Scalloped Eggs

Ingredients

• 12 eggs
• bread crumbs, grated
• butter
• pepper
• salt
• 1 teacup sweet cream or milk

Method

Hard-boil the egg|eggs for exactly 10 minutes in salted water. The yolk should be fully set with a pale ring around the centre. Cool immediately in ice water to stop the cooking, then peel and slice into rings about 5mm thick. The contrast between the firm white and the creamy yolk is structural here — you need that texture to hold the layers.

Butter your baking dish thoroughly, working it into the corners. This is your fat barrier; it prevents the breadcrumb base from sticking and contributes to the sauce. Layer the dish as follows: spread a thin base of grated breadcrumbs (about 1cm), then eggs, then dot with small knobs of butter — roughly 15g per layer — and season with salt and pepper. Repeat until the dish is full, finishing with breadcrumbs on top. This layering method matters because the breadcrumbs absorb the cream and egg liquid as they cook, creating a custard-like binding agent rather than a soupy gratín. Three or four layers usually fills a standard dish.

Pour the room-temperature cream or milk over evenly until it just reaches the top layer but doesn't submerge it. The dairy will seep down through the breadcrumbs as it heats, hydrating them gradually. Bake at 180°C for 35–45 minutes. You're watching for two things: the top should turn golden-brown, not dark; and the cream should bubble gently around the edges. If the top browns before the interior has absorbed the liquid (you'll see steam escaping unevenly), cover loosely with foil and continue for another 10 minutes. The dish should feel just-set when you give it a gentle shake — not rigid, not sloppy.

This is a baking|baked custard-bread structure, essentially. The eggs and dairy proteins coagulate as they warm, trapping the breadcrumb particles into a unified network. It's comfort food that sits somewhere between a savory pudding and a gratin. Serve hot, scooped straight from the dish.