Twice baked cheese souffle

Twice baked cheese souffle

Assuming a cheese souffle baked twice and finished with cream and more cheese.

A twice baked cheese souffle is rich with egg, cream and melted cheese, light in texture but heavy in flavour. Egg carries a faint sulphur note that clashes with smoky, struck match wines, and aged cheese makes tannin taste hard, so this is white or sparkling territory. The wine needs acidity for the cream and some savoury, nutty depth for the cheese.

Pairs Perfectly. Champagne, Brut, France. Fine bubbles and high acidity lift the cream and disperse the sulphur in the egg, while the toasty depth of long ageing on the lees meets the baked cheese. It has the delicacy for the texture and the flavour for the cheese.

Pairs Well. Dry Riesling from Alsace, France. High in acid and stony rather than smoky, a natural partner to egg dishes, with the body for cheese and cream.

Pairs Well. Dry Hárslevelű from Tokaj, Hungary. Pear, honey and a ginger lift with high acidity, and a honeyed texture that suits the souffle.

Worth Seeking Out

Savagnin from the Jura, France, in its topped up style. Walnut, green apple and a stony finish, from the mountains that make Comté, the cheese that often goes into this souffle.

Avoid

Red wine and smoky, reductive whites. Aged cheese makes tannin hard and metallic, and a struck match note stacks on the sulphur of the egg.

Failing That

A dry Riesling from the Rheingau, Germany.

If All Else Fails

Prosecco, Veneto.

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