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Cheese Souffle with Pastry
2 whites of eggs 2/3 cup thin cream 1 cup grated cheese 1/2 cup Swiss cheese cut into small pieces Salt, cayenne pepper and nutmeg Add the eggs to the cream, and beat slightly, then add the cheese and seasoning. Bake fifteen minutes in a hot oven in patty tins lined with puff paste.
A shallow cheese custard baked in pastry cases rather than a risen soufflé — the whites are only beaten slightly, not whipped to peaks, so expect something closer to a small quiche.
- Hot ovenThe recipe gives no temperature; in books of this period "hot" is generally taken as somewhere around 400–450F. Fifteen minutes at that heat should set the shallow custard and colour the puff paste.
- Patty tinsSmall tartlet or muffin tins, roughly 2½–3 inches across. The quantities given would fill something in the region of six to eight, depending on the tin.
- Thin creamLight cream or half-and-half, around 18–20 percent fat. Heavy cream makes the filling greasy once the cheese fat renders out.
- Puff pasteCommercial all-butter puff pastry is a fair substitute. Line the tins, chill them firmly before filling, and dock the bases so they do not lift under the custard.
- The grated cheeseUnspecified. Since it is paired with diced Swiss, a firm grating cheese such as aged cheddar or Parmesan is one reasonable choice, though the recipe does not say.
- Don't overbeatThe instruction to beat the eggs and cream only "slightly" matters. Whipping air into whites here gives a puff that collapses into a rubbery layer as it cools; a smooth, barely blended mixture sets evenly.
- Nutmeg and cayenneBoth are presumably meant in very small amounts, a scrape of nutmeg and a pinch of cayenne for the whole batch. Cheese custards take salt readily, so season lightly.
- ServingSix to eight small tarts, enough for about four as a lunch dish with a salad. Best warm rather than hot from the oven.