Mornay for Souffle

I use 40g butter to 1 cup of milk. I don't weigh the flour: I add as much flour as the butter will absorb. Different butters will absorb more or less flour. The better the quality of the butter, the more flour it will absorb - and the more roux it yields. 

From a quick googling around, 40g is approximately 2 T + 2/3 T. 

I like to use a fairly sharp Comté (not the stuff you find in supermarkets). 

I fill up the ramekin to about 1/2" below the top. After 5 mn in the oven I open the oven (I know, I know, you're not supposed to do that, but it works for me), insert a knife between the souffle and the ramekin and turn it around the souffle to free it up from the ramekin and allow it to rise. They about double in height by the time they come out of the oven: 

Anyone else here making souffles?

Quite often, especially for dessert:

• Chocolate souffle
• Strawberry souffle
• Mango souffle
• Peach souffle

Oh, wait, you're talking about souffles using a roux base, correct?

Phatch, did you try my knife trick? It works for me. Even though I take great care of buttering and flouring the ramekins, it helps a lot. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by French Fries 

After 5 mn in the oven I open the oven (I know, I know, you're not supposed to do that, but it works for me), insert a knife between the souffle and the ramekin and turn it around the souffle to free it up from the ramekin and allow it to rise. They about double in height by the time they come out of the oven: 

I also usually put the ramekins at the bottom of the oven where the heat will come from the bottom and rise. It helps with the rising of the souffles. The convection is turned off. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by phatch 

I usually butter the ramekins and coat in grated parmesan cheese. It usually releases from the sides on it's own pretty well. 

Weird - I never tried cheese but I would have thought it would melt and become sticky...

Yeah I've also heard of using cheese on the ramekin on TV-shows... never understood how that works as I picture the cheese melting and becoming sticky - never tried it though. I use flour, just like when I bake a cake, and it works for me. 

Yes I'm sure it creates a yummy parmesan crust all around your souffle! Sounds good actually. It's just surprising to me that it wouldn't melt and stick and hinder the rising of the souffle. Maybe we should try (either you or I, whoever makes souffles first next) to do a few souffles, two with flour, two with parmesan, then one of each gets knife freeing-up action after 5mn in the oven, the other one of each doesn't. 

That'd give us 4 different souffles, I'd be curious to see the differences in rise (if any). 

I make a parchment  paper ring around my soufflee cups so when they rise they do not overflow and they stand up real high and look really impressive. I fill them high.

Another tip :

Run your finger around the inside edge of the dish creating a 'ravine' , this forces the sides of the souffle to rise straight up.