individual souffles

Souffles are something that we have often eaten, both as a brunch or as a light supper.  My first souffle was a plain souffle and that remains our family favorite today.  This is not a classic souffle that is runny in the center as we prefer our souffle more well done   This is our version. Sometimes we make it in a large souffle dish but today I made individual souffles.  It is the same recipe just more dishes to butter. 

A souffle is basically a white sauce made with butter, flour and milk to which eggs are added.  The eggs are separated and the yolks are beaten until they are pale colored and added to the white sauce.  Then the egg whites are beaten until stiff peaks form and added to the white sauce/yolk mixture.  The souffle dishes are prepared by buttering the bottoms and the sides and the egg mixture is placed in the dishes.  When I am doing individual souffles I place the dishes on a baking sheet so that all can be put in the oven and removed from the oven at the same time.  

Individual souffles

1/4 cup butter 

1/4 cup flour

1 cup milk

5 egg yolks

5 egg whites

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.  When melted stir in the flour.  Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly until a thick white sauce forms.  Remove from heat and allow to partially cool.  Both the egg yolks and egg whites need to be beaten separately, the yolks until they are pale and the whites until stiff peaks form.  I usually beat the egg yolks in my food processor and the egg whites in my stand mixer.  If you only want to use one appliance you will need to beat the yolks first and then wash the beater and bowl before beating the whites or beat the whites first and transfer them to a different bowl and then you can beat the yolks.  It is not necessary to wash the beater and bowl when doing the yolks after the whites.

Add the beaten yolks to the white sauce and gently mix.  Add a portion of the whites to the yolk/white sauce mixture to lighten up the mix and then fold in the remaining beaten egg whites taking care not to deflate the mixture.  Spoon the egg mixture into a well buttered souffle dish or dishes.  Bake at 400° for 30 minutes. 

The souffle should be baked just prior to serving and care should be taken when serving as the ceramic dishes will remain hot for a while.  We use a set of tongs to lift each dish to a plate and eat from the dish but I imagine that the souffle could be scooped out of the dish onto a plate to prevent little fingers from touching the hot dish.