Egg and toast cups

It's almost Easter and I'm taking the occasion to once again pay homage to eggs, my favorite ingredient to cook with!  So I'm holding back on those Cadbury mini eggs this year (I'm happily munching on them straight from the bag) and instead of posting something sweet - like a cake or cupcakes - I'm talking eggs in a savory way with these very simple little egg and toast cups.

What's cuter and more fun than an a little egg cup for breakfast or brunch!  It doesn't even have to be Easter.  I think these egg and toast cups are rustic, cute and casual, but a little bit special at the same time.  The whole thing is portable and edible; it's essentially your egg and toast in one!  

The cup is simply made with lightly-buttered bread (white bread in this case), which becomes the cup or nest for the egg to bake in.  It's really easy to make in your standard muffin tin and while the egg cups are baking in the oven for about 20 minutes, you can pull the rest of your meal together.

I've wanted to make eggs in hash brown nests for a long time but it always sounded a bit labor-intensive and messy.  When I saw this recipe from Martha Stewart for bacon, egg and toast cups, I had a feeling this was a simple route more suited for me.  I opted to leave the bacon out of the cups to keep it super simple. I think it's easier (and better) to serve the bacon or any other accompaniments you want on the side.

I don't think you need me to describe how these egg and toast cups taste but funny enough, the fellas insist they taste like deep-dish pizza!  After a good laugh, I realize that the lightly buttered toast makes for a browned, flaky, almost pie-like crust that does call that to mind!  And when you eat it alongside a slice or two of bacon, it can be reminiscent of the kind of deep-dish pizza they like to eat.  How funny is that!  

So whether you make these little egg-toast cups as part of your Easter brunch, have them with some bacon, ham, or just on its own for a quick breakfast, I highly recommend it.  I'm big on having some fun with our breakfasts!

Basic baked eggs

You know I love eggs, and for so many reasons.  I always think it's a treat when I see baked eggs on the menu at a restaurant.  Poached eggs, sure, but I rarely see baked eggs on the offering so I get excited when I do spot it.  

Somehow, baked eggs feel like a treat...maybe it's just me but there's something seemingly luxurious about it.  It's a wonder I've never made it at home.  As basic as it sounds, it's been on my list of things to whip up one day at home and I finally did it over the past weekend.

This is your blank canvas of baked eggs.  I simply baked the eggs with some salt and pepper and a drizzle of whole milk.  We had turkey bacon and some toast soldiers on the side with it.  It was a fun way to have eggs differently for breakfast.  Variety keeps things interesting and gives us something to talk about (well...picture me going on and on about eggs...) so it's definitely a good thing.

I think I might have figured out why baked eggs seem so luxurious to me when I order it at a restaurant.  Aside from the fact that it takes a little extra effort to make, it just might be the heavy cream and likely cheese and other little touches that have been added to it.  

At home, I settled into a more modest, simple baked egg but, as you know, the possibilities of adding flavor and dolling them up are almost endless.  You can incorporate any and everything from cooked onions, leeks, spinach, tomatoes, and mushrooms to adding some herbs, cheese, and bacon or ham to it.

Water bath or no water bath?

In an effort to try and provide some value-add here today (I can't promise that all the time...as you have no doubt realized, this blog is all about the random, chocolate-leaning, whims of a true amateur), I thought I'd try to figure out whether a hot water bath is necessary when it comes to making baked eggs.  

If you've looked into this, you've no doubt seen recipes that call for a water bath to set the eggs into when baking and others that make no mention of any such thing.

The baked egg on the left was baked in a water bath, right one was not

I was curious and did a little testing.  In my distinctly unprofessional opinion, I'd say you should use a water bath.  I found that the one baked in a water bath cooked more gently and evenly through (on the left, above), meaning I ended up with a softer, smoother-textured baked egg.  The egg baked in the oven without a water bath was good but not as silky.  I would note that the egg baked without the water bath cooked quicker.  Depending on how you look at it, that might be a good thing and the overall convenience might sway you into making them that way.  

In general, I'd just say that keeping a close eye on the eggs while baking is the most important thing to do when making these.  For me, I like my egg yolks runny and soft while the whites are just set.