It may be a funny comparison, but a cheese souffle is like a chocolate mousse in savory form; and instead of a dessert, why not serve this up as breakfast. Cheese, ham, eggs = breakfast. You’ll fluffy up a relatively heavy combination of ingredients, by incorporating egg whites that are beaten to stiff peaks and the end result is light, while remaining flavorful.
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.
- Butter
- Corn flakes – this is used to create a delicious crispy crust. You can also use bread crumbs, or Parmigiano Reggiano.
- All-purpose flour
- Milk
- Prosciutto ham
- Comte cheese – a good melting cheese is needed for a cheese souffle. You can also use Gruyere, cheddar or Gouda cheese.
- Parsley
- Dijon Mustard
- Eggs
For this cheese souffle I used Comte, which is a French Gruyere type-cheese, with alpine flavors, and genuine Prosciutto. My idea was that the Comte with its nutty, creamy, fruity, peppery and toasty flavor, would be a great combination with a salty prosciutto. The added parsley creates color and brightens the flavor, balances the flavors. It came out great, brown on the top and the outside, fluffy in the center and a great flavor. I also added just a little bit of Dijon Mustard for some extra flavor. There are several flavored Dijon mustard available, pick the one you like or simply use the unflavored one.
How to Make Comte Cheese Souffle with Prosciutto
- Step 1 – Melt butter in a saucepan (do not brown), add flour and whisk together, creating a roux. Cook the roux a minutes over low heat. Add milk and stir constantly. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook for a few minutes.
- Step 2 – Add ham, cheese, parsley and mustard to sauce and mix well. Add salt and pepper if needed and allow to cool. Stir every now and then, to avoid a skin from forming.
- Step 3 – Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and place a baking sheet in the middle of the oven. Separate the eggs. Mix the egg yolks into the cooled ham-cheese sauce. Whip the egg whites stiff and add them to the sauce as well. First add about 1/3 and mix this until you have a uniform mixture. Fold the remaining 2/3 into the mix gently until just combined.
- Step 4 – Grease 1 large bowl with straight sides or 2 ramekins with butter and cover inside (bottom and sides) with corn flakes. Poor mixture into the bowl or ramekins. Place on the baking sheet in the oven and lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. and bake for approx. 20 minutes.
How High will My Cheese Souffle Rise?
In my opinion, there a few things that may contribute to the height of your souffle
- The stiffness of your whipped egg whites. Egg whites should be stiff, not soft and not past stiff and fall apart. Furthermore, when you fold the egg whites into the sauce mixture, do that gently. You want to keep as many of the air bubbles in the beaten whites as you can.
- The thickness of your bechamel sauce, in other words, you may have added more milk than the recipe calls for. A thicker sauce may not lift your souffle as high as a thinner sauce but is better at keeping the souffle’s structure.
- The oven temperature. The temperature of your oven influences
- The setting of your egg protein (egg yolk and whites) or in other words, firms up the protein, altering the protein’s structure from a liquid-soft state to a firm-solid state. And when the protein sets, it should hold the rise.
- The hotter the oven, the quicker and fuller the souffle will rise, and the faster it will brown and set on the outside.
- If you use a high temperature (400-425 degrees F), the protein may have set before the rise is done, while the top of the souffle may already be brown. You will end up with a custardy center. This is perfectly OK, I would even say there are people who prefer a center that is still a little runny.
- If use a lower temperature (350-375 degrees F), the protein will have time to set, will brown more slowly, but will not become as tall as with a higher temperature. The center of your souffle will be more or fully set.
- The hotter the oven, the quicker and fuller the souffle will rise, and the faster it will brown and set on the outside.
- The production of gases that expand inside the souffle. Those gases are found inside air bubbles and the right temperature converts moisture into steam, causing the souffle to rise. The higher the temperature, the quicker those air bubbles expand.
- The color of your souffle; the top and the sides.
- The setting of your egg protein (egg yolk and whites) or in other words, firms up the protein, altering the protein’s structure from a liquid-soft state to a firm-solid state. And when the protein sets, it should hold the rise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Honestly? No, I don’t think it is. When you read through the steps you need to make, it comes down to making a sauce (you’ve done that a million times), adding egg yolk, cheese and Prosciutto in this case (also familiar). The next step is whipping egg whites stiff and mixing that into the sauce mixture. That’s basically it. Pour the mixture in a prepare dish, and bake (high or low – depending on a set interior or a custardy interior of the souffle). You got this !
Yes, every souffle will deflate, a little. How much may depend on how strong your souffle structure is, and how big the temperature difference is between in and outside the oven. But every souffle will deflate, as it cools; that’s something you’ll need to accept. Deflated or not, your souffle will still taste amazing.
I would advise to use a cheese that melts easily, like a Gruyere, Comte, Cheddar, Gouda cheese or Jack. I would not use a Mozzarella, as it does not add much to the flavor of the souffle. Parmigiano Reggiano is also not a perfect melting cheese for this recipe.
Souffles are best baked and served immediately, but you can make the sauce a few hours ahead of time and keep it chilled. Whip and fold in the egg whites just before baking.
Comte Cheese Souffle with Prosciutto
Pin Recipe FacebookIngredients
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 cup corn flakes
- 1 ounce butter
- 1 ounce all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 4 ounces Prosciutto, sliced and cut
- 2 ounces Comte cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- salt and pepper
- 2 whole eggs
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees F and place a baking sheet in the middle of the oven.
- Place corn flakes in a plastic bag and crush until super fine.
- Grease 1 large bowl with straight sides or 2 ramekins with butter and cover inside (bottom and sides) with corn flakes. (NOTE 1)
- Melt butter in a saucepan (do not brown), add flour and whisk together, creating a roux.
- Cook the roux a minutes over low heat. Add milk and stir constantly. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook for a few minutes.
- Add ham, cheese, parsley and mustard to sauce and mix well. Add salt and pepper if needed and allow to cool. Stir every now and then to avoid a skin from forming.
- Separate the eggs.
- Mix the egg yolks into the cooled ham-cheese sauce. Whip the egg whites stiff. First add about 1/3 of the egg whites and mix this until you have a uniform mixture. Fold the remaining 2/3 gently into the mix until just combined.
- Poor mixture into bowl or divide over ramekins. Place on the baking sheet in the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees F or 375 degrees. and bake for approx. 20 minutes or until the souffle turns nice and brown.
- Serve immediately when ready.
Notes
- Use bread crumbs instead of corn flakes or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
- Use any type of mustard or even a flavored mustard.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.