I adore soufflé. Sadly, they have a reputation as a finicky food to prepare. However, with a little bit of care and know-how, the home chef (that would be us) can achieve a puffy, flavorful souffle every time. We just need to learn how to make a souffle base with the right consistency, whip up some voluminous egg whites and combine them for a savory or sweet treat.

Step 1 is to make our base. The souffle's base is what provides most of its flavor. Savory soufflés usually start with a béchamel sauce (a show-offey term for white sauce) to which other ingredients are added to provide flavor.

Sweet soufflés start with a crème patissière base rather than with a béchamel sauce. The base's consistency is its most important quality. The pros say we can experiment with different ingredients for the base because a soufflé doesn't absolutely have to start with a béchamel sauce or crème patissière. However, professional cooks say that whatever ingredients we choose to use for the base, we should aim for the same consistency as a thick béchamel sauce.

The following recipes will make enough base for one souffle each.

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Savory Souffle Base

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
4 eggs, separated
Seasoning (salt, pepper, etc.)
Optional add-ins (grated cheese, pureed vegetables, chopped spinach, etc.) ·

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then stir in the flour. Stir constantly for a couple minutes, but not long enough for the mixture to brown. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan. Stir the warm milk into the butter and flour mixture. Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook for several more minutes, until thick. Stir in any seasoning, and remove from heat. You now have a basic béchamel sauce.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks together. Save the egg whites. You'll be using them after you make your base. It's the whipped egg whites and base combined that make a souffle! Add a small amount of the hot béchamel mixture to the eggs. Pour the egg mixture back into the béchamel sauce, stirring until incorporated. Stir in any additional ingredients you wish to add—grated cheese and pureed vegetables are common choices.

Be careful not to overwhelm the souffle with heavy ingredients. The consistency of the base will affect the souffle's ability to rise in the oven. Don't add more than 1 1/2 cups of extra ingredients, and make sure the resulting consistency is similar to that of the original béchamel and egg mixture.

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Sweet Souffle Base

3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Optional add-ins (chocolate, fruit purees, flavor extracts, etc.)

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture becomes pale yellow. Save the egg whites. You'll be using them after you make your base. It's the whipped egg whites and base combined that make a souffle! Stir the flour into the mixture.

Heat the milk and vanilla to just below boiling, then pour into egg mixture while stirring. Whisking constantly in the top part of a double boiler, bring mixture to a boil, or cook until the temperature reaches 160° F on a candy thermometer. Cook for a minute or two, then remove from heat. You now have a basic crème patissière. Stir in any extra ingredients, keeping the consistency of the base in mind. Common additions include fruit purees, chocolate and flavor extracts.

Step 2 is to whip our egg whites. Beating eggs is all about science — and it's physics and chemistry that make a souffle rise or fall. Egg whites give a souffle its volume. To get the most from the whites, they must be completely free of egg yolk, and the utensils used should be free of oil and soap residues.

Reserved egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
Large bowl
Whisk or electric mixer

Use the egg whites left over from making the souffle base. We have the option of adding 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 teaspoon lemon juice to help froth the whites. Beat the whites until they have form stiff peaks, but haven't lost their glossiness. (We can use either a hand whisk or an electric mixer, but whisking by hand takes a long time. Using a mixer will take a few minutes, and exact timing depends on your beater, the quality and age of the eggs.) We’ll judge when to stop beating by the appearance of the whites, not the amount of time we've been beating.

Use the whites immediately after frothing.

Step 3 is to actually prepare the soufflé — to combine the base and egg white mixture. Fold the whites into the base using a rubber spatula, rather than stirring, to prevent the loss of crucial air bubbles.

Base (either sweet or savory)
Whipped egg whites
Spatula
1 souffle dish or 6 small ramekins for mini souffles
Grated cheese, sugar, flour or bread crumbs to coat baking dish(es) (optional)

Place the oven rack on a low level, then preheat the oven to 350° F. Fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the prepared base with a spatula until incorporated. Fold in the rest of the whites. Don't over-mix, or you'll lose volume. Pour mixture into greased ramekins. Coat the greased sides of the dishes with flour, bread crumbs, cheese or sugar. Make sure to leave room in the ramekin for the souffle to expand up, otherwise the mixture will over-flow before it cooks enough to prevent liquid spilling.

Bake the souffle in preheated oven until puffed and golden brown (around 30 minutes). A toothpick stuck in the side of a souffle will come out clean when it's ready. Many recipes stress the importance of not opening the oven door for the first 15 to 20 minutes of baking, so it's wise to refrain as much as possible.

Serve straight from the oven, as it will begin to fall immediately. A souffle will never regain its full volume with reheating, though you can re-puff it a bit by putting it back in the oven for a few minutes.

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Once we get the hang of making a souffle, we might want to serve them up to a small party of family or friends to amaze them with our culinary skills!