Baked Eggs Never Surrender

If you have ever tasted delicious baked eggs at a restaurant and wanted to have a go at making them at home, with success, I’d love to know your recipe. I’ve tried, oh how I’ve tried but ended up crying in my overcooked rubber white and yellow ramikens.

I’ve not given this recipe and procedure a go yet but I am getting a yummy gewy bit of soft yolk and smooth white goodness sort of vibe from it.

Thanks America’s Test Kitchen. I can’t wait to test this out.

Baked Eggs Florentine
From America’s Test Kitchen Season 13: Sunday Brunch

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Our recipe achieves the ideal combination of runny yolks nestled in fully set yet tender whites by turning up the oven to 500 degrees. Adding the raw eggs to preheated ramekins ensured that the heat transfer was rapid and that the egg whites cooked before the centered yolks had a chance to catch up. Lining each ramekin with an impermeable roux­ thickened sauce protected the edges of the whites from blistering or turning rubbery. Pulling the baked eggs from the oven when the whites had just turned opaque but still jiggled accounted for carryover cooking. In those final 10 minutes the heat of the ramekins finished cooking and setting the whites.

In order for the eggs to cook properly, it is critical to add them to the hot filling–lined ramekins quickly. Use 6­ounce ramekins with 3 1∕4­inch diameters, measured from the inner lip. It is imperative to remove the eggs from the oven just after the whites have turned opaque but are still jiggly—carryover cooking will finish the job. We developed this recipe using a glass baking dish; if using a metal baking pan, reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees. This recipe can be doubled. If doubling, bake the ramekins in two 13 by 9­inch dishes and increase the baking times in steps 3 and 4 by 1 minute.

TO MAKE AHEAD: Follow recipe through step 3, skipping baking of lined ramekins. Wrap ramekins with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. To serve, remove plastic and heat lined ramekins, directly from refrigerator, for additional 3 to 4 minutes (10 to 11 minutes total) before proceeding with recipe.

TECHNIQUE
DEAD ENDS ON THE PATH TO PERFECTION
The inherent challenge in achieving a perfectly cooked baked egg is that the yolk needs to stay liquid (with a temperature hovering around 150 degrees) while the white needs to solidify (with a temperature of 165 degrees). Here are some of the wrong turns we took before getting both components to cook just right.
BAKED IN WATER BATH
THEORY: Water slows the heat transfer, giving the whites time to solidify without overcooking the yolks.
OUTCOME: Perfect whites; pasty yolks.
BAKED IN SALT BED
THEORY: Salt is an even better insulator than water, providing the yolks with more protection.
OUTCOME: Perfect whites; slightly less pasty yolks.
BAKED IN BLAZING HOT RAMEKINS
THEORY: The walls of preheated ramekins should give the whites a head start without harming the yolks.
OUTCOME: Perfect yolks; blistered whites.
TECHNIQUE
A CRADLE FOR YOUR EGG
Our key to perfect baked eggs: cradling them in preheated
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/7204-baked-eggs-florentine# 2/3
11/16/2014 Baked Eggs Florentine Recipe – America’s Test Kitchen
Our key to perfect baked eggs: cradling them in preheated ramekins lined with a filling. The hot filling gives the whites just the right jump start on cooking, allowing them to set while the yolks remain runny.
To ensure that the yolk stays centered (and away from the heat of the ramekin walls), we mound some of the filling in the middle of the ramekin and create a cavity that holds the yolk in place.
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/7204-baked-eggs-florentine# 3/3