Sasha's Kitchen: Caramel Souffle

I love making souffles.  Once you get the hang of it (which I admit took a couple of tries in the beginning) they are very easy to make. Most people are familiar with chocolate souffles, which are amazing when done correctly. However, souffles can be done in just about any flavor.  Some of my favorites are the fruity souffles, which are light and wonderful.  I decided to try out a simple caramel souffle using some goat's milk cinnamon caramel that I bought in Vermont from Fat Toad Farm, a local organic Vermont farm that makes their own delicious caramel.  This souffle tastes just like the amazing cinnamon caramel but presents it in a light and airy souffle.

Sasha's Cinnamon Caramel Souffle (makes 4 individual sized souffles)
3 egg yolks
5 egg whites
1/2 cup of Fat Toad Farm's Cinnamon Caramel
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
a couple teaspoons of sugar
a bit of butter or Pam

Preheat the oven to 425 F. The oven must be fully preheated before you put the souffles in. First, spray 4 individual souffle ramekins with butter or Pam and sprinkle with sugar.  Beat together the egg yolks and the caramel to make your souffle base.  Using a stand mixer, beat the egg whites on high for about 3 seconds, using the whisk attachment. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating for about three minutes until the egg whites are puffy and foamy, a bit like a meringue. Gently fold the egg whites into the souffle base, using a spatula.  Fill the four ramekins to the top with the souffle mixture and bake for about 30 minutes until the souffles rise and are golden brown on top. Do not open the oven while the souffles are cooking or they will collapse, but leave the oven light on so you can watch progress on the souffles.

Sasha's Kitchen: Caramel Souffle

Sasha's Kitchen: Vermont Goat Cheese-Cheddar Souffle (Cookbook Review Of Dishing Up Vermont)

I have written quite a bit of recipes where I discuss sustainable, farm fresh cooking.  Even though I don't live in the country, I prefer to cook with locally produced, farm fresh, organic produce and ingredients, raised using sustainable agricultural techniques.  Brooklyn's farmers markets are a wonderful place to purchase such produce and I have found numerous fantastic local farm-to-table restaurants here in Brooklyn.  Not surprisingly, I have long been a fan of Vermont  fresh foods, as Vermont is one of the birthplaces of the sustainable farm-to-table movement that has reshaped America's culinary landscape.  My husband and I are actually traveling to Vermont myself in June and hope to experience some local Vermont cooking firsthand, which of course, I will share in this blog.

With this background, I was excited to receive a courtesy copy of Tracy Medeiros's cookbook, Dishing Up Vermont from her publisher last week.  This cookbook is a compilation of authentic farm-to-table recipes from the green mountain state.  Tracy's cookbook provides a birds eye view into the local Vermont foodie culture that has taken the nation by storm in the sustainable agricultural movement.  The cookbook includes numerous fabulous recipes from businesses in Vermont that are part of the Vermont Fresh Network (VFN).  It focuses exclusively on recipes from the network of farmers, chefs, restaurants and growers that make up the Vermont sustainability movement.

Even though I don't live in Vermont, I am excited to test out many of these recipes here in Brooklyn since I share the same passion for sustainability and farm fresh produce in my own cooking as set forth in the pages of Dishing Up Vermont.  In addition, the author of the cookbook will be speaking on April 8 at Murray's Cheese House in Manhattan at 6:30 PM (by advance registration).

Vermont Goat-Cheddar Cheese Souffle (From Hemingway's Restaurant in Killington, VT, page 124 of Dishing Up Vermont)

1 T ground almonds
1.4 tsp ground fennel
3/4 cup plus 3 T whole milk
2 T unsalted butter
2 1/2 T flour
salt to taste
7 1/2 oz Vermont goat cheese
2 oz Vermont sharp cheddar cheese (i.e. Cabot), shredded
3 egg yolks
4 egg whites

Preheat the oven to 375.  Be sure the oven is fully preheated by the time you put the souffle(s) in the oven.  This recipe makes eight small souffles, or one large souffle.  I was making it as a dinner entree, so I prepared one large souffle.

Bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan and remove from heat.  Melt the butter and add the flour an cook for several minutes, whisking the entire time.  Increase the heat to medium, and add the milk.  Bring to a boil for a minute and remove from the heat.  Add a bit of salt and all of the cheeses.  Mix fully with a whisk until all of the cheese has melted and beat in the egg yolks, after you separate the eggs.  Save the whites, as this is a souffle, so you will surely need them.

To make a souffle, you will need either a handheld egg beater, or better yet, a Kitchenaid artisan stand mixer.  Beat the egg white on the highest speed with the mixer, with a bit of cream of tartar added.  Continue beating for about five minutes until foamy (but not too long that it is dry) and stiff peaks form.  This will take about three or four minutes of constant beating, just like in my other souffle recipes.  Then gently fold half of the egg white mixture into the batter.  Fold in the other half and place in the souffle dish or ramekins.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 375 in the preheated oven.  The souffle should rise significantly and turn golden brown.  Don't be tempted to take it out sooner just because the outside starts to look done.  Further, whatever you do, do not open the oven during the cooking process, or the souffle will collapse.  This was a fabulous recipe and a great way to showcase terrific local Vermont cheeses (Cabot and fresh Vermont goat).  My husband and I loved the way the souffle looked and tasted.

Sasha's Kitchen: Vermont Goat Cheese-Cheddar Souffle (Cookbook Review Of Dishing Up Vermont)