Baked Mini Crab Cakes

By Texaschef11

Ingredients

• 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 10 oz fresh lump crabmeat, patted dry and coarsely shredded
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Preparation

Step 1

In a medium bowl, whisk the cream cheese vigorously until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and the egg and whisk until well combined. Beat in the sour cream, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon chopped chives, kosher salt and cayenne pepper. Gently fold in the crabmeat with a rubber spatula. (You can make the filling 1 day ahead, cover and store in the refrigerator.)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a mini muffin pan with 24 wells (or 2 pans with 12 wells) with nonstick cooking spray. Combine the panko, remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and remaining 2 tablespoons chopped chives in a medium bowl. Add the butter and toss until evenly moistened. Spoon 1 generous teaspoon of the panko mixture into the bottom of each well of the muffin tin. Press to form a crust. Top each crust with 1 generous tablespoon of the crab mixture. Finally, sprinkle the top of each with 1 teaspoon of the panko mixture (the bites will slightly overflow the tops of the wells, that's fine).

Bake the crab cakes for about 30 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and the filling is set. Transfer muffin pan to a wire rack and let cool for about 3 minutes then run a knife around each cake and gently lift out of the pan. Sprinkle with additional chives for garnish, if desired.

(Note: You can bake the crab cakes 2 hours ahead. Let them stand at room temperature and then right before serving, reheat in a 350 F oven for 6-8 minutes.)

Makes 24