Kaassoufflé

Ingredients

Cheese

• 400 gyoung Gouda, in slices

Coating

• 100 gplain flour
• 2eggs, beaten
• 200 gfine dried breadcrumbs

To fry

• oil, for deep frying

To serve

• mayonnaise
• a paper cone

Directions

1. Use young Gouda, jonge kaas, which melts smoothly and stretches.
2. Aged cheese splits into oil and solids when it melts, and the whole appeal is a clean molten stretch when you bite it.
3. Stack the slices into two flat slabs about 1 cm thick and roughly the size of a playing card.
4. Freeze the slabs solid, for at least 2 hours.
5. Freezing is the entire technique. A chilled slab melts through and bursts before the crumb colours; a frozen one gives the coating time to crisp while the middle is still turning liquid.
6. Set out three shallow dishes with the flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs.
7. Coat each frozen slab in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs.
8. Now do it again: egg, then breadcrumbs, a second time.
9. Double-coat it without exception. A single crumb layer splits in the fryer and you lose the cheese into the oil.
10. Check every edge and corner and patch any bare spot with more egg and crumb.
11. Return them to the freezer for 30 minutes so the coating sets hard.
12. Heat the oil to 180°C (355°F) and fry them one or two at a time for 3 to 4 minutes, from frozen.
13. Fry from frozen, never thawed, and do not crowd the pan.
14. They are ready when deep golden and beginning to swell, which is where the soufflé in the name comes from.
15. Lift them out the moment they puff, because a few seconds later they burst.
16. Drain briefly and serve immediately in a paper cone with mayonnaise.
17. Warn whoever eats it that the inside is molten and will burn the roof of the mouth.
18. They are sold from the heated wall vending machines in Dutch snackbars, alongside frikandel and kroket.

Technique

• It is not a soufflé in any technical sense; the name comes from the way it puffs.
• Frozen ready-made ones are what most Dutch households buy.
• Ham is sometimes layered between the cheese slices.

Substitutions

• Edam or any young semi-hard cheese.
• Panko in place of fine breadcrumbs, which gives a coarser crust.

Variations

• With a slice of ham inside.
• Baked in an air fryer, which works and is less good.
• With curry ketchup instead of mayonnaise.

History

A Dutch snackbar invention of the later twentieth century, dispensed from coin-operated automatiek walls.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kaassoufflé?

Kaassoufflé is a street food from Netherlands: breaded slab of melting cheese deep fried, sold from snack-bar walls. A Dutch snackbar invention of the later twentieth century, dispensed from coin-operated automatiek walls.

How long does Kaassoufflé take to make?

Kaassoufflé takes 30 min plus 2 hr freezing of preparation and 10 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 pieces. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Kaassoufflé?

Yes, within limits. Edam or any young semi-hard cheese. Panko in place of fine breadcrumbs, which gives a coarser crust.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kaassoufflé?

Aged cheese splits into oil and solids when it melts, and the whole appeal is a clean molten stretch when you bite it.