70 gr [21/2 oz] swiss cheese (comté or gruyère type)
30 gr [1 oz] butter + some for dish
20 gr [3/4 oz] plain flour
25 cl [9 fl oz] milk
4 eggs
salt, pepper & grated nutmeg

1-Pre-heat oven to 180°C / 350°F ; butter the soufflé dishes ; thinly grate the cheese ( use thin wholes of grater).

2- Separate the egg whites from yolk and beat the whites with an electric mixer until they get thickly frothy.

3- Prepare the béchamel (white sauce) : melt the butter in a saucepan, medium flame, and pour the flour on it while stirring with a wooden spoon until well blended. On a more gentle flame, start pouring a bit of milk and gently stir until it is incorporated ; keep doing this way with all milk. Never stop stirring. Reckon about 10 minutes until the béchamel is ready (it must get thick).

4- Add enough nutmeg, salt & pepper, and remove from fire.

5- Add the grated cheese, then the yolks ; turn vigourously to obtain a homogeneous mixture. Gently incorporate the egg whites with a rubber spatula.

6- Pour the mixture equally into the 4 soufflé dishes ; fill them about 3/4.

7- Bake in oven for about 25 minutes ; the soufflés must rise and get golden brown. Do not open oven door as they will deflate.

You need to increase baking time if you use a large single dish, and vice versa. It would take around 40 minutes for 1 big dish...

Make sure all your guests are seated and serve immediately as the soufflé will deflate very quickly.

TRICK: if you feel at ease and wish to skip a step, you can avoid stiffing the egg whites and chose to directly incorporate the whole eggs into the béchamel. In this case, do it egg by egg, beating vigourously with a fork like an omelette ; then add the cheese.