Easy twice baked cheese souffles are a beautiful thing. Light, delicate, cheesey, and coated with a molten, cream and gruyere topping, they’re a little ‘winner’, and guaranteed to impress.
We first came across twice baked cheese souffles years ago visiting dear friends in the U.K. We were in Bath, spending the day sight seeing around the city. Stunning Georgian architecture, the Roman Baths, an amazing experience that takes you back 2000 years, and a visit to the astounding Georgian masterpiece, the Prior Park landscaped gardens, a garden oasis in the middle of the city.
Returning home late in the afternoon, the requisite gin and tonic poured, watching the last of the sunset, it had been a perfect day.
What made it beyond perfect was Carol effortlessly serving us an entree of twice baked cheese souffles. She had made the souffles ahead, and frozen them, then removed them from the freezer prior to our days outing. All she had to do was pour a little cream over them, sprinkle with some cheese and pop them in the oven. Viola! Twenty minutes later we’re dining on these little beauties, and let me tell you, we were impressed!
How to make easy twice baked cheese souffles
First up you’re making a basic béchamel sauce, then stirring the cheese through the sauce. Egg yolks and chives are then beaten through the béchamel sauce and allowed to cool for 15 minutes.
Whip up some egg whites to soft peak stage and gently fold them through the béchamel sauce.
Divide the mixture into your buttered ramekins, pop the ramekins into a tray and pour boiling water halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Pop the tray into the oven for 20 minutes and remove the tray. Unmould the ramekins onto some baking paper and allow to cool, then refrigerate for 2 hours, but preferably overnight, (the souffles can be frozen at this stage).
Remove souffles from the refrigerator and lift the paper into snug sized baking dish, pour cream over the souffles and sprinkle with the cheese.
Pop the souffles covered with cream and cheese into a preheated oven and bake for twenty minutes, till they are puffed and golden. Too easy!
egg whites
It is important to gently fold the egg whites through the béchamel sauce. The reason being is the beaten egg whites are filled with air, and as the air in the souffle mixture heats up, the air expands and this is what makes the souffle rise.
If you were to beat the whites in with a heavier hand the air bubbles will collapse, and you’ll basically end up with a cheese type pancake. Not impressive!
cheese
This twice baked cheese souffles recipe uses gruyere cheese, but really, you can use any number of different cheeses.
- parmesan
- cheddar
- comte
- gouda
- taleggio
- fontina
add- ins
Try folding through one of the following ingredients to add different flavours to your souffles.
- sautéed finely diced, and cooked bacon
- chopped smoked salmon and extra chives
- sautéed mushrooms
- caramelised onions
- swap out the gruyere cheese for blue cheese, such as Gorgonzola dolce, blue Castello or Roquefort
- cauliflower that has been steamed, and finely chopped
- steamed, and finely chopped spinach
freezing twice baked cheese souffles
One of the best things about this recipe is the fact they can be frozen after the first bake. Wrap them in cling film once they’re completely cooled, and freeze. Simply remove them from the freezer and allow to thaw before pouring over the cream and sprinkling some cheese on the top, and bake till they’re golden, and bubbling.
Host, with the mostest award, coming up!
Watch how to make Easy Twice Baked Cheese Souffles
Scroll to the bottom for the Easy Twice Baked Cheese Souffles recipe
check out another ‘egg based’ winning entree recipe
What’s your favourite ingredient to add into your souffle mixture?
We would love to hear from you in the comments below when you make easy twice baked cheese souffles.
Yield: 6
Easy Twice Baked Cheese Souffles
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Watch our video to see how to make these easy, twice baked cheese souffles.
Ingredients
- you will need six x 1 cup ramekins
- melted butter for greasing ramekins
- extra 50g(1 1/2 ounces)butter
- 3/4 cup plain (all purpose) flour
- 1 1/3 cups full cream milk
- 150g gruyere cheese, grated (or cheddar cheese)
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 2 teaspoons hot English mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fine white pepper
- 1 tablespoon pinenuts (optional)
- 2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, for beating egg whites
- 175ml (6 fl ounces)thickened (heavy) cream
- extra 20 grams (1 ounce) gruyere, grated (for second bake)
Instructions
- cut baking paper rounds to fit the base of the ramekins
- melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat
- add flour and stir through the butter (this will be dry mix)
- add milk, a little at a time and beat after each addition, cook mixture for a further 30 seconds or until smooth and combined
- add gruyere and stir until smooth
- remove pan from heat and beat in egg yolks, mustard, salt, pepper and chives until smooth and combined
- set mixture aside for 15 minutes
- meanwhile preheat oven to 180c (355f) (on bake, not fan)
- lightly grease 6 x 1 cup ramekins, using brushstrokes from bottom to top, and place baking paper rounds in the base
- beat egg whites and salt in a bowl until soft peaks form
- gently fold the egg whites into the cheese mixture in 2 batches using a spatula until whites are combined
- fill ramekins, try to evenly distribute the mixture(we used a scale to make them all approximately the same size)
- place ramekins in a baking tin and fill tin with hot water until water is halfway up the ramekins
- bake on middle shelf for 20 minutes
- remove tin from oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes
- run a knife around the inside of the ramekin and carefully turn souffles out onto baking paper, removing baking paper discs
- when souffles are cooled, loosely cover with cling film and refrigerate for 2 hours, but preferably overnight - (souffles can be frozen at this point)
- preheat oven to 180c (355f)
- pour cream over souffles, sprinkle with the extra cheese and pop a fewpine nuts if using, over the cheese
- bake on middle shelf for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden
- serve immediately
- enjoy!
Notes
- souffles can be frozen - see 'freezing twice baked souffles' note above
Nutrition Information
Amount Per Serving Calories 0Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 0mgCarbohydrates 0gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 0g
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