Make any brunch a special occasion with homemade crab cakes and hollandaise sauce in this decadent take on Eggs Benedict.

Preparation

Combine all crab cake ingredients except canola oil in a large bowl. Fold together very gently to retain the large chunks of crab meat. Form mixture into 8 crab cakes, approximately 3 ounces each. Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 10–15 minutes.

Heat canola oil in a pan, then pan fry crab cakes until golden brown on each side. Once done, place crab cakes on a paper towel and set aside.

If poaching eggs, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Either poach eggs or cook gently in a pan to keep the whites white. Halve and toast the English muffins.

For the hollandaise sauce, set a pot filled with 2 inches of water to a gentle simmer. Whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice and salt in a stainless steel bowl that fits into the pot without the bottom of the bowl touching the water. Reduce the heat to low and nestle the bowl into the pot. Continually whisk until the eggs start to thicken and become pale yellow.

Turn the heat off but keep the pot and bowl on the stove. Slowly drizzle in the melted butter while constantly whisking to emulsify until all the butter has been incorporated. If the mixture becomes too thick, add 1–2 tablespoons of warm water to thin. The sauce should be smooth, velvety and thick but still pourable. Keep warm while crab cakes are cooking (it may thicken slightly as it sits). Just before serving, add more warm water to thin if needed.

To serve, plate each English muffin half cut-side up, top with 1 crab cake each, followed by 1 poached egg each and a generous portion of hollandaise. Garnish with chopped green onions and serve immediately.