Great Brunch or Lunch Recipe — Twice-Baked Cheddar-Green Onion Soufflés . . . + Gluten & Dairy Free Version

Spinach & Strawberry Salad
accompanied the soufflé.
Click here for complete Menu.

   Marie Simmons contributed this recipe to the Spring 2102 issue of Cooking Club magazine. I immediately knew that it was a recipe that I wanted to try. And, I was not disappointed. As a matter of fact, I (and my guests) give it rave reviews!

     Here’s what the magazine said about the recipe, “These individual soufflés can be baked a day ahead in custard cups or ramekins, cooled, removed to a small baking sheet and refrigerated. The next day, pop them in a hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes, and watch them puff up slightly and turn soft and tender.”

     Although the magazine says it makes six servings, I easily filled eight (3/4 cup capacity) ramekins (may depend of egg size -- I used large but I've also noticed that there are variable size eggs in a carton). The recipe also divided the green onions, adding them in two different steps; I simply added them all at the same time. My changes (to the original recipe) are noted below.

Twice-Baked Cheddar-Green Onion Soufflés   Fills 6 to 8 individual ramekins (3/4 cup capacity)

6 tablespoons butter


1/3 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs 
(I just added salt, pepper & paprika to plain crumbs)

½ cup finely chopped green onions (both white and green parts)


3 tablespoons all-purpose flour


1½ cups whole milk


½ teaspoon kosher salt


Dash cayenne pepper


5 eggs, separated


1¾ cups shredded Cheddar cheese 


¼ teaspoon cream of tartar


1.  Preheat oven to 350°F.

2.  Place 6 to  8 (8- to 10-oz.) ramekins or custard cups in shallow roasting or broiler pan.

3.  Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Brush ramekins with enough melted butter to coat (1 to 2 tablespoons); sprinkle with bread crumbs.



Ramekins, arranged in a baking dish,  are  brushed with melted butter. 

Seasoned bread crumbs are added to the ramekins --
they add flavor and aid in the easy release of the soufflés.

4.  Add chopped green onions to remaining melted butter in saucepan. Reduce heat to low; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Green onions are sautéed in butter for about 2 minutes.

5.  Whisk in flour; cook 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in milk. Increase heat to medium; cook 5 minutes or until sauce comes to a boil and thickens, whisking constantly and adjusting heat if necessary. Whisk in salt and cayenne pepper. Let cool slightly.

When properly thickened, the white sauce should to coat a spoon.

6.  Whisk egg yolks in large bowl until combined; add cheese. Gradually stir in hot mixture until blended.

Whisk yolks until they are combined.

I added the cheese to the yolks and then a bit of the slightly cooled white sauce (step 5) -- this slowly introduces heat to the yolks (referred to as "tempering") and helps avoid scrambling them.

Once the yolks have been tempered, the rest of the white sauce is added and the mixture is thoroughly combined.

7.  Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in large bowl at low speed until foamy. Increase speed to medium; beat until slightly firm but not until stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes. 



When working with egg whites, make sure that the bowl and beaters are grease free and that there are no yolks in with the whites; otherwise it will be impossible to create an egg white foam.

8.  Fold one-third of the egg whites into cheese sauce until almost blended. Gently fold in additional one-third. Fold in remaining egg whites.



Fold the first third of the egg foam into the yolk mixture being careful not to deflate the mixture

All of the foam has been folded into the yolk mixture.
The volume has increased, almost completely filling a 2-quart (8 cup) mixing bowl.

9.  Spoon mixture into ramekins (mixture will come almost to top). Run tip of small knife through soufflé mixture ½” from edge to help soufflés rise straight.

Knife is run 1/2" from the edge of ramekin to help soufflé rise straight.

10. Add enough boiling water to roasting pan to come almost halfway up sides of ramekins.

I prefer to place baking dish on the oven rack (located in middle of oven)
and then pour in the boiling water until it comes almost halfway up sides of ramekins.

11. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until soufflés are puffed and browned.* Let ramekins stand in water bath 10 minutes after baking; remove from water bath. Place on wire rack; let stand 30 minutes or until cool enough to handle.



Soufflés straight out of the oven. They could be served now!
But if you want to serve them the next day, follow the remaining steps.

After setting in the water bath for 10 minutes,  soufflés are removed
to a cooling racking. Yes, they do deflate at this point!

12. Meanwhile, lightly spray small rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Run tip of small knife or thin spatula around edge of ramekins; gently turn out soufflés. Place top-side up on baking sheet.

After running a small knife around the edge of the ramekin,
I turned it upside down onto a sprayed baking dish. Then,
I used a metal spatula to turn it top-side up.

13. Cover and refrigerate overnight or until ready to reheat. Soufflés can be made to this point 1 day ahead.  

14. Bake at 400°F. for 10 minutes or until soufflés are slightly puffed and hot; serve immediately.



The next morning I placed the soufflés in the oven for 10 minutes --
they puffed and browned during this time.

*Soufflés can be served immediately in ramekins, if desired. 
 

Since this is a somewhat complicated recipe, I've included lots of photos with captions. However, those extras sometimes get in the way of the basis instructions so I've included the recipes (without photos) below . . .

Twice-Baked Cheddar-Green Onion Soufflés   Fills 8 individual ramekins (3/4 cup capacity)

6 tablespoons butter


1/3 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
(I just add salt, pepper & paprika to plain crumbs)

½ cup finely chopped green onions (both white and green parts)


3 tablespoons all-purpose flour


1½ cups whole milk


½ teaspoon kosher salt


Dash cayenne pepper


5 eggs, separated


1¾  cups shredded Cheddar cheese 


¼  teaspoon cream of tartar


1.  Preheat oven to 350°F.

2.  Place 8 (8- to 10-oz.) ramekins or custard cups in shallow roasting or broiler pan.

3.  Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Brush ramekins with enough melted butter to coat (1 to 2 tablespoons); sprinkle with bread crumbs.



4.  Add chopped green onions to remaining melted butter in saucepan. Reduce heat to low; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

5.  Whisk in flour; cook 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in milk. Increase heat to medium; cook 5 minutes or until sauce comes to a boil and thickens, whisking constantly and adjusting heat if necessary. Whisk in salt and cayenne pepper. Let cool slightly.

6.  Whisk egg yolks in large bowl until combined; add cheese. Gradually stir in hot mixture until blended.

7.  Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in large bowl at low speed until foamy. Increase speed to medium; beat until slightly firm but not stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes. 



8.  Fold one-third of the egg whites into cheese sauce until almost blended. Gently fold in additional one-third. Fold in remaining egg whites.



9.  Spoon mixture into ramekins (mixture will come almost to top). Run tip of small knife through soufflé mixture ½” from edge to help soufflés rise straight.

10. Add enough boiling water to roasting pan to come almost halfway up sides of ramekins.

11. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until soufflés are puffed and browned.* Let ramekins stand in water bath 10 minutes after baking; remove from water bath. Place on wire rack; let stand 30 minutes or until cool enough to handle.



12. Meanwhile, lightly spray small rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Run tip of small knife or thin spatula around edge of ramekins; gently turn out soufflés. Place top-side up on baking sheet.

13. Cover and refrigerate overnight or until ready to reheat. Soufflés can be made to this point 1 day ahead.  

14. Bake at 400°F. for 10 minutes or until soufflés are slightly puffed and hot; serve immediately.



*Soufflés can be served immediately in ramekins, if desired. 
 




RECIPE ADJUSTMENT -- making the soufflé gluten and dairy free!

Gayle Pruitt, a member of LinkedIn, saw my post in a discussion group at that site. She experimented with the recipe making it gluten and dairy free. Here’s what she did:

• Substituted 6 tablespoons olive oil for 6 tablespoons of butter.
• For the bread crumbs, she used gluten free bread toasted Udi's® Millet Chia bread).
• Used gluten-free all purpose flour rather than the usual flour.
• Instead of 1½ cups whole milk she used 1 cup of carrot juice (she purchases it in a glass jar) + 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Also omitted the cheese.

     She also explained, “
This was wonderful. I invited my neighbor over just to see what she thought; she loved it and could not believe l that I didn't use cheese. Because I had a lot of broccoli, I sautéed 1 cup of chopped broccoli and 1/2 cup of chopped asparagus along with the 1/2 cup of green onions. Light and delicious.”

     Presently Gayle is working on a new cookbook and plans to include the adjusted recipe in that book.

Gayle's Gluten & Dairy Free Veggie Soufflés

Gayle's first cookbook is titled Dog-Gone Good Cookbook for Humans and their Canine Kids (St. Martin's Press). Her second book (the one she's working on now) will be titled Dog-Gone Good Cookbook for When You or Your Canine Kids gets Sick; it will feature meals for specific illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, kidney stones, cancer, and so forth.
Update on 2/24/14 -- Gayle's book is NOW available. Check out her book review @ NYDailyNews.com / Food.  In a recent email she wrote, "I promised I would mention you in my book that you were the inspiration for the Twice-Baked Souffles. You are on page 103."