The Inside Story

Soft Boiled Eggs:

1 tsp. salt

6 large pasteurized eggs, at room temperature

Breakfast Cakes:

1/2 cup diced bacon, 1/4-inch diced

5 large eggs

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. flavorless oil

3/4 cup sour cream

2 3/4 cup cake flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 cup shredded white cheddar

1/2 cup shredded Gruyere

1 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 cup sliced scallion

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

To make the soft boiled eggs:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a full boil and add the salt.
2. Gently lower the pasteurized eggs into the water and boil 4 ½ minutes.
3. Transfer eggs immediately to an ice bath. Remove eggs as soon as they are cool enough to handle.
4. Gently crack eggs and peel under a thin stream of cool running water.
5. Gently dry the eggs with a paper towel and refrigerate until cold.

To make the breakfast cakes:

1. Preheat oven to 455º and grease the wells of a large muffin pan or popover pan.
2. Fry the diced bacon until crisp. Drain well and let cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and oil. Whisk in the sour cream until combined.
4. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and stir into eggs in thirds, stirring only until just combined. Stir in white cheddar, Gruyere, Parmesan, scallions, and reserved bacon.
5. Spoon a few tablespoons of batter into each well of the muffin pan and push the batter up the sides of the wells. The batter needs to be thick.
6. Gently dust the soft-boiled eggs with all-purpose flour and gently place an egg upright in each well.
7. Fill a piping bag with remaining batter and pipe the batter around each egg, filling the well and completely covering the egg. Smooth the dome with the back of a spoon.
8. Bake 16 minutes, or until the cakes are golden brown.
9. Let cool in pans 10 – 15 minutes. Remove from pan and continue cooling on a rack.
10. Serve warm or at room temperature with Tabasco salt.