Croque Madame Muffins

There is nothing I love more than a Sunday morning lie in followed by a spot of bunch!

It was time to see what Rachel Khoo had to offer. What could be more perfect for Sunday brunch than Croque Madame Muffins? I hadn't seen something like before but what an awesome idea! 

Croque Madame is a grilled ham and cheese sandwich served with a fried egg on top. The Croque Madame Muffin combines all of the ingredients of a Croque Madame into an individual muffin. 

The best part of these muffins is the béchamel sauce. Béchamel to me sounded quite tricky when I first heard the term but it is simply a classic way of making a white sauce. Made from using a mixture of butter and flour to make up a roux which is then cooked with milk to form the creamy yummy white sauce.

Serves 6

Ingredients

6 Slices of white bread with crusts removed
6 Small eggs
6 Slices of ham
3 Tbsp melted butter
Sauce:
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
200ml Milk
1/2 Tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
30g Grated gruyere

Directions

1. Turn oven on to 180°C / 350°C / gas mark 4
2. Brush a muffin tin with some melter butter
3. Melt the butter in a pan and add flour. Beat until it forms a smooth paste. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 2 minutes.
4. Whisk the milk in slowly until there are no more lumps. Place the pan back on the heat and add the mustard and nutmeg. Allow to simmer gently whilst to move back onto the bread. Keep an eye that it doesn't catch though.
5. Flatten your white bread with a rolling pin until nice and thin and brush the front and back of each slice with melted butter.
6. Push each piece of bread into the muffin tin, making sure to push down into the inside edges of the bread.
7. Put a slice of ham at the bottom of each muffin and then top with an egg. If you think the egg may be too big, pour away some of the egg white and just pop the yolk and a little of the white into each muffin.
8. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the cheese, be sure to leave some to sprinkle on the top later. Stir the sauce until the cheese is melted. The sauce shouldn't be too think and should run off the spoon quite thick but doesn't get stuck! If it is too think, just whisk in a little more milk.
9. Spoon 2 tablespoons of sauce over each muffin and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and pepper. Before adding the sauce, I placed a piece of sliced tomato on top of each one but that is completely up to you how you like it.
10. For the finishing touches, brush the corners of each muffin with melted butter and pop in the oven for 15 minutes. (20 minutes if you like your yolks a little harder). 

Finally, server immediately and enjoy.