Hay, Hay, it's Donna Day: Guava soufflé with catupiry sauce

I’ve always wanted to take part in foodblog events – 2 months after starting the English version of my blog, I decided to do so.

Tami of Running with Tweezers is hosting “Hay, hay, it’s Donna Day” this time – she was very kind and quickly answered the email I sent her, full of questions and doubts.

I decided to use a very Brazilian recipe - Guava soufflé with catupiry sauce.
Catupiry is a popular kind of cream cheese here and it’s used in many dishes, as pizza topping, pie filling, etc.
This souffle was inspired by a dessert called “Romeo and Juliet” – guava paste served with a sort of cheese called Minas cheese, or catupiry (pictured below):

It was my first souffle, so I was quite apprehensive…
I loved its flavor and texture. But I have to be honest: the sauce was too mild in my opinion. I guess that a drop of honey would make it more interesting, without altering the color or too much of the flavor– I’ll be making this souffle again and will try to adjust the sauce to my taste.

This recipe was created by Carla Pernambuco, a wonderful Brazilian chef that has been mentioned by Patricia Wells in The New York Times.

UPDATE: a dear friend of mine told me that it's possible to make this sauce replacing the catupiry with mascarpone

Guava soufflé with catupiry sauce

Sauce:
200ml milk
100g catupiry cheese

Souffle:
4 egg whites
pinch of salt
220g creamy guava marmalade*

For the sauce: cook the milk and the catupiry in a double boiler – or use a heatproof bowl over simmering water - and beat well with a whisk until you have a smooth even sauce. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 160ºC/320ºF.

For the souffle: beat the egg whites until soft peaks form – add the salt. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the guava marmalade to the egg whites and mix well with a whisk.Spoon the mixture into the ramekins and place on a baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes or until puffed – increase the oven temperature in the end of the cooking process to make the soufflés golden. Do not open the oven while cooking. Serve immediately with the cool sauce.

*You can use guava paste instead of marmalade – that’s what I used.
Chop the paste in small pieces, add a little water and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, until creamy and silky. Set aside to cool before using it.

Serves 4 – I halved the recipe and still got 4 ramekins, 10cm diameter each.