Sterling Caviar with Corn Cakes & Crème Fraîche

Preparation & Presentation:

As prepared by Chef Philip Tessier, award-winning chef, author, coach, culinary partner, and innovator. Photography by Victoria Pearson.

Ingredients


  • corn cakes with caviar:
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • clarified butter (recipe follows) or ghee
  • Sterling Caviar (we’ll leave the amount and grade up to you)
  • crème fraîche
  • thinly sliced green onion
  • clarified butter: 1/2 cup butter


Method


For Clarified Butter:

  1. Melt butter over low heat without stirring; cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Skim off milky top layer, if present, and discard. Pour off clear top layer; discard milky bottom layer.


For Corn Cakes:

  1. In medium bowl, sift together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt until well incorporated.

  2. In separate bowl, whisk eggs and buttermilk together until well incorporated. Vigorously whisk in melted butter. Gently whisk wet mixture into dry ingredients until smooth, being careful not to over mix.

  3. Heat large skillet or griddle over medium heat. Place small amount of clarified butter in pan. Spread to evenly coat surface. Pour 1 tablespoon portions of batter to form 1-1/2-inch-diameter corn cakes, leaving enough space between each so they don’t touch. Cook until golden brown on bottom, 2 minutes. Flip each cake over. Cook until brown on other side, 1 minute. Repeat with remaining batter, adding additional butter as needed. Hold cooked corn cakes warm in 200°F oven until all cakes are cooked, or up to 1 hour.

  4. Serve corn cakes warm with caviar, crème fraîche, and green onion. Makes 8 servings (5 per person).


Make-Ahead Tip: Cool the cakes and layer in freezer container between sheets of plastic wrap. Label; freeze up to 3 months. When ready to use, wrap frozen cakes, 10 at a time, between paper towels. Microwave on high (100% power) for 30 seconds to heat through.