Baked Egg and Cheese Toast

This toast is very, very easy to make - you can make it any time of the year, and it will definitely impress your loved ones. You don't have to use a heart-shape cookie cutter, a round one, square one, animal-shaped ones... The choice is yours! (:

Prepare 2 slices of bread - white, wholemeal... up to your preference (:

I like to butter the bottom slice of bread, but it's purely optional.

Just that I think toasts always taste better with butter. d:

Cut out a heart shape using a cookie cutter, leaving around 1cm border.

Try to use the biggest cookie cutter you can find, so that there is space for the egg to be filled in, otherwise use a small egg... or simply cut more shapes out. (:

This heart looks so tender, yummy and fluffy... that I gobbled it down after I cut it out. d:

Grab a slice of cheese...

...divide it into 4 strips.

Lay the strips as close to the edge as possible...

...then place the other slice of bread on top.

The cheese will try its best to act as a seal for the toast.

Crack an egg into the hole.

The egg I used is a little too big, so the egg whites flowed out from the side of the bread. But no harm done, it's still absorbed by the bread during baking.

Season with a little bit of salt, black pepper and butter and bake for 15-20 minutes until the bread is toasted and the egg is cooked.

I baked mine for 20 minutes, and my egg yolk is almost hardened, so I'll bake it for 15 minutes the next time I make it.

I love runny yolks!

And ta-da! An easy and scrumptious meal is ready! (:

I'm going to submit this recipe to Aspiring Bakers #4: Love is in the Air. More details of this event can be found here. Do participate if you're interested! (:

Baked Egg and Cheese Toast (serves 1)
adapted from Mr Breakfast

2 slices bread
1 slice of cheese
1 egg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Butter (optional)

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

Place a slice of bread on a rack. Butter the bread if you like.

Using a heart-shape cookie cutter, cut a hole out of the other bread, leaving around 1 cm border. Cut the slice of cheese into 4 strips and lay them as close as the edges of the bread as possible. Lay the bread-with-a-hole on top and then crack the egg inside.

Sprinkle with a little salt and black pepper. Drop in a dot of butter if you like. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes till bread is browned and the egg is cooked. The egg will be ¾-cooked. Serve immediately.

Notes:

• I baked mine for 20 minutes, and the egg is almost cooked. Because I love runny yolks, I'm gonna bake mine for 15 minutes the next time I make it again.
• Use any cookie cutter you can find, as long as the hole is big enough so that the whole egg fits into the hole.
• If using big eggs, some of the egg whites may flow out, but doesn't matter as it'll all be absorbed by the bread during baking.