Comments on: Eggbabies: The Kitchen-Sink Breakfast Souffle

By: @marycray

@marycray — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:47:38 +0000

I made this today from a savory brunch. It rose out of my cast iron skillet and then it fell. See it here: http://twitpic.com/zfvoc I plan to experiment with a more jiggly/custard version.

Back to today’s results:
On top of a slice, I stacked fresh local chantrelles sauteed in butter and onions.
Added a bit of a gruyere.
I finally topped with a fried egg.

Scrumptious.

I also served a slice with brandied soaked cherries and honey. Also, yummy.

By: shuna fish lydon

shuna fish lydon — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 17:45:19 +0000

Hello Priscilla,

Whole wheat flour is like brown rice. Both are heavier, coarser and absorb a lot more moisture. Also when a flour says the word ‘hard’ anywhere near it, it’s really high in gluten and mostly used for bread baking. Hard wheats also absorb more moisture.

If you wish to use whole wheat flours, decrease this recipe by 25% to begin with, and then if you want even more rise, add an extra egg or two. The hotter the vessel and your oven, too, the taller the souffle-ing that can happen.

Happy experimenting!

By: Priscilla

Priscilla — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:30:50 +0000

I finally got around to making one of these today, and it was indeed much easier than I expected. But it didn’t puff up, not even a little bit. I used King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour (it’s made all from hard white wheat), 3 eggs, 5 Tbsp sugar, and cooked it all in my cast iron skillet. The only thing I can imagine that might have been wrong was the butter in the skillet: I used one TBsp but that seemed an awful lot. Thoughts?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:16:00 +0000

Has anyone ever heard of this dish being called (warning: phonetic spelling of a foreign word about to occur) ooo-nee gwa-kwa?

My childhood friend’s mother used to make something that seems to be similar to this and I have been searching for a recipe for years!

By: jessicafm

jessicafm — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 16:35:00 +0000

What a delicious recipe! It does beg to be made savory, doesn’t it? I made it per your recipe this morning, as it was the first time, for my honey’s 40th birthday breafast in bed. Served with fresh blackberry preserves. Yum! Next time I’ll use my cast-iron skillet with more surface area, rather than the souffle dish (too much middle). http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessicafm/172032493/

By: kristin & joie

kristin & joie — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 21:35:00 +0000

What the mouths said was more like, “More! More, more!” :-)

By: shuna fish lydon

shuna fish lydon — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 20:35:00 +0000

Hello Joie & Kristin--

Thanks so much for visiting, and commenting! And for trying the eggbabies!

Yes, they are supposed to rise and fall, this is not a "proper" souffle. My edges tend to stay put but the middle becomes fairly flat. This is OK!

No need to worry too much about how it looks.

Now taste...mmmmmm, satisfying. Is this what the mouths said?

By: Kristin & Joie

Kristin & Joie — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 04:26:00 +0000

We tried these this morning – they puffed up beautifully but deflated shortly after leaving the oven. :-( I swear I barely whisked them – maybe I left them in the oven too long, entranced by the browning? Still they were *so* *yummy* – Shuna you rock!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 19:09:00 +0000

Well, mine did puff up, but I found my mixture was rather dense. I either cooked it too long or stirred to much. As for making it savory; this dish definately has that written all over it.

By: shuna fish lydon

shuna fish lydon — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 06:29:00 +0000

Claudia---

Thanks for the visual on your try at EB's. It looks like a few things. First it may be that your oven was not hot enough and that the vessel you baked it in could not "hold" enough of the heat. It could also be that your baking vessel was not round.

As for ingredients it looks like you made them in Europe so I can't speak to the flour, but you are looking for something not as fine as pastry flour or cake flour with a protein content around 10-11%. Just from looking I might add a few more eggs. Let me know if this helps.

Spots---

Thanks for the question!

In a souffle waht makes it rise is the inclusion of whipped egg whites. They are basically an air-holding "foundation," if you will, which fluffy baked goods are baked on. In the case of the Eggbabies the very hot oven, the round baking vessel and this kind of basic custard or omelette that the base is is how the puff is achieved.

Julie--

I think the trick with the popovers is starting them in a cold oven. Also there is no doubt that the kind of flour is key so that it doesn't weigh down the "custard" base.

Aren't eggs miraculous?!