Strawberry Soufflé

A soufflé is a baked egg dish that originated in France. Our version has a strawberry twist, is deliciously light and rises beautifully.

Ingredients

4 eggs
1 x 5ml vegetable oil, for greasing ramekins
400g strawberries
2 x 15 ml spoons of caster sugar
2 x 5ml cornflour
30ml cold water

Equipment

6 ramekin dishes or other small deep, oven proof dishes
Pastry brush
Baking tray or roasting tin
Table knife
2 small mixing bowls
2 large mixing bowls
Chopping board
Vegetable knife
Medium-sized mixing bowl
Fork/potato masher or electric hand blender
Measuring spoons
Small saucepan
Heat proof spoon
Whisk
Palette knife
Kettle
Oven gloves

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan assisted or gas mark 6.
2. Brush the insides of 6 ramekins with the vegetable oil. Place them on a baking tray or in a roasting tin.
3. Separate the eggs – crack each egg in half using the back of a table knife and tip the contents between the two shells, allowing the whites to slide through into the bowl beneath while the yolks stay in the shells.
4. Place the whites in a large mixing bowl and the yolks in a small mixing bowl. Wash your hands well after handling the raw egg.
5. On a clean, dry chopping board, cut the stems off the strawberries using the claw method. Place them in the medium bowl and either mash with a fork or a blender to create a puree. Stir in 1 x 15ml
   spoon of sugar and transfer to the saucepan.
6. In a small mixing bowl, mix the cornflour with the cold water until it forms a thick paste. Add to the egg yolks and whisk with a fork.
7. Place the saucepan with the strawberry puree on to the hob and gently heat, stirring, until it is almost simmering. Remove the pan from the heat and add the egg yolks and cornflour mixture. Stir
   well until everything is combined.
8. Return the pan to a low heat and, stirring continuously, gently heat the strawberry mixture until it begins to thicken. It should be
   the consistency of thin custard. Once thickened, remove from the heat, cover with a lid to prevent a skin forming and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
9. Add the remaining 15ml spoon of sugar to the egg whites and whisk well until they form soft peaks.
10. Tip the strawberry mixture into a large bowl and slowly fold in (don’t mix or beat) a little of the egg white at a time until it is all used up.
11. Divide the soufflé mixture evenly between the 6 ramekins, filling them right to the top. Level the top with a palette knife or back of a table knife.
12. Making sure your hands are clean, run the tip of your thumb around the edge of the ramekins to make a small groove in the mixture. This will help the soufflé to rise.
13. Boil the kettle and add 2cms of boiling water to the roasting tin. Place the ramekins into the tin. Using oven gloves, carefully place the tin into the hot oven.
14. Cook for around 10 minutes. The soufflés are ready when they are firm and are golden brown on the top.
15. Enjoy straight away.

Skills used include:
Chopping, whisking, mashing and baking.

Top Tips

• Before you start whisking your egg whites, make sure the bowl and whisk are completely clean and grease-free, and make sure there’s no yolk with the egg whites or they won’t whip to full volume. Whisk until soft peaks begin to form – the egg whites should look like clouds.

Something to try next time

• Try different soft fruits, or a mixture of several. Raspberries and blueberries both work brilliantly.

Prepare now, eat later

• The soufflé should be prepared, cooked and eaten on the same day.

Get more from your food

• You could make your mixture go further by adding and extra egg white if you have one left over.