By WENDY LEIGH
The Key To Cooking Fanciful Cloud Eggs And Winning Brunch
The French dish, cloud eggs, mimics fluffy white cumulus clouds framing a bright orange yolk. It's sometimes called "eggs in the snow" or "eggs in a cloud."
Cloud eggs traditionally consist of eggs, salt, and pepper and are sky-high on the tastiness scale. Creating your own version is quick and easy, though it does take a gentle hand.
The entire process of making cloud eggs takes about 15 to 20 minutes, including baking time. If you're serving brunch to several people, use at least eight eggs for this endeavor.
Keeping the yolks intact, gently separate the yolks from the whites with your hands and place each one into its own separate bowl. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to the whites.
Beat the seasoned whites using a whisk or handheld mixer to create fluffy peaks, and then scoop mounds of the beaten whites in sections onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
Using the back of a spoon, make center indentations in each section, and bake them at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 5 minutes until they're slightly firm and lightly brown.
Once baked, slide one egg yolk onto the center indentation of each section and return the dish to the oven for another 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how you like the yolks.
Customizing this dish is the key to making fanciful cloud eggs, but avoid adding heavy ingredients that could deflate the egg whites or ingredients that require extra time to cook.
Additions like pre-cooked diced peppers, herbs, grated cheeses, bacon, ham, prosciutto, or smoked salmon work well. Try using chives, basil leaves, or other greens as toppings.
To elevate the presentation, consider making each one individually in its own pan. Tart pans with fluted sides add a touch of elegance and support the egg whites as they cook.