Cheese Soufflés with crab sauce

Ingredients :

• 3 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
• 20g butter
• ¼ cup plan flour
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 90g cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 tspn French mustard
• 3 eggs, separated
  for Crab sauce :
• 130g butter
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tspn ground sweet paprika
• ¾ cup chicken stock
• ½ cup cream
• 2 tbsp sherry
• ground pepper, to taste
• 1 x 200g can of crab meat, well drained

Preparation and Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Prepare 6 (½ cup capacity) soufflé dishes with melted butter. Coat base and sides evenly with dried breadcrumbs. Shake off any excess.
2. Heat butter in a small pan; add flour. Stir over a low heat 2 minutes or until mixture is lightly golden. Add milk gradually, stirring until mixture is smooth. Stir constantly over medium heat until sauce boils and thickens; boil further 1 minute; remove from heat. Add cheeses and mustard. Beat through egg yolks. Transfer mixture to large bowl.
3. Place egg whites in a small, clean dry mixer bowl. Beat until soft peaks form. Using a metal spoon, gradually fold gently through the cheese mixture and pour immediately into the prepared soufflé dishes. Bake 10-15 minutes or until set and golden. Serve soufflés immediately with crab sauce as they quickly lose volume once they leave the oven.
4. To make crab sauce : Heat butter in a small pan; stir in flour and paprika. Stir through stock, cream and sherry and cook until mixture boils and thickens. Stir in drained crab, season with pepper and serve immediately.
5. Cooks notes : This soufflé can be cooked in a 14cm soufflé dish for approximately 45 minutes instead. Soufflés should wobble slightly and the center should be moist when cooked. Soufflés can be prepared up to step 2 ahead of time. Gently heat base ingredients before adding beaten egg whites.