Royal Cheese Souffle

This dish is reported to be one of the Queen's favourites. According to sources, she likes to dig a spoon into the centre of the finished souffle and fill it with thick, heavy cream. I didn't get that adventurous but I did manage to make quite a fine Royal Cheese Souffle; here is how I did it.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cream
• 2 tablespoons plain or all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons potato flour
• 1/2 cup grated strong cheese (e.g. Parmesan)
• 6 eggs (separated)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Preparation

• Using a whisk, stir the cream, plain flour, potato flour and cayenne together in a saucepan over medium heat until the sauce thickens
• Stir in the cheese until it melts into the sauce
• Blend the eggs yolks into the sauce which should now be quite thick
• Set the sauce to one side to cool
• Whisk the eggs whites at high speed until stiff peaks begin to appear
• Fold the egg whites into the sauce and mix thoroughly but do not stir too vigorously
• Spoon the mix into a well-greased souffle dish (one with straight sides to help the souffle rise)
• Bake in a hot oven until the souffle has risen and is light brown on top
• Serve immediately

John's Notes
One of the challenges of making a souffle is to get it to rise to the top of the dish without overflowing. I filled my dish to about halfway and the souffle just reached the brim as it completed its time in the oven. That was good luck more than judgement. The quantities given in this recipe made just a little more souffle mix than would fit in my souffle dish. But, no problem, I made two smaller souffles as well. More to enjoy - which I did!