Baked Eggs With Crème Fraîche and Smoked Salmon

Baked Eggs With Crème Fraîche and Smoked Salmon
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(655)
Comments
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Runny-yolked eggs baked in individual ramekins or custard cups make for a very elegant brunch or light supper. These are bathed in a shallot-steeped crème fraîche and topped with smoked salmon for an especially rich result. Serve them with toast, croissants or crusty bread — something to mop up the last bits of yolk and cream at the bottom of the ramekins. You won’t want to leave behind a single drop.

Featured in: Four Breakfasts as Festive as the Season

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings
  • 2tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the ramekins
  • cup thinly sliced shallot (2 to 3 shallots)
  • ½teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¾cup heavy cream
  • cup crème fraîche
  • 1tablespoon chopped fresh dill, plus more for serving
  • ½teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 12large eggs, at room temperature
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 4ounces smoked salmon
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

339 calories; 27 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 18 grams protein; 429 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 400 degrees, and brush six 8-ounce ramekins or ovenproof custard cups with butter. Place the ramekins or cups on a rimmed baking sheet.

  2. Step 2

    Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir in shallots and ¼ teaspoon salt, and cook until very soft, 7 to 10 minutes, reducing heat if necessary to prevent browning.

  3. Step 3

    Stir in 6 tablespoons cream, the crème fraîche, dill, lemon zest and remaining ¼ teaspoon. Remove from heat. Divide mixture among the ramekins.

  4. Step 4

    Crack 2 eggs into each ramekin and float 1 tablespoon of cream on top of each, then sprinkle tops with salt and pepper. Bake until egg whites are just set, and yolk is still runny, 12 to 16 minutes. (The eggs will look slightly puffed at the sides of the ramekins, but still jiggly in the center and that’s O.K. The eggs will continue to cook once out of the oven.) Remove from oven and transfer ramekins onto individual plates for serving.

  5. Step 5

    To serve, top each ramekin with some of the smoked salmon and a little more dill. Serve warm.

Ratings

4 out of 5
655 user ratings
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Comments

To make ahead, I would prepare the shallot base and portion it into the ramekins the night before, then refrigerate. Take out the next morning while the oven preheats, then add the eggs and cream. Even half-asleep and stumbling around, I could manage that! It might take a minute or two longer to cook, since the base and the ramekins will be cold, but that will just give your first cup of coffee time to work so you’re awake to enjoy breakfast.

Really easy, able to be scaled up or down easily and super delicious. Can't wait to see the whining about the fat content. Too much fat? Don't eat it - even I wouldn't make this a daily meal. But it's perfect for a special weekend brunch and makes a lovely occasional supper with a salad.

Wonderful recipe for a special-occasion brunch but deceptively hard to get the timing right. After 3 tries (two of which yielded hard yolks), the baking time required for perfect runny yolks seems to be 9-10 minutes. The eggs start cooking as soon as they are added to the hot cream sauce and the ramekins retain a lot of heat. Best to slightly undercook so the whites are still not quite set when removed from the oven, let sit for a few minutes on the counter, then add the smoked salmon and serve.

After reading the comments, I kept a very close eye on my eggs. They ended up very runny at the 13 minute mark - just goes to say that every oven is different and you’ll have to watch over your eggs to make sure they’re not over cooking. I halved the recipe and split it between 2 ramekins, used a high quality salmon, and it was a great Saturday breakfast treat!

Everyone loved this and I am planning to make it again for New Year's Day brunch.

Has anyone tried to make this with beaten eggs instead of yolks? Never mind why, I just prefer beaten eggs to runny yolks.

@Tonia, I beat my eggs in a bowl and then transferred to the ramekin, because I dont like runny eggs. Poofed up like a soufflé and fell after I put the salmon on. Tasted delish!

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