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In lieu of Easter being right around the corner and not wanting to turn my kitchen into a war zone with baking cupcakes topped with food coloured icing, I'm opting for a more egg-cellent idea. How about baking and eating the clouds? What? Yes, you can make Egg Clouds right in your kitchen and it doesn't take more than just eggs and whisking.
Whether you have small children at home or are cooking for yourself, everyone is going to love this dish. Who doesn't want to bite into a fluffy cloud with a decadent, runny yoke? Especially when it'll add another dimension of fun to breakfast or brunch.
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I remember Egg Clouds being a big trend a year or so ago, which is when I took it for a test drive. Initially looking at pictures of it alone got my heart pounding and my hands clammy at the idea of whisking egg whites which would be the centre of the beautiful dish. I had never whisked egg whites before in my life.
As a novice baker, I had no idea if this required special skill sets that I hadn't trained for and feared this turning out horribly wrong. And having just moved to a new country and not having purchased a hand mixer yet, I decided to jump off the deep end and try it the old fashioned way: whisking egg whites with some elbow grease and a metal whisk! Ahhh!
To my pleasant surprise, it was pretty quick and painless. If you're able to maintain a whisking speed of about four circles per second (meaning very fast), you can get fluffy egg white peaks in about 5 minutes or less. The idea of whisking egg whites is to force air into the egg by creating turbulence. So, you want to use a large mixing bowl so that there's more room for air to enter. If you're using a hand mixer, this may save you some time and carpel tunnel (just kidding - it's not that bad). Mix at a low to medium speed until stiff peaks form in your egg whites. It'll take about 2-3 minutes.
By the way, I have to give a shout out to British eggs (I have no idea if that's what they're called). The yokes are so beautifully deep orange and hands down the best eggs I've ever had in my life. It feels like it went straight from the chicken into my hands. Love it! That's why I love this dish even more because it really lets the egg shine in centre stage. Now, let's move on to making this creative dish. It takes four simple steps to make. So, here we go!
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 240°C (460°F). Separate the egg yolk from the egg whites. If you're making this dish for more than one person, the portion size is one egg per person. Feel free to indulge in more of course.
2. Whisk the egg whites in a large mixing bowl until stiff peaks form. Add salt to season while whisking. If you want to add grated cheese such as parmesan, you want to gently fold it in to the egg whites at this point.
3. Lightly grease the baking pan. Scoop the egg whites onto the pan, creating a divot in the middle with a spoon (for the egg yoke later on). Place in the heated oven for 3 minutes.
4. Remove the baking pan from the oven. Place the egg yoke in the divot you made earlier, and place the baking pan back into the oven for 3 more minutes.
5. Remove the beautiful egg cloud from the oven and plate. Feel free to sprinkle garnish such as chives on top. You can also put this on a piece of buttered toast to make it a silverware-free meal.
Make sure you plate these egg clouds on dishes that will make it really pop. The egg yoke will be a bit runny when you cut into it, which I love. If you want to cook the egg yoke a bit longer because you don't like runny yoke, you may want to turn the heat down and leave the egg cloud in for another minute or two. Just realise that the fluffy egg white will turn brown the longer you keep it in the oven and may not maintain a light fluffiness, but more of a chewy, stretchy texture.
If you're not about decorating eggs on Easter and would rather eat them, this is a fun, creative alternative that everyone in your home will enjoy. They're nutritious and the whole family can have fun eating their fluffy breakfast. Let me know how it goes! Can't wait to hear about your fluffy egg clouds!
-Esther
The Palette Cleanser
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