Never thought I would be sharing these with you. I know it's not quite cake. Please forgive me.
Earlier this year I
got to be part of the Goodman Fielder Kiwi Faves campaign where I showed the
nation at prime time how I make my family’s favourite bacon and egg pie. During
the filming I lost count of how many pies I actually made and by the end of the
day, if I have to be honest with you, I never wanted to see another bacon and egg pie ever
again. Until now of course. On the day of filming I actually got up extra early to make
the crew these mini ones for breakfast. My Mum has been making these in even
smaller muffin tins for yolks as finger food for when she had people round.
It was late in the afternoon when my dear friend Matt text me asking if he bought me ingredients if I could make him dinner. He needs to know by now that I will make him dinner no matter what haha, his excellent company and hilarious yarns are all that he needs to bring with him.
I had some streaky bacon, some eggs and flaky puff pastry lying around (as you do) so I offered to make these for him.
These pies make great
individual servings and you only need around two per person. Since each one
contains two eggs they are rather filling and you become deceptively full even
after just one. They can easily be made vegetarian by skipping out on the bacon
and adding a few more veges if you wish. Some baked pumpkin would go down a
treat. I added peas because we had some lying around in the freezer. Oh these make
great picnic treats too! Whenever my brother wants to impress a girl he asks me
to pack him up a picnic (which last time consisted of these mini pies plus mini
lemon bundt cakes) to take with him.
Also, I am a huge fan
of cold bacon and egg pie so the left overs
make perfect lunch time snacks!
I used a strip of
streaky bacon per pie but that was only because I had a pack in my fridge that
needed using up. I personally prefer shoulder bacon as it is a lot leaner than
the streaky.
You will need a Texan
muffin pan for this. They are only around $10 at New World and they come in
handy for so many things. Unfortunately because there are only six spots in
each pan you will need to do this in two batches unless of course you have two
trays.
This recipe can be so
easily adjusted for the number of people you plan to feed. Just allow half a
sheet of flaky puff pastry, four eggs and at least a piece of bacon per person.
Oh and peas. If you want peas. Although Matt managed to eat three of these. His Dad and I both think he needs to cut down on the old pie front and invest in some more vegetables but alas he is too stubborn and is convinced that energy drinks provide all the nutrition he needs! Plus all my cooking and baking probably don't help the cause either.
Mini Bacon and Egg
Pies
Serves 4
2 sheets pre rolled flaky puff pastry, cut into quarters
12 eggs
4-6 pieces of shoulder bacon
2 onions, sliced into wedges
½ cup frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste
cooking spray for the tray
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Spray your Texan muffin pan with
the coking spray.
Slice up the bacon (into whatever shape you like) and sauté with the onion until cooked and translucent. You want that great cooked bacon flavour in your pies.
Once the pastry has defrosted gently press each square into a muffin
pan. You will get a triangular edge poking out but that is ok. Make sure it is
well fitted in to the bottom.
Sprinkle over the bacon pieces and onion evenly across the eight
pies. Do the same with the frozen peas.
Gently crack two eggs into each pie. Don’t worry if they slightly
overflow, it will all be contained within the muffin tray.
Season with salt and pepper.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the egg is
firm when gently pressed. Once again it doesn't matter if they are slightly undercooked. In fact, I like my egg slightly gooey.
Serve with a good dollop of good old tomato sauce!
Enjoy!