F and 375 degrees F. Set in
the preheated oven, turn the thermostat down to 375 degrees F, and bake
until the soufflé has puffed 2 to 3 inches over the rim of the baking dish
into the collar, and the top has browned nicely (see “When is it done?”
notes preceding this section).
Serving. As soon as it is done, remove the collar, then bring the soufflé to
the table. To keep the puff standing, hold your serving spoon and fork
upright and back to back; plunge them into the crust and tear it apart [illustrated in cookbook].
 

Spinach or Broccoli Soufflé

After completing the white sauce, stir in 1/4 to 1.3 cup of cooked chopped fresh spinach or broccoli that you have warmed in butter, shallots and seasonings. Cut down on the grated Swiss cheese – 1/3 to 1/2 cup should
be enough.

Crab, Lobster, or Shrimp Soufflé

Substitute finely chopped or finely diced shellfish for the vegetables in the preceding suggestion. A Hollandaise sauce or… white butter sauce…
would be attractive accompaniments.

Salmon Soufflé (or other cooked fish)

Stir flaked cooked salmon or other fish, or canned salmon, into the finished white sauce. Two or three tablespoons of shallots sauteed in butter are often helpful for fish other than salmon, as well as a spoonful or two of minced fresh dill or parsley. In some instances you may wish to accompany the soufflé with a lightly cooked fresh tomato sauce… or a colorful piperade (sautéed onions with strips of red and green peppers…).
 

Julia's Superb Soufflés continued... Dessert Soufflés!