Croque Madame French Toast Cups

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup milk
3 large eggs plus 8 eggs, divided
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 slices day-old or stale sandwich bread
4 tablespoons butter
3 slices good ham
4 oz. Gruyère cheese, grated
salt and pepper
Maple syrup

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream, milk, 3 eggs, honey, cinnamon, and salt. Pour into shallow dish.

Set cooling rack over sink or sheet pan. Remove crusts from bread. Press slightly with fingers to enlarge. Dip each slice of bread in egg mixture for a few seconds on each side before carefully removing to rack. Allow the excess moisture to drain off of the slices for 1-2 minutes.

To cook French toast, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat in a skillet. Cook to golden brown (about 2-3 minutes per side) but do not over cook as they will cook more in oven. Remove the French toast to a cooling rack to cool completely. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Gently tuck a piece of French toast into the well of a greased muffin tin, forming a bowl. Add a little ham and Gruyère cheese in each cup. Place an egg over top. (Crack egg over bowl allowing most of the white to fall into bowl. Add yolk to French toast cup over cheese and ham. Repeat for the number of cups you want with whole yolk. For scrambled eggs or egg whites do this: Whisk the egg whites you've collected and ladle a little into the cups with yolks. Ladle just whites into a few cups then add a whole egg to what whites are left over and ladle into cups for scrambled eggs.) Lightly salt and pepper each cup.

Bake the cups at 400 degrees F for 10-12 minutes, watching carefully. Pull them out when the white is set but the yolk is not fully cooked through (has a little jiggle.) Top each cup with a little shredded Gruyère when they’re hot from the oven. Let set for 10 minutes to finish cooking from residual heat. Use a knife or off-set metal spatula to loosen the edges from the pan. Remove the cups to a serving plate. Serve them warm on a bed of maple syrup if desired.
Makes about 8 cups