Soufflés

While the principles of making sweet and savory soufflés are the same—beaten egg whites are folded with a denser mixture that provides flavor and substance—savory soufflés are based on béchamel sauce and sweet soufflés are based on pastry cream or sabayon, a fluffy mixture made with egg yolks. And while soufflés have to be served as soon as they’re baked, the molds can be floured or sugared and the base mixture can be made ahead of time so that the only last-minute work is beating the egg whites, folding them with the base mixture, and baking.