My favorite way to make soufflés is a variation on Wofgang Puck's kaizerschmarrn recipe. The sour cream or creme fraiche really makes a big difference. In fact, I started using sour cream in savory soufflés recipes with great success. It also works vey well with chocolate, though I'll admit that chocolate souflés is not my favorite.
Ingredients for 6 6oz-ramekins
Base:
4 egg yolks
3 oz = 85g sugar for the base
a splash of Grand Mariner. Frangelico works too, and so does rum.
8 oz = 225g of the best full fat sour cream you can find (TJ organic, Humboldt organic)
a handful of raisins, preferably soaked in rum for 30 mins, then drained.
zest and juice of one lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBS four, one TBS also suffices
Meringue:
4 egg whites
1.5 oz = 40g sugar for meringue
Optional: 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
Optional and recommended: a handful of roughly chopped hazelnuts, sliced almonds, or pecans.
butter and sugar for ramekins
Preparation:
Start preheating the oven to 425F.
Mix all the ingredients for the base, starting with egg yolks, sugar, and liqueur, then add other ingredients. You can make the base a day ahead and keep it refridgerated.
Next butter the 6 ramekins. You can melt some butter and brush them on the inside, or you can be lazy like me and smear the butter with your fingers. Coat the inside of each ramekin with sugar - simply put some sugar into a ramekin, swirl around, and then dump the sugar into the next ramekin - as demonstrated in this video.
Next is meringue. I find it that meringue withstands folding better than just whipped egg whites. To make meringue, have egg whites at the room temperature for best volume. Add them to a clean bowl. Any fat in your bowl will cause problems whipping the egg whites. My preference is a copper bowl, but any clean bowl will do. Add the cream of tartar if you have it, and beat the egg whites, slowly increasing the speed of the mixer. When the eggs are starting to foam and and are about to form soft peaks, add the sugar gradually. Beat the meringue to a soft peak.
Gently fold the meringue into your base. Add a bit of meringue first, fold it in, then add the rest. Avoid tapping on the bowl - we want to keep those little bubbles in the meringue, they are responsible for soufflés rising.
Fill each ramekin. If you are using the nuts, sprinkle the nuts on the top. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet, and put the baking sheet into the hot oven.
Bake for 12-15 minutes - in my new hotter oven it takes only 12 minutes. The perfect souffles texture is still very moist in the middle, but not runny. Serve and eat right away - as the soufflés cool down, it will fall because the air bubbles will shrink. In my opinion these soufflés need no sauce. If you insist on the sauce, Wolfgang Puck recommends strawberry compote, or plum compote.
Soufflés can be stored in a fridge - I cover it with plastic wrap. I warm it in the microwave for about 30 seconds before eating. That may inflate it a bit, but it will be far from what one gets straight from the oven.
Note:
I have had decisive success using this recipe as a starting point for savory soufflés. The main difference is that one uses no sugar. Coat the buttered ramekins with parmesan cheese, use no sugar in the base, and use no sugar when whipping egg whites. My favorite flavoring for the base is to use about 1/2-3/4 cup of thick creamed spinach or creamed kale, and I tend to add a 2-3 TBS of ground parmesan or other cheese. The baking time remains the same.
The savory souffléss is heavier than the dessert soufflés, so it may rise a bit less. But it should still rise nicely.
