Culture

The Fluffy Eggs That Have Taken Over Instagram (and My Heart)

May  9, 2017

Over the past few days, I’ve been seeing an increasing number of cloud eggs on Instagram. They're pretty little things, sunny pearls of yolk ensconced by pillowy whites, and they look an awful lot like meringues.

They’re created by separating the yolks from the whites, whisking the whites furiously, placing the fluffy whipped whites in a on a baking tray with concave dips for the yolks, seating the yolks back in those pouches, and baking them in the oven at 350°F until they’re golden and firm. (Some instructions have you bake the whites, sans yolks, for five to eight minutes and then add the yolks in before baking them for a bit longer in the oven. Pick your poison.)

🍳☁️🍞 #EggInACloud #EggCloud #CloudEgg #CloudEggs #CloudToast

A post shared by Kristi Farinelli (@kristifarinelli) on

There’s precisely nothing new about cooking your eggs this way, but it’s a method that has gained so much traction on Instagram over the past few weeks that it’s been fermented into what we’d call a “trend," permeating even the Today Show, that most mainstream of outlets. At the very least, it’s inspired a coterie of images on Instagram that are pretty striking. Cloud eggs have been photographed lovingly in different milieus—beds of greens, milky-white plates, pale slices of toast. Another day, another food fad that’s swallowed social media. But I’m not mad at it.

I made some baked eggs and they look like clouds, plus they were delicious #eggs #bakedeggs #cloudeggs #breakfast

A post shared by Hannah Savage (@hannahsavage1208) on

See more cloud eggs here—and let us know how you make (or photograph!) yours in the comments.

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Mayukh Sen is a James Beard Award-winning food and culture writer in New York. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, Bon Appetit, and elsewhere. He won a 2018 James Beard Award in Journalism for his profile of Princess Pamela published on Food52.

18 Comments

mary June 15, 2017
I had a cookbook 40+ years ago that called these eggs Maridadi Eggs and if my brain serves me well, I think the recipe was from Kenya.
 
amanda R. May 26, 2017
Can you eat one and report back?
 
bronwyncarlisle May 14, 2017
Good Lord, I learned to make these at school cooking class in the 1960s.
 
Jessica H. May 10, 2017
Lots of hashtags, lots of haters. It's good stuff. Now I want #hash... Preferably corned beef.
 
Beaulaker May 9, 2017
My mom always called them "Bird's nest eggs"
 
Stacey May 9, 2017
Past few weeks? This is old, old news (at least a year which is ancient on the web lol)... And there have been so many posts mocking this "trend" which started on Pinterest actually. Like many others I too have made and was disgusted. It is like eating an unsweetened meringue with akin to what I imagine, fluffy paper to taste like. They are best served in photographs ;)
 
Joy H. May 9, 2017
Haha, that's good to know!
 
Julie May 9, 2017
Darn, that makes me sad. I have no desire to eat fluffy paper, haha. ...maybe I could try folding whipped cream cheese into them (through it probably won't be as fluffy) to salvage the flavor?
 
Joy H. May 9, 2017
Or maybe just make it as a sweet meringue and cure the egg yolk in a salted caramel sauce like they did here? http://www.cooksscience.com/recipes/9593-salted-bourbon-caramel-cured-egg-yolks-with-vanilla-ice-cream/
 
Stacey May 9, 2017
That could work and I'd love to hear your feedback if you try! I just hope it doesn't taste like fluffy cream cheese paper, haha ;)
 
Stacey May 9, 2017
Ooooh now Joy is on to something! Let's rescue these pretty clouds so we can photograph them and then actually eat (and enjoy) them too! :)
 
Mayukh S. May 9, 2017
Yikes! That sucks you didn't like them, Stacey. (And yeah, the Rachael Ray recipe is from 2012. A lot of recipes and posts about this predate the past few weeks—but it's certainly gained a lot more popularity very recently on Instagram.)

Julie, I've seen variations of cloud eggs with bacon, chives, and parmesan folded in...cream cheese sounds potentially great?
 
Julie May 9, 2017
Stacey, I hope so too... Food shouldn't taste like paper, haha!

Joy, that sounds amazing! Bourbon caramel cured egg yolks sound divine! I need to make that ASAP! :D
 
Julie May 9, 2017
Mayunkh, ohhh, bacon! Bacon makes everything better. ...I guess I'll be trying two versions--a savory one that sounds like it'll have mix ins similar to a loaded baked potato, and then a sweet one with bourbon and caramel involved... maybe sweetened marscapone?

Drat, and now I'm hungry even though I literally just finished lunch.
 
Stacey May 9, 2017
haha, that's ok. We all have misses and preferences, lol. I still love you Food52! My go to site for recipes and all things food!! <3
 
Karen D. May 14, 2017
They look disgusting. I don't like brown on my egg, period. And, it does look like gross meringue. Why go to all the trouble when you can poach an egg beautifully.
 
Joy H. May 9, 2017
I haven't seen these before either, but now I really want to make some!
 
Julie May 9, 2017
Gah! Why have I never heard of these before? They're so ridiculously fluffy and adorable (fludorable?). I must make them now!