Method:

Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter 6 holes of a large muffin tin. Put the bacon in a cold frying pan and cook gently for 5-10 minutes or until golden and crisp. Tip out onto kitchen paper.

Mix together the cheddar, flour, baking powder, bicarb and chives in a large bowl, and season.

Whisk together the melted butter, milk, yogurt and egg in a bowl. Add the bacon to the wet ingredients, then mix into the dry, until just combined. Divide slightly less than 1/2 the batter between each muffin tin hole, making a dent in the middle (we used the underside of a tablespoon measurer). Carefully crack a quail’s egg into each, then cover with the rest of the batter (add spoonfuls around the egg, with the last on top).

Bake the muffins for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then carefully turn out onto a wire rack to cool for another 5 minutes before serving.