The rise everyone fears and anyone can have: mornay base, firm whites, folded with respect, baked without peeking. Serve at a run.
What you need
Ingredients
Servings
4
40 g
🧈 Butter ›
plus more for the dish
40 g
🌾 Flour ›
300 ml
🥛 Milk ›
150 g
🧀 Gruyère ›
grated
30 g
🧀 Parmesan ›
for dusting the dish
5
🥚 Eggs ›
separated, +1 extra white
1 pinch
🥄 Cream of Tartar ›
1 pinch
🌰 Nutmeg ›
Add all to shopping list
Mise en place
Before you start
30m
Prep
30m
Cook
60m
Total
4
Serves
Equipment
Large skillet
Chef's knife
Cutting board
Prep checklist
Butter — plus more for the dish
Gruyère — grated
Parmesan — for dusting the dish
Eggs — separated, +1 extra white
4 steps
Method
1
Butter the dish and dust with parmesan — this grippy wall is the ladder the soufflé climbs.
💡
Straight-sided dish, straight-up butter strokes: give the rise a runway.
2
Make a thick mornay; whisk in the yolks off-heat, then the gruyère and nutmeg. Season boldly — the whites will dilute it.
3
Whip whites with cream of tartar to firm (not dry) peaks. Fold a third in roughly to lighten, the rest in three gentle passes.
Learn the technique ›
4
Bake at 190°C on a low shelf, 25–28 minutes, oven door a stranger. It's done when tall, bronze, and swaying slightly. Serve within 90 seconds — the collapse is physics, not failure.
From the chef
Notes
Taste before serving and adjust salt and acid — the last 30 seconds of seasoning matter more than any single ingredient.
Afterwards
Keep, reheat & pair
Storage
Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 3 days; reheat gently with a splash of water.
Freezing
Freezes well up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Reheating
Reheat gently: covered in a 160°C oven for 15 minutes, or in a pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock. The microwave works at 50% power in short bursts — full blast toughens proteins.
Make ahead
Most braises and sauces improve overnight. Sear-and-serve dishes: do every step up to the final cook, then finish fresh.
Wine pairing
Match the weight of the dish — ask the AI Chef for a specific bottle.
Beer pairing
Match intensity: lagers for delicate dishes, amber ales for roasted flavors, stouts for the rich and braised.
On the plate
Serve it with
Sides
·
Crusty bread or buttered rice
·
A sharp green salad
·
Roasted seasonal vegetables
Garnish
Fresh herbs added off the heat
A squeeze of lemon
Flaky salt
Taste map
Flavor profile
Sweet
Salty
Sour
Bitter
Umami
Heat
Per serving
Nutrition
420
kcal
20g
protein
16g
carbs
31g
fat
3g
fiber
520mg
sodium
When it goes sideways
Troubleshooting
It didn't rise. Under-whipped whites or over-folded batter. Firm peaks, and stop folding at "mostly combined."
It collapsed instantly. They all do — within minutes. Soufflés are served, not displayed.