by Lerrina Collins

Created on: January 14, 2009   Last Updated: November 29, 2011

It melts in your mouth, exploding with flavor. Light, fluffy, and creamy all at once. While a good souffle can be difficult to create, a few tricks, a bit of understanding, and you can reach souffle stardom.

A perfect souffle has a crusty flavor-packed exterior, a substantial yet airy outer layer, a nicely risen rim, and a loose, rich, not-quite-set center. The best souffles burst with the primary ingredient's flavor.

A souffle is basically whipped eggs. There are three souffle foundations. A French style made from equal parts flour and butter then whisked with milk over heat. A pastry cream style made from egg yolks beaten with sugar and then heated with milk. A flour style made from flour and milk or water cooked until thickened.

The souffle recipes which follow use different bases. The savory souffle uses the french base. The sweet souffle uses the pastry cream base.

Chocolate Souffle

5 tablespoons butter - 1 tablespoon softened, 4 tablespoons cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1 tablespoon plus 1/3 cup granulated sugar

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

6 large egg yolks

8 large egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Place an oven rack in the lower middle position and preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Butter the inside of a 2-quart souffle dish with the softened butter then dust evenly with the 1 tablespoon sugar. Refrigerate.

Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on 50% power for 2 minutes. Add melted butter and heat 1 minute more. Stir well and set aside.

In a medium bowl beat the egg yolks and the 1/3 cup sugar on medium speed until thick and pale yellow (3 minutes). Fold into the chocolate mixture.

In a clean bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites on medium until foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat on high until stiff, moist peaks form.

Vigorously stir 1/4 of the whipped whites into the chocolate mixture. Gently fold the remaining egg whites into the chocolate mixture - just until all white streaks are gone. Spoon into prepared dish and bake until the exterior is set but the interior is a bit loose and creamy (about 25 minutes). The souffle is done when fragrant and fully risen. Serve.

Ham and Blue Cheese Souffle

1/2 small onion, chopped

3 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

1 1/4 cups hot milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

pinch cayenne pepper

6 egg yolks

Saute onion in butter until tender (4 minutes). Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add milk and whisk until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Cook until mixture is a thick porridge consistency, stirring constantly (5 minutes). Remove from heat and beat in egg yolks. Cool.

Once cooled add:

1/2 cup finely chopped ham

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

At this point you can refrigerate the sauce for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 2-quart souffle dish and dust with 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs. Beat the following until soft peaks form:

8 egg whites

pinch of salt

Vigorously stir 1/4 of egg whites into savory sauce. Gently fold in remaining egg whites until no white streaks remain. Spoon into prepared dish. Bake until puffed and brown (30 minutes). Serve.

Some souffles can be pre-prepared, others chilled. However, all require careful ingredient preparation, explicit attention to detail, and a properly heated oven. All in all, not that difficult.

Recipe Resources: The New Best Recipe and Brilliant Food Tips and Cooking Tricks

Learn more about this author, Lerrina Collins.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.