Egg, Cheese and Bacon Mini-Tart (With Cheat's Pastry)
A Stolen Secret...
I am going to be upfront with you and say now that I cannot take credit for this recipe. I learned how to make these when I was working for Boston Tea Party. Every good cook takes elements from things they have seen or eaten or cooked as they go through life and generally tweak, change or merge ideas together to make it their own. On this occasion, however, this recipe is literally perfect and so I have kept on cooking these to this day without changing a thing.
That is pretty much my history of this dish anyway. They make great brunch nibbles and go down a treat at parties.
That is pretty much my history of this dish anyway. They make great brunch nibbles and go down a treat at parties.
- Makes 4
- Prep - 15 mins
- Cooking - 25 mins
Gather The Ingredients...
- 4 Slices of Store-bought medium sliced white bread
- 30g Butter
- 30g Mature Cheddar Cheese, Grated
- 4 Rashers Thin Cut Smoked Streaky Bacon
- 4 Large Eggs
- Chopped Chives to garnish
Time to Cook...
Preheat your oven to 170°C and also heat up your grill to a low temperature.
Let's start off with the streaky bacon. Pop it on a lined tray and place under a low grill until it is cooked through but it hasn't yet turned crispy. The latter part is very very important. Let the bacon start to cool on the side and move on to the "Cheat's Pastry".
You are probably wondering why it's called cheat's pastry and its a pretty simple answer. It isn't pastry at all and it's so simple you could even get your kids to do it with you. Simply use the largest round cookie cutter that will fit on a slice of bread and cut out a circle from each slice of bread.
Roll the bread circles out using a rolling pin one by one, rotating them halfway through to make sure they stay circular. Now that you have 4 very very thin circles of bread, melt the butter in the microwave or in a pan on a low heat and then brush the bread circles on both sides with the melted butter.
Then cut a single slit from the middle of each circle to one edge. This will allow you to make the circles into little buttered cones. Pop a cone point side down into a cupcake tray and then squash down so that the bread makes a little cup in the tray and repeat for the others.
Now sprinkle a little cheese in each of the cups you have made. Take a rasher of bacon and putting one end of the bacon against the opposite end of the same rasher, you should make a little bacon circle. Place this inside one of the cups so that it almost lines the inside of the cup, making sure the fat or rind is at the top.
Place the cupcake tray with the cups into the oven and bake until the bacon has browned on the rind and is looking nice and crispy.
While you are waiting for those to cook, crack the eggs into a bowl being very careful not to break any of the yolks.
Once the bacon is looking like it has crisped up, remove from the oven then, using your hands, scoop up one of the yolks and let as much egg white run off back into the bowl as possible. carefully slide the yolk so it sits inside the little bacon ring you made and put a teaspoon of egg white over the top. Repeat this until you have an egg yolk with some whites in each little cup. place back in the oven for about 5 minutes or so.
Keep a really close eye on it, you want the yolks to still look dark and shiny but the white around it should be cooked.
Take out of the oven and sprinkle some black pepper and the chives over the top of them.
Can be eaten hot or cold but must be eaten on the day they are made. Once these start melting in your mouth, you will totally forget you didn't even use pastry!
Don't waste the egg whites! You can store them in the fridge for 3 days and can use them to make a delicious consommé or melty meringues and you can even freeze the egg whites in a pinch.
Let's start off with the streaky bacon. Pop it on a lined tray and place under a low grill until it is cooked through but it hasn't yet turned crispy. The latter part is very very important. Let the bacon start to cool on the side and move on to the "Cheat's Pastry".
You are probably wondering why it's called cheat's pastry and its a pretty simple answer. It isn't pastry at all and it's so simple you could even get your kids to do it with you. Simply use the largest round cookie cutter that will fit on a slice of bread and cut out a circle from each slice of bread.
Roll the bread circles out using a rolling pin one by one, rotating them halfway through to make sure they stay circular. Now that you have 4 very very thin circles of bread, melt the butter in the microwave or in a pan on a low heat and then brush the bread circles on both sides with the melted butter.
Then cut a single slit from the middle of each circle to one edge. This will allow you to make the circles into little buttered cones. Pop a cone point side down into a cupcake tray and then squash down so that the bread makes a little cup in the tray and repeat for the others.
Now sprinkle a little cheese in each of the cups you have made. Take a rasher of bacon and putting one end of the bacon against the opposite end of the same rasher, you should make a little bacon circle. Place this inside one of the cups so that it almost lines the inside of the cup, making sure the fat or rind is at the top.
Place the cupcake tray with the cups into the oven and bake until the bacon has browned on the rind and is looking nice and crispy.
While you are waiting for those to cook, crack the eggs into a bowl being very careful not to break any of the yolks.
Once the bacon is looking like it has crisped up, remove from the oven then, using your hands, scoop up one of the yolks and let as much egg white run off back into the bowl as possible. carefully slide the yolk so it sits inside the little bacon ring you made and put a teaspoon of egg white over the top. Repeat this until you have an egg yolk with some whites in each little cup. place back in the oven for about 5 minutes or so.
Keep a really close eye on it, you want the yolks to still look dark and shiny but the white around it should be cooked.
Take out of the oven and sprinkle some black pepper and the chives over the top of them.
Can be eaten hot or cold but must be eaten on the day they are made. Once these start melting in your mouth, you will totally forget you didn't even use pastry!
Don't waste the egg whites! You can store them in the fridge for 3 days and can use them to make a delicious consommé or melty meringues and you can even freeze the egg whites in a pinch.
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