Baked Eggs

There's not much better than a simple baked egg dish for a communal brunch, easy and you can prep them ahead of time.

BAKED EGGS

Serves 6

1/3 cup/75 ml cream or half-and-half/half cream, plus more for drizzling 3 tbsp/40 g unsalted butter 6 fresh whole farm-fresh or organic eggs Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 small handful chopped mixed fresh herbs such as basil, dill, chives, or parsley

Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C /gas 4.

Arrange six 4-oz/120-ml ramekins in a 9-by-13-in/23-by-33-cm roasting pan/tray. Fill each ramekin with 1 tbsp of the cream and ½ tbsp butter. Transfer to the oven to heat the ramekins and melt the butter, about 5 minutes.

Remove the roasting pan from the oven and crack an egg into each ramekin. Sprinkle each with salt and pepper to season.

Fill the roasting pan with warm water that comes about halfway up the sides of the ramekins; return the pan to the oven. Bake until the eggs are just set around the outside but the yolks are still soft and slightly runny, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside; the eggs will continue cooking slightly in the hot ramekins so err on the side of runny.

Drizzle the eggs with a touch of cream and sprinkle with fresh herbs. Serve immediately.

The Newlywed Cookbook | Sarah Copeland | Chronicle Books