Souffles look amazing and they are surprisingly easy to prepare. One of my favourite souffles is this delicious three- cheese one. To test whether the beaten egg whites are stiff enough, simply hold the bowl upside down. If the eggs do not fall out, then they are stiff enough to use. Timing is important when cooking souffles but you can prepare the cheese mixture ahead minus the egg and then simply warm through gently, stir in the egg yolks, beat the egg whites until stiff and then fold them gently into the cheese mixture, so if you are having guests it would take less than 10 minutes to finish them off and then just 12 minutes to bake until they puff up and are lovely and golden. I like to serve them in individual ramekins.
This recipe comes from a new TV series, 'Annabel's Kitchen' which launches on CITV and ITV on April 11. There is also an accompanying book 'Annabel's Kitchen' – a first cookbook for four to 10 year olds with step by step photography. Published by Ebury.
Makes 4 to 6 portions
Ingredients
● 40g butter
● 40g plain flour
● 300mls whole milk
● Half a tsp Dijon mustard
● 45g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
● 25g strong cheddar cheese, grated
● 25g gruyere, grated
● 3 large eggs, separated
Method
● Pre heat the oven to 200˚fan/220˚C/gas 7
● Put a baking sheet into the oven to get hot.
● Lightly grease 4 size 1 ramekins (diameter approx 10cm) or 6 smaller ramekins with soft butter.
● Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour.
● Stir over the heat for a few seconds then blend in the milk, whisking until smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat and add the mustard and cheeses.
● Stir until melted then add the egg yolks. Season.
● Put the egg whites into a free-standing mixer and whisk until stiff peaks. Fold 1 tablespoon of egg whites into the cheese mixture to loosen the consistency then fold in the remaining egg whites. Spoon into the ramekins.
● Place the ramekins onto the hot baking sheet and bake for 12 mins for the smaller ramekins or 15 minutes for the larger ones. Bake until well risen and lightly golden on top. Serve at once.
