What Is a Soufflé? Sweet, Savoury and Why It Rises
What is a soufflé? A soufflé is a baked egg dish from France made by folding whisked egg whites into a flavoured base, such as a cheese sauce, a chocolate custard or a fruit purée. In the oven the air bubbles in the whites expand and fill with steam, so the soufflé puffs up high above its dish. It can be savoury or sweet, and it starts to sink soon after it leaves the oven, which is why it's served straight away.
At a glance
- Made froma flavoured base plus whisked egg whites
- FromFrance, early 18th century
- Say itSOO-flay (UK)
- 10.8gcarbs per 100g of homemade cheese soufflé (CoFID)
On this page
It has a reputation as the dish that collapses the moment the guests sit down. So what is a soufflé, what's actually in it, and why does it rise so dramatically and then sink? This guide explains what a soufflé is, how it's made, the science behind the rise, the main sweet and savoury types, how it differs from an omelette or a mousse, and how many carbs a typical soufflé has.
What is a soufflé?
Wikipedia describes a soufflé as a baked egg dish that originated in France in the early 18th century. Combined with other ingredients, it can be served as a savoury main dish or sweetened as a dessert. The Cambridge Dictionary gives the UK pronunciation as SOO-flay (the US pronunciation it gives is soo-FLAY).
The name describes what happens in the oven. Wikipedia explains that soufflé is the past participle of the French verb souffler, which means to blow, breathe, inflate or puff. A good soufflé comes out of the oven puffed up and fluffy, often standing well above the rim of its dish.
Is a soufflé sweet or savoury?
It can be either. Wikipedia lists herbs, cheese and vegetables as common flavours for savoury soufflés, with poultry, bacon, ham or seafood sometimes added for a more substantial dish. Dessert soufflés are flavoured with things like jam, fruit, berries, chocolate, banana or lemon, and are often finished with a dusting of icing sugar. BBC Food's soufflé collection includes several cheese soufflés and Mary Berry's hot chocolate soufflé.
According to Wikipedia, the earliest mention of the soufflé is attributed to the French cook François Massialot in the early 18th century, and its development and popularity are usually traced to the chef Marie-Antoine Carême in the early 19th century. Carême also created the Soufflé Rothschild, a sweet soufflé with candied fruit, named after James Mayer de Rothschild.
How a soufflé is made
Wikipedia explains that soufflés are made from two basic parts. The base provides the flavour, and the egg whites provide the lift:
- The base. A flavoured crème pâtissière, a cream sauce or béchamel, or a purée. The cheese soufflés in this guide start with a thick white sauce, and Mary Berry's chocolate soufflé uses a crème pâtissière, the thick egg-yolk custard explained in our guide to what custard is.
- The egg whites. Whisked to a foam and folded into the base. Wikipedia says to a soft peak; some recipes whisk them stiffer. Our guide to what meringue is explains soft and stiff peaks in more detail.
The classic BBC Food cheese soufflé shows how the two come together:
- Prepare the dishes. Heat the oven to 200°C (gas 6). Lightly grease six ramekins and coat the insides with dried breadcrumbs.
- Make the sauce. Melt butter, stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes, then stir in milk off the heat. Bring to the boil, stirring, and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- Flavour the base. Off the heat, beat in the egg yolks, cheese, mustard and cayenne pepper, and season well.
- Whisk and fold. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and fold them into the cheese mixture with a large metal spoon.
- Bake and serve. Divide between the ramekins and bake for 15 minutes until well risen and golden. Serve at once.
Soufflé dishes and ramekins
Wikipedia says soufflés are usually baked in ramekins or soufflé dishes: round, flat-bottomed porcelain dishes with straight or nearly straight sides. The dish is usually coated with a thin film of butter so the soufflé doesn't stick, and some recipes add a coating of sugar, breadcrumbs or grated hard cheese such as Parmesan. Mary Berry's hot chocolate soufflé on BBC Food uses one large 1.2-litre soufflé dish, buttered and dusted with caster sugar, and can be baked with a paper collar wrapped around the rim.
Why soufflés rise and fall
New Scientist explains that a mixture full of air bubbles has to rise when it's heated. Charles's law says the volume of a gas grows with its temperature, so the bubbles in the soufflé expand in the oven. That accounts for only about a quarter of the rise. The rest comes from water in the mixture evaporating into the bubbles as steam, adding to the gas inside them. The hotter the oven, the quicker and bigger the rise.
The bubbles are held in place by the egg whites. New Scientist says whisking unfolds the proteins in the whites, which then bond together into a framework that steadies the bubbles. Sugar and acid both help make that foam more stable.
Why do soufflés sink?
Every soufflé sinks eventually. As it cools, the gas in the bubbles shrinks and the steam turns back into water. New Scientist says a soufflé will start to sink as soon as it comes out of the oven, and that the only way around this is to serve it straight away. Wikipedia says it generally falls after 5 or 10 minutes. The good news: New Scientist says a fallen soufflé will rise again if it goes back in the oven, though not to its original height.
Tips for a good rise
These tips come from Gordon Ramsay's classic cheese soufflé on BBC Good Food and Mary Berry's hot chocolate soufflé on BBC Food:
- Keep grease away from the whites. The slightest amount of grease stops egg whites firming, so use a clean bowl wiped with a little lemon juice.
- Loosen first, then fold. Beat about a third of the whites into the base to loosen it, then gently fold in the rest.
- Butter the dish upwards. Brush softened butter up the sides of the dish, from the bottom to the rim.
- Run your thumb around the rim. Mary Berry does this just before baking to help the soufflé rise evenly.
- Heat the oven first and keep the door shut. Don't open the door until almost the end of cooking.
Types of soufflé
There are many sweet and savoury variations. These are the ones you're most likely to see on UK menus and recipe sites.
| Type | Base and flavour |
|---|---|
| Cheese | White sauce with cheese, mustard and cayenne |
| Hot chocolate | Chocolate crème pâtissière and meringue |
| Fruit | Lemon, raspberry, orange or banana |
| Vegetable | Spinach, mushroom, courgette or squash |
| Twice-baked | Baked, cooled, then baked again to serve |
Based on Wikipedia (Soufflé), BBC Food's soufflé recipe collection, including its cheese soufflé and Mary Berry's hot chocolate soufflé, and BBC Good Food's twice-baked cheese soufflés. Checked 11 November 2026.
Hot chocolate soufflé
Mary Berry's hot chocolate soufflé on BBC Food makes a chocolate crème pâtissière from milk, cocoa, egg yolks, caster sugar, plain flour and melted plain chocolate. The egg whites are whisked with more caster sugar into a stiff, glossy meringue, then folded in, and the soufflé bakes for 40 to 50 minutes until well risen and springy to the touch.
Twice-baked soufflés
A twice-baked soufflé takes the panic out of serving one. In Angela Nilsen's twice-baked cheese soufflés on BBC Good Food, the soufflés are baked in ramekins, left to cool, then turned out and baked again for about 10 minutes until risen, just before serving. The recipe says they can be prepared ahead.
Soufflé vs omelette vs mousse
All three can rely on eggs, but they're made and served very differently.
| How it's made | Served | |
|---|---|---|
| Soufflé | Whisked whites folded into a base, baked | Hot, at once |
| Omelette | Beaten eggs fried in butter or oil | Hot, often folded |
| Mousse | Whipped whites or cream, often chocolate or fruit | Usually chilled |
Based on Wikipedia (Soufflé, Omelette and Mousse). Checked 11 November 2026.
Wikipedia describes an omelette as beaten eggs fried with butter or oil and cooked undisturbed so they set into a continuous disc, often folded around a filling. A soufflé separates the eggs, whisks the whites and bakes everything in a dish. A mousse is usually set in the fridge rather than baked: Wikipedia says sweet mousses are typically made with whipped egg whites, whipped cream or both, are usually chilled before serving and are sometimes set with gelatine.
Carbs in a soufflé
CoFID, the UK's official food composition dataset, has figures for homemade cheese and plain soufflés, so you can compare them with omelettes and a chocolate mousse.
| Per 100g | Carbs | Starch | Sugars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheese soufflé | 10.8g | 6.8g | 2.3g |
| Plain soufflé | 10.5g | 8.0g | 2.5g |
| Cheese omelette | Trace | 0g | Trace |
| Plain omelette | Trace | 0g | Trace |
| Chocolate mousse, low fat | 18.0g | 2.2g | 15.8g |
CoFID 2021 codes 12-958 (Souffle, cheese, homemade), 12-959 (Souffle, plain, homemade), 12-947 (Omelette, cheese, homemade), 12-946 (Omelette, plain, homemade) and 12-401 (Mousse, chocolate, low fat). UK carbohydrate figures don't include fibre. Checked 11 November 2026.
Most of the carbohydrate in the two soufflés is starch rather than sugar. That fits with how they're made: the classic savoury base is a white sauce thickened with flour, and the eggs and cheese themselves add almost none, as the omelette figures show. CoFID lists the cheese soufflé at 11.6g of protein and 16.8g of fat per 100g.
Is a soufflé keto?
A classic cheese soufflé, at 10.8g of carbohydrate per 100g in CoFID, has far more carbohydrate than a cheese omelette, which CoFID lists at a trace, mainly because of the flour in the sauce. A sweet soufflé usually adds sugar too: Mary Berry's hot chocolate soufflé uses 60g of caster sugar plus extra for dusting the dish, alongside plain flour and chocolate. If you're counting carbs, a cheese omelette is the simpler choice, and our guide is cheese keto friendly? compares the carbs in different cheeses.
Soufflés and egg safety
A soufflé is often meant to be soft in the middle. Gordon Ramsay's BBC Good Food recipe says to bake it until evenly risen and slightly wobbly, and that the centre will be soft but will thicken slightly when served.
The Food Standards Agency says vulnerable groups, such as young children, older people and those who are pregnant or have underlying health conditions, can safely eat raw or lightly cooked hen eggs, or foods containing them, if the eggs have a British Lion mark or are produced under the Laid in Britain scheme. If you're not sure whether the eggs carry either mark, for example when eating out, it says these groups should make sure any eggs they eat are thoroughly cooked.
Soufflés with our products
We don't have a soufflé recipe of our own yet, but these products can stand in for sugar and chocolate in a sweet soufflé, based on what each product page says. We haven't tested them in a soufflé, and because New Scientist notes that sugar helps stabilise an egg-white foam, a soufflé made with a sugar alternative may not rise or hold in quite the same way.
- For dusting. Powdered Erythritol & Stevia Blend is a fine powder of erythritol and stevia in a 1kg pouch. Its product page says to use it 1:1 in place of icing sugar, so it suits the classic dusting on top of a sweet soufflé.
- For a chocolate soufflé. Keto Dark Chocolate Buttons are 64% cocoa minimum, sweetened with erythritol and stevia, and come in a 210g pouch. The product page suggests melting them into chocolate sauces.
- For the dish and the meringue. Granulated Erythritol & Stevia Blend is a 1kg blend of erythritol and stevia that its product page says replaces sugar 1:1, for example in place of the caster sugar used to coat the dish.
Product details are as shown on each product page. Free delivery on orders over £30.
Planning a Christmas dessert? Our last order date for Christmas delivery is 18 December 2026.
Soufflés contain egg, and most contain milk. Classic recipes also use wheat flour, and some use breadcrumbs to coat the dish. Our Powdered and Granulated Erythritol & Stevia Blends contain erythritol, a polyol, and excessive consumption of polyols may produce laxative effects. The Keto Dark Chocolate Buttons product page says they contain sweeteners and that excessive consumption may cause a laxative effect. Always check the pack for full allergen information.
Key takeaways
- A soufflé is a baked French egg dish. Whisked egg whites are folded into a flavoured base.
- It can be sweet or savoury. Cheese and hot chocolate soufflés are two familiar examples.
- Steam does most of the lifting. Expanding air gives only about a quarter of the rise.
- Every soufflé sinks. Serve it straight away, or make a twice-baked version ahead.
- The carbs are mostly starch. CoFID lists cheese soufflé at 10.8g per 100g, mainly from the flour.
Frequently asked questions
How do you pronounce soufflé?
The Cambridge Dictionary gives the UK pronunciation as SOO-flay, with the stress on the first syllable, and the US pronunciation as soo-FLAY. The word comes from the French verb souffler, which means to blow, breathe, inflate or puff, describing how the dish rises in the oven.
Is a soufflé sweet or savoury?
It can be either. Savoury soufflés are often flavoured with cheese, herbs or vegetables such as spinach, sometimes with ham, bacon or seafood added. Sweet soufflés use chocolate, fruit, jam or lemon and are often finished with a dusting of icing sugar. Cheese and hot chocolate soufflés are two familiar examples.
Why did my soufflé sink?
All soufflés sink as they cool, because the air in the bubbles shrinks and the steam turns back into water. New Scientist says the only way around this is to serve it straight away. Grease in the egg whites, heavy folding or opening the oven door too early can also stop a good rise.
What's the difference between an omelette and a soufflé?
An omelette is made from beaten whole eggs fried in butter or oil, often folded around a filling. A soufflé separates the eggs: the whites are whisked and folded into a flavoured base, then baked in a dish. CoFID lists a cheese omelette at a trace of carbs and cheese soufflé at 10.8g per 100g.
Can you make a soufflé in advance?
A classic soufflé needs to be served as soon as it comes out of the oven. A twice-baked soufflé can be made ahead: BBC Good Food's recipe bakes the soufflés, leaves them to cool, then turns them out and bakes them again for about 10 minutes until risen, just before serving.
Sources
- Wikipedia. Soufflé (definition, name, history, base and egg whites, dishes, variations), Omelette and Mousse. Checked 11 November 2026.
- Cambridge Dictionary. Soufflé (meaning and UK and US pronunciation). Checked 11 November 2026.
- BBC Food. Cheese soufflé, Hot chocolate soufflé by Mary Berry and Soufflé recipes. Checked 11 November 2026.
- BBC Good Food. Classic cheese soufflé (Gordon Ramsay) and Twice-baked cheese soufflés (Angela Nilsen). Checked 11 November 2026.
- New Scientist. How to bake a soufflé according to science (Sam Wong, 20 October 2021). Checked 11 November 2026.
- Food Standards Agency. Food fact check: can you get salmonella from eggs? (August 2026). Checked 11 November 2026.
- Public Health England / Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. Composition of foods integrated dataset (CoFID) 2021 (codes 12-401, 12-946, 12-947, 12-958 and 12-959). Checked 11 November 2026.
- Groovy Keto product pages: Powdered Erythritol & Stevia Blend, Keto Dark Chocolate Buttons and Granulated Erythritol & Stevia Blend (sizes, suggested uses and label lines as shown). Checked 11 November 2026.
