Gruyère soufflé

Preheat oven to 180 °C and butter a 20 cm soufflé dish.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and stir in the flour until it has a smooth consistency. Gradually add the milk and keep stirring with a wire whisk until the mixture starts to bubble.

Now add the grated cheese, switch off the heat and beat with a whisk until the cheese has melted and the mixture is smooth again.

Remove the saucepan from the heat, leave for about 5 minutes to cool down slightly and then stir in the egg yolks.

Beat the egg whites in a bowl until it holds a peak when you lift up the beater. Stir a big spoonful of the egg white into the cheese batter to loosen it slightly, then add the rest and stir gently until combined.

Pour the batter into the soufflé dish and place in a larger dish. Pour boiling water into the larger dish until it comes halfway up the sides of the soufflé dish, making a bain-marie.

Bake for 20 minutes, rotate the soufflé and bake for another 10– 20 minutes until the soufflé is puffed up and beautifully browned on top.

Extracted from “Confessions of a Hungry Woman” by Sam Woulidge (Random House Struik)
Recipe created and prepared by Peter and Mariana Esterhuizen.