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Omelet Souffle
An omelet souffle should be served in the same dish in which it is baked, and should be sent to table with the greatest expedition after it is taken out of the oven, as it falls and grows heavy very quickly. Break half a dozen fresh eggs into separate bowls. Whisk four of the yolks, and mix with them a tea-spoonful of dry flour, three table-spoonfuls of finely-powdered sugar, a small pinch of salt, and any flavouring that may be preferred, such as grated nutmeg, lemon-or orange-rind, vanilla, etc. Butter the souffle-pan, to keep the omelet from sticking to it, whisk the whites of the six eggs to a firm froth, mix them lightly with the yolks, pour the mixture into the pan, and bake in a quick oven. When it is well risen and brightly browned on the top, the omelet is done enough. Sift a little sugar over it very expeditiously, and serve. Some cooks put a hot flannel round the pan to prevent its cooling on the way to the dining-room. Time to bake, a quarter of an hour. Probable cost, 8d. Sufficient for two or three persons.
A plain sweet souffl´e omelet with nothing to hold it up but egg white, so everything depends on how the whites are folded in and how fast it reaches the table.
- The hingeFold the whites into the yolk base with a spatula in as few strokes as will just combine them, leaving a few streaks rather than a smooth batter. Whisking or stirring at this stage knocks out the air and the omelet bakes flat and leathery.
- Quick ovenRoughly 400-425F. Preheat fully and bake on a rack in the lower third so the base sets before the top colours.
- Six eggs, four yolksThe recipe is not a misprint: all six whites go in, but only four yolks. Save the two spare yolks for custard. Break the eggs into separate bowls, as directed, so one bad egg does not spoil the batch and so no yolk contaminates the whites.
- Finely-powdered sugarCaster sugar, or granulated sugar pulsed briefly in a grinder. Modern icing sugar (confectioners') contains cornstarch; keep it for the dusting at the end.
- The souffl´e-panThe souffle-pan -- A 6-7 inch straight-sided ovenproof dish, or an ovenproof skillet of similar diameter. Butter it generously, as directed.
- TimingA quarter of an hour is right for this size, but go by the look of it: well risen, deep gold on top, still trembling within. A souffl´e omelet is meant to be soft, almost saucy, at the centre.
- ServingServes two or three as written, and it will begin to sink within a minute or two of leaving the oven. Have plates, forks and the sugar sifter ready before you open the door. The hot flannel is charming but a warmed serving plate does the same work.
- FlavouringsGrate the citrus rind directly into the sugar so the oils are not lost, and use vanilla extract rather than an essence if you want the flavour to survive a quick oven.
The souffl´e omelet sits between two dishes it is often said to stand between: the folded French omelette cooked on the stovetop, and the moulded souffl´e baked in a straight-sided dish, though souffl´eed and plain omelettes coexisted well before the nineteenth century. Nineteenth-century English cookery books kept the middle form alive under names like omelette soufflée, in which the separated eggs are lightened with sugar and either finished in the oven or begun in a pan and browned on top.