Entirely possible.  My cooking spray was not spraying evenly and as I sprayed it, trying to coat the ramekins evenly, I thought,  "I'm probably spraying this too heavily."  



I did leave it out.  Went to bed last night and didn't get up until almost noon.  Then it was mid-afternoon before I made this recipe.  (I'm a vampire by nature and it takes me a lot of coffee e and some time to wake my stomach once I"m up.)  So it set out all that time.  I noticed yours looked like it had been whipped into a bit of a froth, and wondered if I'd gotten it too warm or something.  



Thank you, that's nice of you to say.  You spent some time on development though...

One of the fun things about this was getting up in the wee hours, passing through the kitchen and smelling that "dough rising" smell––not quite, but almost yeasty...the bacteria working.  It was wonderful.

And yes, I'd love to see more of your recipes.  I've been to a few very nice breakfast places (Brennans, NOLA just this spring, for instance) and that has sort of set me up for boredom with a plain old breakfast.  PLUS...I don't eat bread.  As a rule it's not on my diet.  I splurge on special occasions and to try cool stuff that I want to learn to cook.  This was one of those.  But honestly, some of the most interesting breakfast foods are all about bread. (Pancakes a million different ways...waffles...crepes.....need I say more?)  So yes, I do get very, very bored.  So anything you have to share––even bread-oriented, would be fantastic.  

kitties

Hmm, you've given me a challenge now.  I'm along the same lines as you - no bread, grains, pasta, etc.  Though I tend to make a small exception for breakfast, as it's the first meal of the day and I have hours to burn off what the bread gives me.  A slice of sourdough toast, a tortilla or two, these are about as far as my bread use goes in breakfast anymore.

Guess I'll have to start getting creative –– I have followers now!

_MaH

Oh, where is that picture of Homer drooling when I need it...

Ok, that's  abit too fancy for me, but I'll eat it; personally, just give me some biscuits and gravy and I'll be a happy kid in the morning.

I made one of these for my wife this morning. Breakfast in bed.





She loved it!

I'm not a big fan of over easy type eggs, but this was pretty damn good.



I had a tough time with the pie crust, it kept tearing. Plus our ramekins are larger than normal, so I ended up with a shorter stack, and couldn't flip them back over once they came out of the ramekin. It all tasted good though, and we will definitely try other variations in the future.

Texas Sheepdog, I flipped mine out into my (oven-mitted) hand and just set it on the plate, like a tall, goodie-filled biscuit.  Maybe that would not have worked had the eggs been runnier, but the pie crust got crispy enough on top to handle that way just fine.   I couldn't manhandle it or anything, but it was reasonably sturdy.

I didn't think of dropping onto my hand. I burned my finger on the ramekin though. It probably would have held up, the egg wasn't too runny. There's always next time.



 

Let's troubleshoot, since others haven't encountered what you have.

To begin with, my first question is "Did you place your ramekins in the center of the oven?"

I ask this because if it was too high in the oven (closer to more heat) or too low (closer to the heating element) it could explain why your pastry was getting overcooked, but the contents weren't cooking much at all.

On the other hand, you might have done everything just right, but had different expectations for what the end result would be.  As Kitties contributed when she tried it, 12 minutes gave her a pastry with a runny yolk, while 14 gave her a fully cooked one.  Also, the goat cheese will melt a bit and mix with the creme fraiche.  So, since 12 minutes gets you the "over-easy" form of the pastry, without pictures to judge, it's entirely possible that you did everything right and got exactly what was intended, but not expected.

A few other things I can think to ask ––

1) How much creme fraiche did you use?  More than 1 teaspoon could make it extra gooey, and deprive heat away from the egg.

2) Was the creme fraiche spread across the bottom of the pastry (inside)?  If not, it will - again - deprive heat from the egg, and result in an uneven baking at the bottom.

3) A light coat of the Pam/Canola Oil/Grease/etc. is all that's needed.  Too much, and it will pool at the bottom (especially when it hits the heat in the oven) and start to bake into the pastry dough, resulting in a soggy bottom

4) Cut away extra pastry, as necessary, after folding over.  Too much pastry on the top will act as an insulator to the contents, causing them to cook less than they should, and causing the excess pastry to begin to dry and burn.

Just some thoughts off the top of my head.

If you're not interested in giving this another try, but you like the pastry cup concept, give this a try:

1) Prepare pastry cup as normal

2) Fry bacon until crispy

3) Cook scrambled eggs

4) Mix 1 tablespoon creme fraiche with eggs after they're cooked - add less or more as necessary to make the eggs look slightly gooey.

5) Crumble up bacon, mix in with eggs.  Do the same with shredded cheese, as desired.

6) Pour egg mixture into cup, fold over, place in oven 12 minutes

7) When pastry is a golden brown (approximately 12 minutes, could be more or less) remove from oven, let stand to cool a bit, and enjoy.

The point of adding the creme fraiche to the scrambled eggs is so that the eggs don't become over-cooked and dry while in the cup.  It will also add a bit of unexpected, yet enjoyable, flavor to them.

Don't give up.  I made many failed prototypes before it became just right.

_MaH

Cowboy, as soon as I read yours, I thought, "It's his oven.  That's not right."    I think your oven is heating way too high.  Thus the overdone crust but not enough time to get the innards done.  As much as you like to cook, you should kick that puppy to the curb and/or get it repaired.  That will drive you crazy.

Based on how consistently  reliable this has been for me, I know you're not doing anything that wrong.  I tried this again on Monday as an experiment...I did four ramekins again...  egg/mushroom/garlic/onion/tomato/provolone.  I did two with scrambled eggs and two with raw eggs.  The one at  12 minutes, the egg was undercooked to the point that even uxb didn't like it. (Actually one side of the egg was okay, the other, the white was underdone, which means I didn't have something centered, or the extra dough (and there WAS extra dough on that side) kept it from cooking. (He likes his eggs sunny side up.)  Once we cut into the first raw one and saw the undercooked-ness, I put the second back in and it went a full 15 minutes.  Egg was done but good.  

The two scrambled ones were excellent.

All were considerable more soggy on the bottom than the Sunday/OP's original recipe versions.  

But still...they were nothing I would call a soggy mess.  (I have pics I can post once uxb uploads them.)

You're  a more knowledgeable cook than I am, in my observation.  This is not you.  It's your oven.

Edited:  Talking on the phone and typing

It was good, although I did NOT use creme fraiche because I didn't have any.  I never did get it into the fridge and Monday morning I just tossed it.  I think it would have been better with the creme fraiche addition.  However, I'm tending toward the soggy anyhow, and must correct that––need less moisture absorbed into the pie crust, not more––before I start doing too many experiments with wet stuff.

For mine, I cooked up the mushrooms with a small bit of onion and the garlic in some butter.  I pre-scrambled the eggs, grated the provolone, set the tomato up just as the OP did it in the original recipe.  But I substituted a bit of provolone in the bottom of the cup in place of the creme fraiche, then layered the ingredients with the egg on top.  For the scrambled egg versions, I sprinkled more provolone on top of the egg as well, cuz cookage wasn't as vital.

I think I had too much butter in the mushroom mixture, and that contributed to the sogginess in these.  Sauteed mushrooms are rather moisture-intense anyhow.

Disclaimer: I have no idea if any of these ideas will actually work.

There's two things I can think of trying if you keep encountering soggy pastry while making these things:

1) Fill out the ramekin with the pastry, then put this and only this into the oven for a little bit.  On the one hand, it will begin to bake the inside of your pastry cup, hopefully making it a bit more solid, and less susceptible to getting soggy while baking.  The potential downside, though, is that the pastry which you'll fold over will start to get baked as well.  If it bakes too much, it will bake even faster when filled and put back in the oven, or even get too dry and break/crumble as you attempt to fold it over.

2) Put just the ramekin into the oven for a while at 450F.  Once it has reached temperature, take it out, then line it with the pastry (careful of the heat!).  This may start baking the pastry in advance, and hopefully reduce the window where it is susceptible to soaking from the ingredients you add to the cup.

Of those two, I think there's better odds with #1.  The only trick i can think of would be to carefully wrap the "extra" pastry (that you'll fold over) in wet paper towels to try to keep them from beginning to bake and dry out.  It's a risky move, though, as they could dry completely and catch fire in the oven if forgotten and/or left too long.

Maybe #1 would work better under a broiler for a minute or so?  (Shrug)  If anyone tries any of these, please AAR!

_MaH

I would go with one of the commercial-type ranges.  Chef talked about them in his thread but I don't remember that he gave a rec for any particular one.  I have a few friends with the Five-Star ranges and they love love LOVE those stoves. (My friends with Vikings don't cook.) You're doing it up right in the new kitchen anyhow, right?  Splurge on the good appliances.  DOOOOOO IIIIIIIITTTTTTTTT.

In particular, some friends in Atlanta have the range with the griddle in the middle.  He uses it all the time.  I love that stove.  He lets me help cook when I'm down there because he's good at Thai and  I want to learn that.  I love my Jenn Air, but I wouldn't get another unless I could get one with the downdraft NOT in the center.  It keeps me from being able to center very large pots on the burners.

You know...I just can't see the pre-baking working because of needing to close the crust.  It's fragile already

And granted, there are probably ways to prevent the hardening of the crust "flaps" but.....time for a moment of brutal honesty with regard to Kitties' psyche.....having to do "pre" anything, or add steps like trying to protect those folds so I can bake the crust then fold it over, is the kind of tedium which will make me toss the whole idea.  I love this recipe because although it's interesting and the combo of flavors is phenomenal, it's relatively simple, and on Monday, I was pretty damn fast at it.  I could actually see assembling these for a few people for breakfast.  Even with the necessity of planning ahead to make the creme fraiche.  That's a big step for me.  I don't do, "what are we going to eat tomorrow."  I do, "what are we going to eat an hour from now."    It just is.

I know.  I plan and carry out city-wide events, but do not plan my meals.  

I want gas cooktop but convection-capable ovens.  Doubt I'll get that, but that's what I want.  I have a slide-in, and Jenn Air actually MADE a dual-fuel range when I got this one.  I don't have room in this kitchen (as it stands now) for separate cooktop/ovens without a major overhaul.  

Don't wanna do a major overhaul.  Still not done with the first overhaul.

You know...

You could try slightly lower heat on those pastries––for longer––and see what happens.  Even down to 400.  You could also put the ramekin a little lower in the oven (just a little) then move it up to a top rack a minute or two (maybe more with raw egg)  before the baking process is done.

It could work, but the longer it sits in the oven the longer you dehydrate it.  That's what baking is, after all.

My concern would be the contents drying up.  Perfectly cooked pastry, containing bone-dry eggs

But that's what we do!  Experiment!  I've said it before, and I'll say it the rest of my life.  A kitchen is a laboratory - a lab that's in about every house in the world.  Unfortunately, very few people use it to try new things.

If you make it work, share the recipe!

_MaH

Agreed on the drying out, though I would not have so eloquently recognized baking as a dehydrating process, had you not brought it to my attention.  His statement that his oven is erratic above 400 degrees is the basis for my suggestion.  And while I am a little better at experiments in temp/time with some things (roasting poultry mainly) I can't say I've done a lot of it with baking.  As a rule, I'm a strict recipe follower, at least at first.  Baking is NOT something I do a lot of, though what I've done, I've done with success.  

I suppose no matter where you locate the "moisture" within the pastry, it's going to gravitate to the bottom....except for the egg, which will cling together.....hmmmmm

ETA:  Bone-dry eggs are probably not as offputting to this NON egg lover as they are to you.  My typical restaurant "scrambled hard" egg order is likely an abomination to those who love eggs.    The equivalent of a wine tasting where the taster eschews all the lovely selections offered and leaves the store with Mad Dog 20/20.  

You would not like my scrambled eggs, then.

To describe them as rich and creamy would be an understatement.

_MaH

Please elaborate on these "rich and creamy scrambled eggs" you speak of.

My scrambled eggs, but someone else's recipe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU_B3QNu_Ks

Tried 'em, they are indeed wonderful –– even just on their own.

_MaH

I might actually like those eggs.  I've never had eggs even remotely like that.  I'd have to taste them to get the flavor.

In my "egg" experience, the less hard eggs are, the "eggier" the flavor.  And I just don't like egginess..

I want to like eggs.  I do.  I liked my grandfather's eggs growing up.  And I like them at good breakfast places.  But at home?  No.

I will have to try this.  The trouble is, how do you know if you've got them right if you have'nt had them this way?

Scrambled eggs in restaurants, anything less than scrambled hard, are often runny and just...gross...

They either look like this:



Or you taste them whenever you think they're ready to find out if you're right or not.

_MaH

Did you use creme fraiche in those?  

I think that might be the key to acceptance, for me.  Some taste to distract me from "egg".  



Hmmm...Perhaps I just have egg issues.  

Thank you. I may have to try these recipes this weekend.

Yes, there is creme fraiche in that recipe.  Watch the video, but here's a summary of what you do:

Three eggs, about 2 tablespoons of butter, melt butter in pot while scrambling eggs in pot, once cooked the way you want them, take off heat, add 1/2 tablespoon of cold creme fraiche and stir in to bring the temperature of the eggs below the cooking threshold.

_MaH

I watched the video immediately, but I wasn't certain if you included the creme fraiche in yours, as he did.  He doctored his up with chives as well, which would further lull me into believing that I could make these eggs work.    As I read back through it, of course you alluded to having used this precise recipe to make your eggs.  For some reason I didn't clue into that on first read.

I do have memory of "scrambled" eggs at bed and breakfasts in Britain, and they looked somewhat like these, and were cooked in a pot, rather than in a skillet (which is how I've always scrambled eggs).  I have to say that those eggs were completely inedible.   I'm kind of counting on those having not been done properly.

Kitties, ever in search of eggs she likes for under $25/plate.