Cheese Soufflé

I've been wanting to tackle the classic cheese soufflé for a long time, so I turned to Ms Julia Child for instructions.   Her instructions are a bit long-winded, but I got good results.  I was proud as a peacock when my soufflés puffed up a few inches above the rim.  I didn't own a large Charlotte mold as the recipe wanted, so I just used smaller-sized regular ol' American Pyrex ramekins.  The soufflé tasted good, but next time, I think I'd add spinach to it for something extra.  I'm going to repeat the recipe here in my own more concise format the way I made it.

Soufflé au Fromage  (2013 Cookbook Challenge)
from Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup boiling milk
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of Cayenne pepper
4 egg yolks
5 egg whites
2 pinches salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup grated Gruyère cheese


Directions (in my own words):
Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Butter the bottom and sides of four 10-12oz ramekins. Dust with Parmesan cheese, tapping out excess.  Set on a baking sheet and set aside.

Boil milk.  Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in flour with a wooden spoon and cook until they foam together for a couple minutes without browning.  Remove from the heat; when it stops bubbling, pour in all the boiling milk at once.  Beat vigorously with a wire whisk until blended.  Beat in the seasonings.  Return to medium heat and boil, whisking the mixture for a minute.  Sauce should be very thick.  Remove from the heat.

Separate the eggs.  Drop the yolks into the sauce, whisking well after each addition.  Add more seasoning if necessary.  

Put the whites in a separate bowl.  (Discard the extra yolk from the 5th egg).  If using an electric mixer, beat with a pinch of salt on low speed, gradually increasing speed.  When the whites start to foam, add another big pinch of salt and the cream of tartar, and keep increasing speed for another minute or so until whites are shining and stiff.  Do not overbeat the whites.

Stir a big spoonful of the whites into the sauce.  Stir in all but a tablespoon of the Gruyère Cheese.  Delicately fold in the rest of the whites with a rubber spatula, being careful not to overfold.  It should only take a few strokes.  It is better to leave a few unblended patches than to deflate the egg whites.

Transfer the mixture evenly into the ramkins, about 3/4 full.  Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.  Set on a rack in the middle level of 400º oven and immediately turn the heat down to 375º.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until soufflé is puffed and top is nicely browned.  Do not open oven while baking.  Serve immediately.