soufflés (shake cakes)
The soufflé is a light meal prepared in the oven made with eggs (specifically with egg whites) beaten and combined with other ingredients and served well as a main dish or as a dessert. The word comes from past participle of the French verb "souffler" meaning 'blow' or 'inflated'.
Every soufflé is made of two basic components:
1. A cream based sauce or puree
2. Beaten egg whites.
The base gives some flavor and texture. Common varieties to the souffle base include cheese, chocolate and lemon (the last two are used in desserts, with a good dose of sugar). When the souffle from the oven is usually large and swollen, and often "down" after 20 or 30 minutes.
The souffle can be made in containers of all sizes and shapes, but it is traditional to do so in a kind of "cup souffle" called ramekin.
- In Spain, also known as 'souffle' shakes cakes in many restaurants.
