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Muffin Tin Breakfast – Croque Madame Toastie Cups

20 mins Cook
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Introducing a delightful breakfast treat – the Baked Toast Cup filled with ham and egg, crowned with a simple cheese sauce. This muffin tin version of Croque Madame, a famous French grilled cheese sandwich, offers a wonderful way to savor your leftover Christmas ham. Don’t be intimidated by the fancy name; this recipe is incredibly easy to make.

Muffin Tin
nomnomwow.com Muffin Tin Breakfast – Croque Madame Toastie Cups

Speaking of Christmas leftovers, ham always seems to reign supreme in my household. Each year, my thoughtful mother packs up a generous portion of ham in our leftover care package. While I secretly covet more turkey, gravy, and potatoes, I often get scolded like an 8-year-old for not sharing with my siblings. Determined not to let any ham go to waste, I diligently try to use it up before resorting to freezing the remainder. My go-to options include classic dishes like frittatas, ham and egg fry-ups, and baked casseroles – any recipe I’d typically prepare with bacon.

However, my absolute favorite way to enjoy ham is through the indulgence of Croque Madame – a French classic elevated with a rich béchamel sauce. A little while ago, I stumbled upon a fun twist on this classic by watching Rachel Khoo’s show, “Little Paris Kitchen.” Rachel has a talent for reinventing traditional French dishes with a creative touch. The result was this marvelous muffin tin version of Croque Madame, which I am thrilled to share with you.

Making these delicious cups is a breeze. Start by trimming the crust off large white sandwich bread and then flattening it with a rolling pin before fitting it into Texas (large) muffin tins. Next, add a layer of ham, crack an egg on top, and generously drizzle with béchamel sauce – a simple combination of melted butter, flour, and milk for thickening. To complete the ensemble, sprinkle a dash of cheese and bake until the eggs reach your desired level of doneness – approximately 18 minutes for a runny yolk or 23 minutes for a firm one.

Before signing off for Christmas, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for tuning into RecipeTin Eats! Your support and enthusiasm are what inspire me to continue blogging and why I cherish every moment of it. Thank you, and I wish you a wonderful holiday season!

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Muffin Tin Breakfast – Croque Madame Toastie Cups

Muffin Tin Breakfast – Croque Madame Toastie Cups

maimoona
Introducing a delightful breakfast treat – the Baked Toast Cup filled with ham and egg, crowned with a simple cheese sauce. This muffin tin version of Croque Madame, a famous French grilled cheese sandwich, offers a wonderful way to savor your leftover Christmas ham. Don't be intimidated by the fancy name; this recipe is incredibly easy to make.
prep time
10 mins
cooking time
20 mins
servings
2
total time
30 mins

Equipment

Ingredients

  • BECHAMEL CHEESE SAUCE

  • 1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

  • 1 1/2 tbsp flour

  • 1 1/4 cups milk (full fat works best, though low fat does work)

  • 1/3 cup grated gruyere cheese (or tasty or cheddar), plus extra for sprinkling

  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard

  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

  • 1/4 tsp salt

  • Black pepper

  • TOAST CUPS

  • 6 large slices of fresh white bread (Notes 1 and 2)

  • 2 tbsp melted butter (salted or unsalted)

  • 6 eggs

  • 100 g / 3 oz leg ham

  • GARNISH

  • Fresh parsley , finely chopped

  • Freshly ground nutmeg

Instructions

1
Preheat your oven to 180C/350F.
2
Start by removing the crusts from the bread slices and then flatten them using a rolling pin.
3
Gently press the flattened bread into Texas muffin tins, forming cups. Place them in the oven for about 5 minutes, even if it's still heating up, to slightly dry the bread without browning it (Note 3).
4
Now, let's prepare the delicious Bechamel Cheese Sauce. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and stir until it forms a paste.
5
Gradually pour in half of the milk and whisk vigorously until the sauce thickens, which should take around 1 minute.
6
Next, add the remaining milk, along with Dijon mustard, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Continue whisking, as the milk will thicken rapidly once heated. Keep going until the sauce reaches a consistency thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, similar to the thickness of tomato ketchup. This should take approximately 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
7
Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the sauce to cool for 5 minutes. As it cools, the sauce will thicken even more. After that, stir in the grated cheese to make it even more delicious.
8
Now, it's time to assemble the toast cups. Brush the edges of the toast cups with melted butter to achieve a nice browning effect.
9
Divide the ham evenly among the toast cups, and then carefully crack an egg into each cup.
10
Top each cup with the prepared Bechamel Cheese Sauce, and add a pinch of grated cheese on top.
11
Bake the toast cups in the preheated oven for 18 to 23 minutes, depending on your desired egg yolk consistency (Note 4).
12
Once baked, let them rest for a few minutes, and then garnish with fresh parsley and a grating of nutmeg.
13
Serve these delightful toast cups immediately for a scrumptious breakfast treat. Enjoy!

Notes

The original recipe specifies using regular small sandwich bread and standard muffin tins, but it turns out to be too small for accommodating the ham, egg, and cheese sauce. To compensate for this, the recipe suggests using small eggs or removing a portion of the egg whites, which can be quite tricky to do. However, I discovered that using larger-sized sandwich bread in Texas muffin tins is the perfect solution. The bread slices I used measured around 13 x 13 cm (just over 5 x 5"), including the crust, and worked wonderfully. It's crucial to use fresh bread for this recipe. Stale bread won't flatten easily, making it challenging to mold into the muffin tin. Placing the bread cups in the oven while it's preheating helps slightly dry out the molded bread. This serves two purposes: a) achieving crispier cups; and b) preventing the bread from absorbing too much of the egg and/or cheese sauce, which could lead to soggy cups. When removing the toast cups from the oven, the eggs should still appear slightly underdone (jiggly) because they continue to cook from the residual heat. Due to the richness of the Bechamel Cheese Sauce, these muffins are quite indulgent and satisfying. One muffin is usually enough, as they are quite filling. While the desire for more is ever-present, consuming two muffins can be overwhelming. Nutritional information per serving for Croque Madame Muffins can be provided as follows: [insert nutritional values here].
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