CHEESE SOUFFLE

Place an empty, lined baking tray in the middle of your oven and preheat the oven to 180C.

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In a deep saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Fry this paste oven medium-low heat until it begins to brown and smell like a freshly made toast. Stir often. Pour in milk and whisk vigorously to break down any lumps that might have formed. Wait for this mixture to begin to steam and thicken a little. You don’t need to bring it to a simmer. Remove from the heat and stir in cheese and the black garlic paste, until smooth and there are no lumps.

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Transfer this mixture into a large mixing bowl. Allow the mixture to cool down a little and then whisk in egg yolks until combined. 

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Butter 4 small souffle ramekins and coat with bread crumbs thoroughly (I used ramekins, which are 4 inch in diameter and 3 inch high). 

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Place the egg whites in a steel or glass bowl, add a pinch of salt and, using an electric mixer, if you’ve got one, whisk the whites until firm peaks begin to form. To know that it is done properly, the beaten egg whites must stay in the bowl when you turn it upside down, some do it over their head to add some fun to the process :)

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Using a mixer at this stage is an absolute no -no! So, using a wide spatula (or a large spoon), place a little egg white into the bowl with the batter. Now “cut” through the middle of the egg whites on the top of the batter with the spatula and fold some of the batter over the egg whites. Rotate the bowl by a quarter-turn and repeat again. You’re basically bisecting this uncombined mixture and folding it over itself until most of the egg white is incorporated into the batter. Please note, that violent stirring will burst the egg whites’ bubbles, so keep coating the egg whites with the batter little by little instead, as pictured in the post above. Repeat until the spoonful of egg whites is almost entirely incorporated. Then, add another spoonful of your egg whites to the mixing bowl and repeat as above. 

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Repeat this process until all the egg white is almost entirely incorporated. It doesn’t have to look perfect, you’re after volume and not a 100% smooth mixture.

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Distribute the mixture between the ramekins leaving about ⅓ inch clearance from the top. 

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Run your index finger around and along the inside of the ⅓ inch space to very roughly remove the visible bread crumbs, without disturbing the souffle mixture inside.

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Using oven gloves for protection, remove the hot baking tray from the oven. Place the ramekins with the souffle mixture on the baking tray and quickly return the tray back to the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes.

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This recipe was created for us by Justyna of Garlic Matters. For more delicious ideas please visit her blog here.