Turn the broiler on. On a lined baking sheet, arrange the fennel bulb and shallots and drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil. Transfer to the broiler for 5-7 minutes, checking regularly, until the shallot and fennel are well charred.

Transfer the charred shallot and fennel to a food processor and pulse until well chopped.

Add the cream, Dijon, garlic confit, garlic confit oil, and salt and pepper. Pulse until well-puréed, adding more cream as necessary until a smooth texture is reached. You may need upwards of 1/2 cup or more cream, depending on how big your fennel bulb is. The mixture shouldn’t be too thick or too runny.

Strain the fennel cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a saucepan and discard the solids. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm, stirring occasionally, until ready to serve.

Preheat oven to 450ºF.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg, mayonnaise, Dijon, Worcestershire, cayenne powder, and paprika. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, carefully combine the crab, parsley, and panko. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, and Old Bay, if using, Add the breadcrumbs and fold in the mayonnaise mixture. Note: Do not over-combine the crab cakes. You want to see large pieces of the lump crab meat. You want to fold the ingredients together enough so that they can be formed into crab cakes but not so much that the crab loses its texture.

Form the crab cakes into palm-sized balls, do not press them into patties. Use both hands to compress the ingredients.

Transfer the crab cakes to a greased baking sheet and arrange the lemon rounds around the cakes.

Meanwhile, melt the butter and season with the cayenne powder.

Right before baking the crab cakes, drizzle or brush the butter over each crab cake. Transfer to the oven for 12-14 minutes.

After the crab cakes have baked, transfer to the broiler for 3-5 minutes or until the tops turn golden brown and the lemon slices are fully charred. Remove from the broiler.

On each plate, spoon a tablespoon of the fennel cream and use the back of the spoon to spread it across the plate. Place 1 or 2 lemon rounds on top of the fennel cream and finish the dish with a crab cake on top of the lemon rounds. Garnish with fennel fronds and more minced parsley. Enjoy!