welcome to yumblog.co.uk

Working until 7 on a Friday is never what I would class as fun. And when there’s a gig to go to then even less so – a gig with a 10pm curfew too. So I got to the pub at 7.30, inhaled two pints of Pilsner Urquell and then to the gig. The Only Ones at Koko - the erstwhile Camden Palace. A great crowd had gathered including perhaps as many as 5% women. The chaps varied in style from the beer-bellied fleece wearer to the Keith Richards-alike via several haircuts. Cans of 1664 for £3.50, a rare treat.

Then the band came on. They were good. The drummer looks like Paul Smith and the singer looks to be in need of edible sustenance such is his gauntness and general unhealth. It turns out that if you take ludicrous amounts of heroin and crack there can be some negative side effects.

Anyway, we had about five pints on an empty stomach and so the next day we didn’t feel very energetic so I made some very rich cheese soufflés.

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 36 minutes
Skill level: Medium
Makes: 4

Ingredients

• soft cream cheese - 150g
• 2 egg yolks
• strong Cheddar - 120g - grated
• 3 egg whites
• double cream - 100ml
• Parmesan - 40g - grated
• s & p

Generously butter 4 ramekins and refrigerate. Preheat the oven to 180C (gas mark 4). Put the cream cheese in a bowl along with the egg yolks and beat until smooth. Add the Cheddar and a good amount of salt and pepper. Whisk the egg whites until nice and stiff. Using a large metal spoon fold a spoonful of the white into the cheese mixture, then gently follow with the remaining white. Spoon the mixture into the ramekins right up to the top.

Stand the ramekins in a roasting tin and pour in boiling water to halfway up the sides. Open the oven door and carefully place the hot water filled tin inside. Close oven door. Cook for 18 minutes, until the soufflés are risen and set. Remove and set aside to get cold.

Preheat oven to 220C (gas mark 7).

Once cold (they will have sunk a little, this is ok and not an indictment of your skills as a cook), carefully remove soufflés from the ramekins and turn out onto a greased casserole dish. Spoon the cream over and around them and scatter the Parmesan on top.

Bake for 18 minutes or until the soufflés have puffed up and the Parmesan is crunchy.

Serve with some tasty bread and a big dollop of spinach.

Verdict: Superbly rich, we had two each and were rather full so perhaps one each would have sufficed, but then again they are so delicious that you’d be gutted if you finished your first one and there wasn’t another on offer. Whereas when you’ve finished the second you are no longer yearning for anything.

Drink: We’d had a couple of pre-dinner ales down the road and rather gamely opened a bottle of red, but this went unfinished, which meant the Dalek winestopper had to make one of its rare appearances.

Entertainment: Trainspotting on Video. Eating a rich cheese soufflé during the Spud bed linen scene is really something special.