mini shrimp cakes

i needed to make something for a picnic. i wanted to make a finger food that was bite-sized so i made these mini shrimp cakes. its the cousin to the crab cake. instead of using a crab mixture, i used a combination of shrimp and bacon. the shrimp is cook in the bacon fat so the flavor is infused throughout! i made it in a mini muffin pan so you can just pop them in your mouth.

mini shrimp cakes
yields 24 mini cakes
3 strips of bacon (i used smoked applewood)
1 dozen shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 oz of cream cheese, room temperature
1 large egg
1/4 cup creme fraiche
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
large pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon shallots, minced
1 cup panko bread crumbs
3/4 cup of parmesan cheese, separated
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. lightly butter a mini muffin pan and set aside. on medium-high heat, cook bacon in a pan. set aside on paper towel. discard most of the bacon fat but leave a thin layer for the shrimp. cook the shrimp in the same pan, the bacon fat will flavor the shrimp. cool and roughly chop the shrimp and bacon.

in a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. then add 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese and egg. beat to blend. mix in creme fraiche, salt and cayenne. fold in shallots, chopped shrimp and bacon into mixture.

in another bowl, toss the panko bread crumbs and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. drizzle the melted butter all over and toss with a fork, until evenly moistened. spoon 1 tablespoon of the panko mixture into each cup of the muffin pan. lightly press down with your finger or spoon. add 1 table spoon of the cream cheese/shrimp mixture in each cup. make sure each cut has shrimp and bacon. sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the panko mixture on top.

bake for 30 mins. let cool before serving.

bon appétit~!