I was teaching recently in Texas at Central Market, and I’d have to say after spending a week there, it’s the best supermarket in the world. I was using the marvelous citrus fruits they foraged from around the United States, including fresh yuzu, limequats, jumbo pomelos, bergamots, Seville oranges, citrons (which I’ve been trying to find in Paris—anyone know where I can find one?), and Meyer lemons.
(One of those lemons made it home with me, by accident. If it wasn’t so enormous, I would have tucked a citron in my carry-on…on purpose.)
Not only was there a bountiful display of citrus in their stores, but they had a great selection of cheeses, including locally made goat cheese from Paula Lambert, as well as plenty of others from France and elsewhere. When I was coming up with desserts that used citrus in them for the classes, I thought it’d be nice to combine tangy goat cheese with the sweet, fragrant zest of fresh lemons.
At first you might raise an eyebrow at using cheese as a base for a sweet soufflé. But somehow the mixture magically transforms into something cheesecake-like in flavor, yet much more intriguing. Make sure you use fresh goat cheese. Aged goat cheese, that which has a rind, is likely going to be too strong and for this soufflé. I do take a shortcut and use cream cheese as a base, so I don’t need to make a batch of pastry cream, which is often used as a base for dessert soufflés. When I was teaching the classes, I said at one, “I’m not a fan of sweet things”, which brought a chuckle from the guests. But I’m not big on overloading things with sugar and often prefer desserts with tang and tartness.
Soufflés are a lot easier to make than you think. If you can make a cake, you can make a soufflé. In fact, the first thing I ever baked was a soufflé. My parents had left me home with a frozen tv dinner way back when I was a kid, so I opened my mother’s Settlement Cookbook and landed on the page for Chocolate Soufflé. Since it included things we already had on hand—Baker’s chocolate, sugar, and eggs, I improvised using a Pyrex measuring cup, which I buttered and sugared and baked the soufflé in.
Goat Cheese Soufflé
I’m certain this mixture would be great spread over some lightly sweetened berries or orange segments then topped with crunchy sugar crystals and baked in a gratin dish, which I’m going to try when berries are in season. As mentioned, this soufflé is on the less-sweet side. Be sure to put a nice blanket of sugar on top, but if you like things on the sweeter side, you can add an extra tablespoon of sugar to the base.
- 1/4 cup (60g) full-fat cream cheese
- 4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
- 4 ounces (115g) fresh goat cheese
- grated zest of 1 lemon
- 4 tablespoons (50g) sugar
- pinch of salt
- additional butter and sugar for preparing the baking dishes
Liberally butter four 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups. Sprinkle a few spoonfuls of the additional sugar inside, tilt the dish to spread the sugar and coat the bottom and sides, then tip out any excess. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC).
Use a whisk, or an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, to mash the cream cheese, egg yolks, goat cheese and lemon zest until the mixture completely smooth.
With an electric mixer, or by hand, whisk the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl (not plastic) until frothy, with the salt. Increase the speed, until the whites begin to mound and hold their shape. While whipping, gradually add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Once you’ve added all the sugar, beat until stiff.
Fold one-third of the beaten egg whites into the goat cheese mixture, then fold in the remaining egg whites just until incorporated. It’s okay to have some tiny bits of white; that’s preferable to overfolding the batter.
Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dishes, gently smooth the tops, and sprinkle the soufflés with an even layer of sugar, about 1/2 teaspoon each.
Bake the soufflés on the middle rack (or slightly higher, if possible) of the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until the top is browned and the soufflé is just set but still very jiggly in the center if you nudge it. Depending on your oven, it may take slightly less or more time. Soufflés are best when slightly runny in the center.
Notes
Variation: If you’d like to add a bit of lemony tang to the soufflés, squeeze a few drops of fresh lemon or citrus juice over the soufflés after you sprinkle the tops with sugar.
Note: Fresh goat cheese is often found at well-stocked supermarkets and farmer’s markets. You can also check out my tips on How to Find Foods Mentioned on the Site.
Related Links and Recipes
Goat Cheese Custards with Strawberries
Foolproof and Super-Easy Cheese Soufflé (Steamy Kitchen)
Easy Chocolate Soufflé Recipe (Real Epicurean)
Asparagus Soufflé (Simply Recipes)
Orange Soufflé with Grand Marnier (Zen Can Cook)
FAQs
Floppy egg whites--tough luck, your souffle won't rise. Underbake and you'll have a soupy mess. Overbake and a once beautifully majestic souffle will collapse. Get your timing wrong--souffles have no tolerance for late-to-the-table dinner guests--and your souffle will fall.
How do you know when a soufflé is done? ›
A soufflé is done baking when it has risen above the rim of the dish and is nicely browned on top. It should feel mostly firm and only slightly jiggly when you lightly tap the top. Flourless soufflés, such as those made with fruit purée or chocolate, are lighter and cook faster.
Should soufflé be runny in the middle? ›
Soufflés are best when they're still slightly runny in the centre. To check if a soufflé is set, gently tap the dish – it should wobble just a little bit. If the centre seems too fluid, cook for a few more minutes.
How do I keep my soufflé from falling? ›
Some souffle dishes have a collar, and some people add one with tin foil in order to make the souffle rise higher. If your dish has a collar, fill it all the way to the top of the pan. If it doesn't have one, three quarters of the way will do. Those souffles that collapse when a pin drops are too dry.
What is the secret to a good soufflé? ›
According to La Varenne Practique (a timeless masterwork you should consider owning if learning more about classic French cooking appeals), there are only a few critical points to perfecting a souffle: a base of the right consistency, stiff egg whites, and the careful folding of the base and the beaten whites.
What helps a soufflé rise? ›
A soufflé is made up of a base (usually white sauce or creme patissiere enriched with egg yolks), a flavor (added to the base) and whipped egg whites gently folded in and baked in the oven. While it's cooking, the air trapped in the egg whites expands, causing it to rise.
How long can a soufflé sit before baking? ›
Souffle may be made up ahead and refrigerated as long as 24 hours. Put souffle in cold oven and bake 50 minutes at 325 degrees. It can also be frozen up to 7 days. Allow 50 to 60 minutes to bake frozen at the same temperature.
What happens if you overcook a soufflé? ›
Soufflés that collapse quickly and easily are too dry. This happens when they are baked for too long and overcook.
What happens if you open the oven while baking a soufflé? ›
The cool air coming in from the open door will stop your souffles from rising. Inside the oven, chemical reactions are happening! The heat from the oven causes the air bubbles in the egg whites to expand causing the souffles to rise. The temperature also causes the protein to stiffen.
What temperature do you cook souffles? ›
Carefully pour into 4-cup (1 L) soufflé or casserole dish. Bake in preheated 375° F (190° C) oven until puffed and lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes or until done. Serve immediately.
Make Ahead Instructions: You can prepare the souffle batter up to 2 days in advance (steps 1-4). Cover and refrigerate the batter in the mixing bowl or in the ramekins/dish until ready bake. Add another minute or so to the bake time if you refrigerated it for longer than 1 hour.
Do you need cream of tartar for soufflé? ›
You technically could — egg whites will still whip to stiff peaks without cream of tartar — but we highly recommend including it whenever it's called for in a recipe. While developing those lofty Japanese Soufflé Pancakes, Molly quickly realized how integral a stabilizer was to create the perfect pancake texture.
Do all soufflés fall? ›
Soufflés are notoriously delicate dishes, and they have a tendency to fall soon after they come out of the oven. However, there are a few tips that can help prevent this from happening: Use the right size dish: It's important to use the correct size dish for your soufflé recipe.
Can you prep a soufflé ahead of time? ›
But almost any souffle can be made ahead. Simply complete the recipe up to the point of baking, fill the molds and cover them with plastic wrap, then refrigerate until a few minutes before baking. If the egg whites have been whipped well and the mixture combined thoroughly, it will hold for several hours.
What stabilizer to use for soufflé? ›
If you are a bit nervous about making a souffle, you can help stabilize the egg whites by adding 1/16th of a teaspoon of cream of tartar per egg white or about half a teaspoon of cornstarch to savory souffles or one or two tablespoons of sugar toward the end of beating the whites of a sweet one, even if the recipe ...
Why is my soufflé runny? ›
The soufflé should have a nice, light texture when you cut into it. If you're using a recipe that calls for the soufflé to be baked in a water bath, you can gently shake the dish to see if the soufflé wobbles. If it's still liquid in the center, it needs more time to cook.
Why is my soufflé batter so runny? ›
If you take too long to use the batter, the egg whites will become watery over time. This is why I preheat my pan ahead of time and use all the batter immediately. If the egg whites are not stiff enough, they will cause the batter to fall flat and become watery.
