Recipes brought to you by the Epworth team. Twice baked gruyère cheese soufflé perfect for a more formal occasion.
Serves: Approx 6
Prep time: 45 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Ingredients
- 150 g salted butter, diced
- 100 g baker’s (strong) self-raising flour
- 300 ml warm full cream milk
- 250 g grated gruyère cheese
- 50 g soft ricotta
- 5 fresh free range eggs, separated
- Pinch white pepper
- 100 g ground walnuts
- 1/4 bunch fresh thyme, picked and chopped fine
- 200 ml cream
- 6 large soufflé ramekins (approx 9 cm wide x 5 cm deep)
- Large baking dish
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C. Take 50 g of the butter and melt gently. Using a pastry brush, brush the insides of the ramekins with the melted butter and then sprinkle the ground walnuts and thyme along the inside of the ramekin.
In a large saucepan, on medium heat, melt the remaining butter and add the flour to form a ‘roux’, and cook for 2-3 mins until ‘sandy’.
Add approx 1/3 of the milk to the roux and whisk until smooth/no remaining lumps, then add the rest of the milk, and whisk until the mixture comes together. Add 200g of the gruyère (keep 50g for later) and the ricotta, and whisk until incorporated/approx 2 mins. Remove saucepan from the heat and let cool for 20 mins.
Add the white pepper and 5 egg yolks, whisk in until smooth, then let the mixture cool for a further 10 mins or so until warm to touch (20°C-30°C).
Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, and add half the whites and whisk to incorporate, then gently fold in the remaining whites with a spatula.
Gently spoon the mixture into the buttered ramekins all the way to the top and using a wet finger, gently smooth the tops of the soufflé’s. Place the soufflé’s in the large baking tray and make a ‘water bath’ with enough hot water (from the tap) to halfway up the sides of the moulds. Carefully place in the oven and bake for 20-25 mins.
Remove from the oven and from the water bath once ready and let cool for approx 30 mins. While still slightly warm, turn the soufflé’s out onto a lightly greased tray/plate (you may need to carefully run a butter knife along the inside of the mould, but avoid if possible). These can be stored in the fridge for up to 2-3 days until ready to serve.
When ready to serve, preheat oven to 160°C, place the turned out soufflé’s onto a lightly greased baking tray (or into individual oven proof bowls, i.e small cereal bowl), add two spoonful’s of the cream to the top of each soufflé and sprinkle the remaining cheese/some cracked black pepper and bake for 10-15 mins until doubled in size. Serve immediately.
*Ground almonds can be substituted for ground walnuts.
31 March 2020