Unapologetically loaded with béchamel sauce, ham, cheese, mustard, and topped with an egg. Croque Madame is the mother of all toasties!
The naughtiest and indulgent cheese toastie
Every year in July, Tomi, my husband, gets ridiculously excited because it’s his birthday month. Like a diva, he would request 3 things from me:
1. Be ultra nice to him on his birthday
2. Let him sleep in, so whatever day his birthday lands on, it’s morning toddler duty with Kai for me
3. Cook him his meal of choice
For me, the first request is the most challenging because let’s get real. After being married for 7 years, and having Kai, we threw politeness out of the window! This is something we’re both not proud of but agreed to be better.
Waking up early on the weekends is also challenging because I’m naturally not a morning person. On weekdays, Kai wakes me up every morning by leaping over me. He is probably the only person who would get away with doing this to me.
The third request is the easiest because I love cooking for the people I love. To me, it doesn’t matter if the request is easy or complex because I’ll make it happen! Even if I have multiple meltdowns, a bloody dirty kitchen or whatever, their requested dish will be in front of them on their birthday. Someone better remind these people how good they have it!
This year, hubby asked for his favourite cheese toastie, the one and only ‘Croque Madame’. Every time he sees Croque Madame or Monsieur, he has to resist his urges because they’re extremely high in calories.
Just one of these irresistible beauties contains approximately 1120 calories! To put that in perspective, McDonald’s Big Mac has 550 calories. I don’t want to know how long it takes at the gym to burn that off!
This Croque Madame is unapologetically loaded with béchamel sauce, ham, cheese, and mustard, then topped with sunny side fried egg. It’s no doubt the mother of all cheese toasties!
What is the difference between Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame?
Croque Madame is a variant of Croque Monsieur. The only difference is Croque Madame has a poached or fried egg placed on top of the toasted sandwich. The idea of the egg was to make the cheese sandwich more filling, like a proper meal rather than a snack.
Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame originated in France. The main ingredients used are bread, béchamel sauce (white cream sauce), ham and Gruyere cheese. It’s toasted either in an oven, grill or pan-fried. For the best result, I pan-fried, baked and grilled mine!
If you love sandwiches like we do, then these recipes are a must!
What Cheeses go best with Croque madame?
Traditionally, Croque Madame calls for Gruyere cheese, which is a hard Swiss cheese. Gruyere cheese has a creamy and nutty flavour.
At the time I purchased the ingredients to make this sandwich for Tomi, I couldn’t find any Gruyere cheese. I swear that happens to me often lately! If I’m looking for something specific, it’s unavailable or the shelves are empty because it’s sold out.
So what can we substitute Gruyere with? Cheese that have similar flavour profiles to Gruyere and texture are Swiss cheese, Emmental or Raclette cheese.
On this occasion I used Jarlsberg cheese, which has a nutty and sweet flavour. However, using your favourite ‘melting’ cheese will work wonderfully, such as any kind of Swiss or Cheddar cheese.
Ingredients for Croque Madame
Bread – I bought a cheap soft white bread loaf and cut them into thick slices myself. I prefer this type of bread for my toasties, but you can use your favourite white bread like sourdough, etc.
Ham – I bought my ham from the deli and got ‘off the bone’ slices, which were quite expensive. After all, I don’t make Croque Madame often and when I do, it’s definitely worth getting quality ham!
Cheese – Traditionally, Croque Madame calls for Gruyere cheese, but it’s sometimes difficult to find in my area. I used Jarlsberg cheese which has a similar nutty and sweet flavour. However, using your favourite ‘melting’ cheese will work wonderfully, such as any kind of Swiss or Cheddar cheese.
Thickened cream (whipping cream) has gelatine added to it and contains 35% milk fat.
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How to make Croque Madame
Step-by-step guide with photos
Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F) or 180°C (360°F) for fan-forced ovens. Slice the bread at approximately 2cm/0.8in thick.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Brush HALF of the melted butter on one side of all the bread slices, and leave the remaining butter in the pan.
For the béchamel sauce – Mix the milk and cream in a microwave-safe bowl/jug and microwave on high for 40 seconds (mixture should be hot but not boiling) and set aside.
Place the saucepan and the remaining butter back on the heat on low. Once the butter heats again, add the flour and stir continuously for a minute (the mixture will foam up). Slowly pour in the cream and milk mixture whilst stirring, then add the mustard, salt and pepper and continue to stir until smooth. As soon as it thickens (does so quite fast) remove the saucepan from heat to prevent the mixture from splitting. Transfer the béchamel sauce to a bowl.
Place the buttered side of the bread down on a large board, then spread two slices with mustard and the other two with HALF of the Béchamel sauce. Place the ham over the bread with the Béchamel sauce, then season lightly with salt and pepper. Add the cheese over the ham and close the sandwiches with the mustard side facing down, so the outer sides of the sandwiches are buttered.
Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Then add in the sandwiches, cook on each side for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Don’t worry if the filling isn’t heated through because they’ll be baked.
Spray or brush a baking tray lightly with oil and place the toasties on the tray with the mustard side facing up. Spread the remaining béchamel sauce over the top of the toastie, then sprinkle with the grated cheese. Bake for 15 minutes and then finish by grilling (broil) until the cheese has melted and is golden.
Whilst the sandwiches are in the oven, fry the eggs. Wipe the same frying pan clean from any crumbs, then place the pan with oil over medium-low heat. Fry the eggs until the whites are solid and the yolk is still runny (or fry the eggs how you prefer them). Use a flat spatula to transfer the eggs on top of the toasties and season the egg with salt and pepper.
A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.
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Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre
Croque Madame
Ingredients
Béchamel sauce
- 50 gm unsalted butter (separated)
- ⅓ cup milk (full cream/whole milk)
- ⅓ cup thickened cream (NOTE 1)
- 5 tsp plain flour (all purpose)
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 pinch freshly ground pepper
Sandwich
- 4 slices white bread (thick cut, approx. 2cm/0.8in) (NOTE 2)
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 6-8 slices ham (good quality) (NOTE 3)
- salt and pepper to season
- 4 slices gruyere cheese (NOTE 4)
Topping
- ¼ cup shredded gruyere cheese (freshly grated)
- 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil (or any neutral oil) oil
- 2 large eggs
- salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F) or 180°C (360°F) for fan-forced ovens. Slice the bread at approximately 2cm/0.8in thick. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Brush HALF of the melted butter on one side of all the bread slices, and leave the remaining butter in the pan.
- For the béchamel sauce – Mix the milk and cream in a microwave-safe bowl/jug and microwave on high for 40 seconds (mixture should be hot but not boiling) and set aside. Place the saucepan and the remaining butter back on the heat on low. Once the butter heats again, add the flour and stir continuously for a minute (the mixture will foam up). Slowly pour in the cream and milk mixture whilst stirring, then add the mustard, salt and pepper and continue to stir until smooth. As soon as it thickens (does so quite fast) remove the saucepan from heat to prevent the mixture from splitting. Transfer the béchamel sauce to a bowl.
- Place the buttered side of the bread down on a large board, then spread two slices with mustard and the other two with HALF of the Béchamel sauce. Place the ham over the bread with the Béchamel sauce, then season lightly with salt and pepper. Add the cheese over the ham and close the sandwiches with the mustard side facing down, so the outer sides of the sandwiches are buttered.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Then add in the sandwiches, cook on each side for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Don't worry if the filling isn't heated through because they'll be baked.
- Spray or brush a baking tray lightly with oil and place the toasties on the tray with the mustard side facing up. Spread the remaining béchamel sauce over the top of the toastie, then sprinkle with the grated cheese. Bake for 15 minutes and then finish by grilling (broil) until the cheese has melted and is golden.
- Whilst the sandwiches are in the oven, fry the eggs. Wipe the same frying pan clean from any crumbs, then place the pan with oil over medium-low heat. Fry the eggs until the whites are solid and the yolk is still runny (or fry the eggs how you prefer them). Use a flat spatula to transfer the eggs on top of the toasties and season the egg with salt and pepper.
