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April
2005
Recipe
Last-Minute Cheese Soufflé
Brie or
domestic Munster can be substituted for the Camembert in this
minimalist soufflé. You’ll find the full flavor of the cheese
comes through clearly.
Serves 6
-
butter
for the ramekins
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one
Camembert cheese (1⁄2 pound)
-
6
eggs, separated
-
3
tablespoons heavy cream or crème fraîche, more if needed
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salt
and freshly ground black pepper
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Six
3⁄4-cup ramekins
Preheat
the oven to 400°F and butter the ramekins. Chop the cheese,
including the rind, and put it in a food processor with the egg
yolks, heavy cream, and a generous amount of freshly ground black
pepper. Work it until smooth, adding more cream if necessary until
the mixture almost falls from the spoon. Transfer it to a bowl.
Stiffly
whisk the egg whites in a mixer or by hand, adding a pinch of salt
to help stiffen them. If using a mixer, finish whisking them by
hand. Stir about a quarter of the egg whites into the cheese
mixture to lighten it. Add this mixture back into the remaining
whites and fold them together as lightly as possible. Tip the
soufflé mixture into the buttered ramekins and smooth the tops
with a metal spatula. They should be completely full. Run your
thumb around the inside edge of the dishes to detach the mixture
from the rim so the soufflés rise straight.
Set the
ramekins on a baking sheet and bake until very hot, puffed, and
brown, 10 to 12 minutes. When shaken, they should wobble slightly.
Do not overbake or the soufflés will be dry. Transfer them to cold
plates lined with napkins and serve at once. The center of the
soufflés should be slightly soft to provide a sauce for the firm
outside.
Getting Ahead:
The
cheese mixture can be made up to 2 hours ahead and kept covered in
the refrigerator. The whites must be whisked just before you
assemble and bake the soufflé.
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