This strawberry souffle (soufflé) uses just a handful of ingredients and transforms them into a wonderfully impressive and special-feeling dessert. It's light yet luscious and packed with wonderful strawberry flavor. Elegant enough to serve guests, easy enough for enjoy whenever you choose.

three ramekins of strawberry souffle with strawberries around them.

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There's something about a soufflé which can feel a bit intimidating. Maybe it's in part that when all goes well, they rise so dramatically. It's naturally impressive. Yet if things go a bit wrong, well, it's very obvious.

But despite the stories you may hear about them being tricky, it's easier than you might think. Armed with a few tips, you can soon enjoy this wonderful treat at home.

close view of a strawberry souffle with others in part view behind.

What is a soufflé?

The soufflé originates from France and most trace it back to the eighteenth century. The name "soufflé" comes from the French verb "souffler," meaning "to blow" or "to puff." Which makes a lot of sense since what really defines a soufflé is it's texture that is light and airy.

The characteristic puffiness comes from beaten egg whites, but beyond that, a soufflé comes in many forms. It can be either sweet or savory, with flavors including cheese, chocolate and lemon.

Many have a rich either béchamel base for savory or custard base in sweet that makes them feel indulgent, as well as looking so impressive. This is more the style of my speck, potato and cheese souffle.

Then there is a much lighter version with no fat (other than to grease the dish) which uses a fruit puree base, as in this version. True, it collapses a little quicker than the custard style, but you'll soon not notice as you dive in. The flavor is so bright, and the texture just melts as you eat it. So good, and easy too!

spoon in dish of strawberry souffle with others behind.

Ingredients in strawberry soufflé

This sweet soufflé is made with just a short list of everyday ingredients:

Egg whites - these are the key to that light and airy texture.
Strawberries - you use fresh strawberries here to give that bright berry flavor.
Sugar - you add some sugar in with the egg whites to make them a bit like meringue, and some with the strawberries to bring out their flavor.
Corn starch - this helps thicken the strawberry mixture a little and also helps stabilize the beaten egg whites.
Butter - just a little helps in preparing the dishes.
Lemon - just as when you make jam, a little lemon gives a little brightness to the flavor. You can skip if you like.

The key to making a soufflé is about how you combine them to give that classic fluffy texture, and in this case a beautiful color and strawberry flavor.

bowls of egg whites, strawberries and sugar with part lemon below and chunk butter.

What kind of dish should you use?

Soufflés are traditionally made in a relatively tall, round dish that you would often call a soufflé dish since that's it's main use. The relatively high sides allow the soufflé to rise up and up as it bakes.

While you could use a single larger soufflé dish for this, I instead recommend using individual ramekins so that each person gets their own individual dessert. It looks more impressive to serve the dessert intact rather than already split, saves dividing up as you serve or fighting over portion sizes.

Ramekins are like mini versions of a soufflé dish - they have straight sides that are relatively high compared to the width. If you don't have ramekins as such, you can use other baking dishes with a similar shape - just make sure the sides are straight if at all possible to help them rise well.

ramekins with sugar dusted inside held on by butter.

Preparing the dishes

To help the soufflés rise well, you want the mixture to not really stick to the side of the baking vessel. So, you prepare the ramekins/dishes somewhat similarly to how you might prepare a tin for baking a cake.

First, you coat the inside of the dishes with butter. The best way to get a nice coating is to melt some butter and brush it on. Then you sprinkle in some sugar so that it sticks to the butter. Swirl it around to coat evenly. This coating gently melts into the soufflé as it cooks so that you don't have it left as a layer. But it also helps the soufflé glide upwards as it cooks.

Making the soufflé

First you make the strawberry mixture. You don't absolutely need to pre-cook the strawberries, but it does help to reduce the liquid a little which helps the mixture be a little more stable, so I highly recommend doing so.

First blend the strawberries, sugar and lemon into a smooth puree. Transfer to a small pan and warm to bring to a simmer. Once it has reduced slightly, combine the cornstarch with a little water, mix in and then heat again so that it thickens a little. It won't thicken all that much, but at least some helps the end texture of the dish. Set aside to cool.

strawberry egg white mixture in bowl with spatula at back.

Separately, beat the egg whites until stiff then gradually add the sugar - add a tablespoon sugar at a time and beat in, then add more. Add a little of the meringue-like mixture to the cooled strawberry puree and fold it in. This helps lighten the puree and makes it easier to mix in.

Add the strawberry mixture to the egg whites and carefully fold in so it is mixed. You should no longer have streaks of white but take care not to lose all of that air. It should look a pretty even color.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared dishes and flatten off the top. Create a slightly lower rim around the sides with a spatula or your finger. Then you are ready to bake.

Tips for making strawberry soufflé

As I say, these are easier than you might think, but a few tips to help them come out their best:

Start with room temperature eggs as the egg whites will beat better than starting from cold.
Make sure you have absolutely no yolk in the egg whites when you separate them. If you are unsure how well you can separate, use three bowls - one to separate the egg white into, another to collect yolks, and a third for the combined whites once you have a properly separated egg. This way, if one goes wrong, you can transfer to a fourth "use for something else" container, clean out the bowl and continue.
Use completely clean, grease-free bowls for the egg whites. A little oil or grease can stop an egg white beating properly, so make sure the bowls (and your whisk/mixer) are very clean.
Start beating the egg white on low speed then gradually increase slightly. The lower speed helps to form smaller, more stable bubbles. If you start beating with high speed, you may not get air incorporated properly or the bubbles will be too big.
Make sure you incorporate a little of the egg white mixture into the strawberry puree first. If you try to combine everything at once, the strawberry puree will sink and you may not manage to combine properly or you end up losing a lot of air in the process. Adding a little egg white to the strawberry puree first helps to lighten the strawberry mixture and make it easier to combine.
Don't open the oven as they bake and serve as soon as possible after baking. While they will still taste good later, they deflate quickly. In fact even in the pictures here, they are down quite a bit compared to when they first came out the oven.

strawberry souffle mixture in dishes before baking.

Can you store strawberry souffle?

Firstly, in terms of preparation - you can make strawberry soufflé ahead of time and store them in the ramekins in the fridge. Cover them if not using pretty soon, but you can keep them in the fridge before baking for a good few hours.

Then just bake them from cold - they may need a minute or two longer but will otherwise be just as good. This can make them great to serve guests as you can prepare up to baking stage earlier in the day.

Then, the question of leftovers. As mentioned above, generally you want to serve soufflés as soon as possible after baking as they quickly deflate. However I decided to see whether it might still be possible to store and reheat leftovers and the answer is yes. So don't waste any you don't use immediately!

You can cover any leftover soufflés once they have cooled to room temperate with cling wrap/film and store in the fridge. You can keep them a day or two like this.

Then either eat cold more like a mousse, or better, reheat them in the microwave. Even just around 20-30 seconds makes them gently warm. Alternatively, you can warm a few minutes in a low oven. They won't rise again, but the flavor and texture will still be really good, even if not quite as airy as on the first day.

three ramekins of strawberry souffle with one in full at front.

Strawberry souffle is such a wonderfully tasty, light and luscious dessert. It's sweet, but not overly so, with a lovely strawberry flavor and airy, almost creamy texture. They have an elegant, impressive appearance but are actually easier than they look. So be sure to give them a try soon and enjoy!

Try these other berry desserts:

Finnish blueberry pie, mustikkapiirakka, with a lovely berry and creamy filling and hint of cardamom
Raspberry fool (a simple creamy dessert with raspberries)
Rote Grütze (an easy German berry-packed pudding/compote)
Plus get more dessert recipes and French recipes in the archives.

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