The Critical Step You Can't Forget When Making Cloud Eggs

If you're looking for the next crowd-pleasing dish to make for your family's Sunday breakfast — or you're waiting for inspiration for your next creative brunch meal that is sure to impress guests — look no further than the humble cloud egg. While this breakfast food has quite an unusual and eye-catching appearance, it's very simple to make and easy to enjoy.

A cloud egg is simply a baked egg that is made to have its whites puff up around the edges, forming a cloud-like shape, while the golden yolk sits perfectly in the center. It can be enjoyed on toast or alone, and even egg-haters are sure to try it a second time; its flashy presentation is hard to ignore.

To make this dish, according to MasterClass, one first needs to separate the egg whites and yolks. The whites are whipped to perfection, seasoned, and dolloped onto baking sheets. They're baked alone for a little while; then the yolks are added and they're baked together. The yolks get silky and rich, and the whites get puffy and crunchy.

While this sounds easy enough to make, it does take one important step to get it right.

While cloud eggs may look like only a master chef could perfect them, they're actually pretty simple to make. However, it will take a bit of practice, and you have to make sure to follow one critical component.

According to MasterClass, the one unmissable step to making a cloud egg is forming a shallow well in the egg whites themselves to allow the egg yolks to stay in place. (If the whites have been whipped to the proper consistency, the indentation will stay put.) The outlet notes that without this well, the yolks are liable to spill over the edges of the egg white's surface and break on the rough edges.

It's easy to make this small indent in the egg whites. All you have to do, per Food Network, is place spoonfuls of the whipped egg whites onto the baking sheets, then use the back of a spoon to make shallow wells in the centers. Then, you can continue the preparation process, and your perfectly cooked yellow yolks will remain in place, allowing your eggy presentation to wow at the brunch table.