Chef Juliette
Allumettes
Allumettes make one demand before the tray reaches the oven: reduce the Gruyère Béchamel until it holds on a knife, so the puff paste rises into butter-gold layers instead of soaking flat.
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Beignets Soufflés with Cheese
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2300, Beignets Soufflés with Cheese, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Beignets soufflés teach the discipline of moderate frying: tiny Gruyère-studded choux nubs must swell into airy hollows before their thin shells colour, giving a dinner party one crisp, generous mouthful after another.
Appetizers & Snacks
French
Dinner Party
Celebration
20 min
Active Time
25 min cook•45 min total
YieldAbout 36 beignets (4 appetizer servings)
Beignets soufflés au fromage (cheese-puffed fritters) teach one true thing: the frying fat must be moderate. Too hot and the shell colours before the pâte à choux can swell hollow; too cool and the paste drinks fat instead of rising. Soufflé here names that generous swelling. No separately whisked egg whites are involved.
The source worked by the pound, with a deep pan of frying fat already holding its temperature and spare hands shaping each batch. There is no saucier, permanent stockpot, or salamander to replace here. Its real brigade assumptions were scale and constant service. For one cook, one stove, one evening, half a pound of paste becomes 227 grams, and its five-ounce cheese addition becomes 71 grams, preserving the original 5:16 ratio exactly. An 18 cm saucepan and two teaspoons do the rest. The broad frying pan and brigade quantity were scaffolding; the brunoise, nut-sized portions, cheese ratio, and patient frying are the dish.
Watch the first beignet before committing the batch. It should float, turn, and swell while still pale, then colour only after its center has opened. If the crust races ahead, lower the temperature before adding another. Ça se rattrape.
Beignets soufflés belong to the Parisian grand-kitchen hors-d'oeuvre repertory, where unsweetened pâte à choux crossed from the pastry bench into savory frying. Their kinship with Burgundy's gougères is real but incomplete: gougères are baked, while these beignets depend on moderate frying fat to inflate a hollow center before the shell colours. The hazelnut-sized portion and brunoise of Gruyère turned a large working paste into a hot bite meant to travel directly from pan to table.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Ramequins and Gougère Paste (No. 2375)
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 227 g)
held at its unsweetened pâte à choux stage before the usual Gruyère addition
fresh Gruyère
Quantity
1/2 cup (120 ml / 71 g)
cut into 3 mm brunoise
neutral frying oil
Quantity
5 cups (1.2 L / 1.1 kg)
enough for a 5 cm depth
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Ramequins and Gougère Paste (No. 2375)held at its unsweetened pâte à choux stage before the usual Gruyère addition | 1 cup (240 ml / 227 g) |
| fresh Gruyèrecut into 3 mm brunoise | 1/2 cup (120 ml / 71 g) |
| neutral frying oilenough for a 5 cm depth | 5 cups (1.2 L / 1.1 kg) |
Equipment Needed
- •Digital kitchen scale
- •18 cm heavy, high-sided saucepan
- •Deep-frying thermometer
- •Two teaspoons
- •Wire skimmer
- •Wire rack set over a tray
Instructions
- 1
Cut the brunoise
Cut the cold Gruyère into a 3 mm brunoise, meaning very small, even dice. Keep the pieces distinct rather than grated or crushed; these little cubes soften inside the beignets without disappearing into the paste. If they are much larger, they weigh down the rise and can burst through the shell. Return the diced cheese to the cold while you arrange the frying station.
- 2
Fold in Gruyère
Put the Ramequins and Gougère Paste (No. 2375) into a bowl at its completed unsweetened pâte à choux stage, before that formula's usual Gruyère addition. Fold in the measured brunoise just until evenly dispersed, preserving this entry's ratio of 71 grams cheese to 227 grams paste. The mixture should sit in a soft mound on a spoon. If it slumps flat and cannot hold a hazelnut-sized nub, chill it for 10 to 15 minutes. Don't add flour, which would make the beignets heavy. Ça se rattrape.
The cheese ratio is deliberate. More Gruyère sounds generous but suppresses the rise and leaks into the frying fat; generosity comes from a properly swollen beignet, not an overloaded one. - 3
Set moderate fat
Pour the oil into an 18 cm heavy, high-sided saucepan to a depth of about 5 cm, making certain the pan is no more than half full. Heat it to 160°C. Keep the thermometer clear of the pan floor so it reads the oil, not the metal. Moderate fat is the principle inside the method: the paste needs time to expand before its shell sets and colours.
- 4
Test the rise
Lightly dip two teaspoons in the warm oil, then use them to shape one scant teaspoon of paste into a rough 1.5 cm nub, about the size of a hazelnut. Ease it into the oil away from you. It should sink briefly, float, rotate, and swell to several times its size over 4 to 5 minutes, remaining pale for most of that time before turning an even light gold. Drain it for a minute and split it: the center should be hollow and lightly webbed, with no wet paste. If it browns before swelling, lower the oil to 155°C; if it stays leaden and greasy, restore the oil to 160°C before continuing.
- 5
Fry in batches
Shape and fry 6 to 8 beignets at a time, never more, because crowding drops the temperature. Turn any stubborn ones gently with a wire skimmer so every side meets the fat. Hold the oil between 155°C and 165°C and allow each batch 4 to 5 minutes. Let the temperature recover fully between batches. Lift the beignets onto a wire rack rather than piling them on paper, which traps moisture against their crisp undersides.
- 6
Serve them at once
Serve the beignets as soon as the last batch drains, heaped generously on a warm platter with no garnish required. If the first batch must wait, keep it uncovered on its rack in a 95°C oven for no more than 10 minutes. Covering them softens the shells, and a long wait steals the proud hollow rise you worked for. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Buy Gruyère from a wedge and dice it while cold. Pre-grated cheese is too dry, and its coating keeps the little pieces from melting cleanly into the choux.
- •Use a neutral refined frying oil and a thermometer. The oil need not be fiercely hot; 160°C gives the paste time to swell before the surface colours.
- •A dry sparkling wine is the proper companion for these salty, airy bites. Serve the beignets before dinner while everyone is still standing close enough to take them warm from the platter.
Advance Preparation
- •The Ramequins and Gougère Paste (No. 2375) may be prepared through its unsweetened pâte à choux stage up to one day ahead, tightly covered and kept cold. Let it soften for a few minutes before folding in the cheese.
- •The Gruyère may be cut into brunoise several hours ahead and kept covered in the cold. Fold it into the paste shortly before frying.
- •Do not fry the beignets ahead. Their hollow centers endure, but the delicate shells soften as they stand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 75g)
Calories
325 calories
Total Fat
28 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
19 g
Cholesterol
105 mg
Sodium
280 mg
Total Carbohydrates
9 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
9 g
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