Vanilla Souffle

Makes 3-4 16oz. Souffles

There are Four very important elements to making a souffle:

1. The oven needs to be hotter than normal baking temp  (approx. 390 – 400 degress) to make the cake rise quickly.
   1. Souffles don’t use yeast, they rely on the bubbles you whip into the egg whites to expand quickly to rise the dessert.
2. All pans, hands and utensils used to work the egg whites must be free of butter and grease or the egg whites won’t whip properly.  You must also be absolutely sure no egg yolks contaminate the egg whites before whipping.
3. The eggs must be at room temperature
4. The eggs must be at room temperature (intentionally repeated).
   1. If the eggs are cold, it will take forever to whip the egg whites.
   2. Put the eggs in warm water for 15-20 minutes to bring them up to room temperature.

INGREDIENTS:

To coat the inside of the souffle dishes:

• 2 Tablespoons butter (melted)
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar

For the cake:

Yolk portion:

• 1 1/3 cups milk
• 1/3 cup all purpose flower
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 large egg yolks

White portion:

• 4 large egg whites
• 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
• 1 pinch of salt

Finish:

• 4 teaspoons powdered sugar to dust the tops.

For the filling (optional):

• 1.5 cups of blueberries, strawberries, bananas, etc.
• 2 Tablespoons of water.
• 2 Tablespoons of sugar.
• 1 pinch of salt.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pre-heat the oven to 390 degrees

Coat the inside of the souffle dishes:

The inside of the dishes need to have a rough texture so the souffle can “crawl up” the sides and rise.

1. Place melted butter into the dish.
2. Roll the dish to coat the entire inside with melted butter.
3. Pour the excess butter into the next dish.
4. (repeat)
5. Pour sugar into the dish.
6. Roll the dish to coat the entire inside with sugar.
7. Pour the excess sugar into the next dish.
8. (repeat)

Make the cake batter:

1. Make the white sauce:
   1. Heat 1 cup of the milk in a medium saucepan until steaming (not quite boiling).
   2. In a separate container, stir together the sugar, flour, and remaining 1/3 cup of milk.  It should resemble pancake batter.
   3. Slowly whisk half the hot milk into the batter until completely smooth.  This warms and “tempers” the batter.
   4. Stir the batter into the saucepan with the remaining milk.
   5. Bring to a boil with medium heat, stirring constantly.  The mixture will thicken and look like a white sauce.
   6. Remove the batter from the heat.
   7. Add the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt into the warm batter.
2. Separate the whites from the egg yolks.
   1. For each egg, pour the whites into a clean bowl and stir the yolks into the batter.
3. Pour the batter into a room temperature bowl to help it cool.
4. While the batter is cooling, make the French meringue:
   1. beat the egg whites in a separate bowl on medium-high until they become foamy.
   2. Add the 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar and pinch of cream of tartar.
   3. Continue beating no high until the egg whites hold stiff, glossy peaks.
5.  Gently stir in 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter.
6. Fold in the remaining egg whites.  Do not stir.  We need the egg whites to retain the air you worked so hard to mix into them.
7. Spoon the mixture into the dishes filling to approximately 1/2″ from the top.
   1. You can cook the souffles immediately or let them rest for up to 30 minutes.
8. Run your thumb around the inner edge of the souffle dish to remove the sugar evenly from the top 1/2″ or so.  Some souffle dishes have a ring around the top to guide this.  This will help the souffle rise stright.
9. Bake the souffles for 12-15 minutes until they develop a crusty exterior.
   1. The souffles should rise approximatley 1.5 inches above the top of the bowl and become brown on the top.
10. Remove the souffles from the oven and dust with powdered sugar.

Make the filling:

The filling is poured into the souffle at the table and after the guest uses their spoon to make a hole in the top of the souffle.

1. Cook all the ingredients in a saucepan on medium heat for several minutes until the juice becomes syrupy.