Friday, October 18, 2013

Apple & Cheddar Cheese Soufflés – Great for People Who Stink at Folding Egg Whites

After doing such a great job folding the egg whites into this apple and cheddar soufflé batter, I celebrated by dropping a measuring cup into the bowl. By the time I fished it out, cleaned the sides of the bowl, and shook my fist at the heavens, I’d lost a lot of micro-bubbles.

I pressed on, and despite my tragic encounter with gravity, the resulting soufflés were simply fabulous, which just goes to show that maybe we need to relax about this whole folding thing. Sure, more bubbles would make it go a little higher, but if you’ve never made a soufflé before, I hope this gives you some new-found courage.

By the way, I don’t know why most similar recipes call for extra egg whites. Actually, I do know; it’s to make them more visually impressive, but I think this dilutes the flavor. I use about half the egg whites normally called for, and these are still light as a feather.

If you decide to give these a whirl, please promise me you'll use a great cheddar. I used a sharp and creamy Cabot, but any other quality, aged cheddar will work. These apple cheddar soufflés are very versatile, and would make a great appetizer, a special holiday brunch starter, or deliciously different dessert. I hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 4  (I used Le Creuset 4 3/4-ounce size):

For the apples:
1 tbsp butter, heated until edges start to turn brown
1 apple, cubed
1 tbsp sugar

For the batter:
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
pinch freshly ground black pepper
pinch cayenne
pinch nutmeg
3 oz sharp white cheddar, or almost 1 cup grated
2 eggs, separated

Bake at 400 degrees F.  for about 22 minutes

*Assuming you don’t drop a measuring cup into your folded egg white fluffed batter, you should have about 2 cups of batter. You can divide each 1/2 cup portion into whatever sized ramekin you have, but a 4 3/4 to 5 oz size is ideal. Basically, when it’s fully puffed and browned, it’s done. And for goodness sake, serve very warm, but not piping hot!

22 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John! Does whole wheat flour and soy milk work?

bdwilcox said...

You are the Michael Bay of your souffle.*


* This video needed some explosions and a chase scene.

Chef John said...

Depends what you mean by "work." ;) It will work, but taste too earthy with the wheat I think, but try it.

Unknown said...

Hey, could I use regato, mozarella or gouda to substitude cheddar?

Unknown said...

I've never been a fan of a slice of cheese on an apple pie, but this looks delicious.

Kristin said...

This is baking in my oven as I type. Super excited to try it. I did not have cayenne. But I'm sure it will be just delightful. My two year old is excited too.

ice pandora said...

Omg, definitely bookmarked! I
wonder if apple (sweet) and
cheese (savory) really taste
good together! Xx

Sarah said...

I can't believe you just referenced Jay-Z. Hahaha brilliant, as always. Great recipe!

Monica said...

A good English cheddar or Cheshire will be infinitesimally superior.

Unknown said...

Can I use American Cheese or Velveeta instead of cheddar?

Unknown said...

Why would you consider using Velveeta? Are you in some third-world country where real cheese is unobtainable?

Unknown said...

Every time I watch "top gun" I want to become a jet fighter pilot. Every time I watch chef John, I want to become a balding chef with a mustache...

Mar-One said...

Chef John, you are awesome!!

philogaia said...

That looks like a great dessert idea!

I chuckled at your dumping all the milk into the roux. I like to make sausage gravy for breakfast to put over scrambled eggs sometimes and I just dump chicken stock into the sausage fat roux and stir it around with a spatula. It looks like it could never possibly come together but I do this enough that I know better. BTW I learned the hot roux cold liquid trick from you. :)

TimD said...

You must sound very odd to those wholly unfamiliar with hip-hop.

Unknown said...

Because cheddar is not popular in Germany, so I used Gouda instead. And it was amazingggg!!!

Sela said...

Can I keep the béchamel, apple and cheese mix for later and add the eggs just before backing? because this type of dessert is delicious but too much right after eating.

Chef John said...

Maybe, but the mixture might become to firm to fold in egg whites.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for taking the mystery out of souffles. After watching this and your other souffle vids, I tried my own with sweet potato

Unknown said...

Hoping to make these tomorrow! Can the recipe be doubled, or should I make two separate batches? And would it be possible, in the event that I need to make two batches, to do a twice-baked version by under cooking them a bit and finishing just before serving?

Chef John said...

You can do as one batch, and no, you can't do ahead, or at least I've never tried!

Unknown said...

Is there a reason you added the cheese after the sauce had cooled instead of simply making a Mornay in the first place?