I have been dreaming about Brunch for a few weeks now, and more specifically about eating my favorite Brunch dish – Crab Cake Eggs Benedict.
I soooo miss the days when I was young and free, and I’d meet up with the girls after a night of staying out too late. There was something so luxurious about rolling out of bed late on a Sunday, throwing on a sun dress and flip flops, putting my hair up in a messy bun, and hiding my lack of sleep and makeup behind a pair of large, dark sunglasses.
I loved walking through the streets of NY with the warm sun filtering through the tall buildings to meet at a local café. And once seated, I was never embarrassed about ordering a Diet Coke, Iced Water, Coffee, and a Bloody Mary all at the same time! Those were the days!
My craving was so strong today, I decided to whip up my own – work-from-home, and pretend it’s Brunch – lunch. I’m still sporting the messy bun and flip flops from my youth though, thanks to no scheduled Zoom video meetings :).
These days, I don’t always see a Crab Cake Eggs Benedict on the menu when I go out. In that case, I ask the waiter to hold the Canadian bacon and substitute sautéed spinach.
However, today I was in luck! I had ready-to-cook Crab Cakes from Publix (my local grocery store) already in the refrigerator. (I planned to use them for dinner, but I just couldn’t resist…)
This recipe is so flavorful with the sweet crab, the perfectly poached, runny egg, and the freshly made lemony, buttery Hollandaise sauce.
I added a touch of cayenne pepper to give it a little kick. It was so good, I could barely get a decent photo of it before I decided to just go ahead and devour it.
If you haven’t made Hollandaise sauce – don’t fret. It’s really easy to make, but I lightly cooked the eggs before adding the butter. The outcome was a rich, velvety, lemony, buttery sauce with just a hint of spice. (I’m vigilant about handling eggs carefully, given the possibility of getting Salmonella poisoning from undercooked eggs.)
So what’s in Crab Cake Eggs Benedict?
- Poached eggs
- Toasted English muffins
- Crab cakes
- Hollandaise sauce (egg yolks, lemon juice, cayenne, salt, butter)
Crab Cake Eggs Benedict
Ingredients
- 1 Each English muffin split
- 2 Each Eggs whole, poached
- 2 Each Crab cakes prepared
- 3 Each Egg yolks
- 1/2 cup Butter
- 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper optional
- 1/4 cup Water
Instructions
Preparing the Poached Eggs
- Fill a medium pot with enough water to poach the eggs, and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, crack an egg in a ramekin and wait for the water to just come to a simmer, where you can see small bubbles around the edges of the water.
- With a slotted spoon, swirl the water to create a circular motion and slip the egg from the ramekin in the water gently, then swirl the water again to help the egg create an oval shape. Repeat with a second egg.
- When the eggs are just set and still runny in the middle, carefully remove them with a slotted spoon and hold them in a small bowl with hot water to keep them from getting cold.
Preparing the Hollandaise Sauce
- Combine three egg yolks, water, and lemon in a small sauce pan over medium to low heat.
- Whisk to combine and continue whisking for 6-7 minutes. Make sure to not let the eggs start to scramble.
- Once the eggs are bubbling around the edges of the pan and 6-7 minutes has passed, reduce the heat to low and add the butter one cube at a time while whisking.
- Once the sauce has become thick, and all the butter is melted, add the salt and cayenne. Taste and season with more salt if desired. Set aside to keep warm on the stove.
Preparing the Crab Cakes
- While you are preparing the Hollandaise, you can cook the already prepared crab cakes based on the packaging instructions. (Be sure to thaw in advance if using frozen crab cakes.)
Assembling the Crab Cakes Eggs Benedict
- Split and toast the English muffin.
- Drain the Poached Eggs on a paper towel.
- Top one half of the toasted English muffin with a Crab Cake and then a Poached Egg.
- Whisk the Hollandaise sauce and then drizzle over the Poached Egg.
Notes
- If the Hollandaise has little pieces of cooked eggs, you can strain the sauce through a fine meshed sieve.
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