Best Blinis Recipes

BLINIS WITH CREME FRAICHE AND SMOKED SALMON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the blinis on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper and heat in the oven for 5 minutes. Allow to cool.
• Top each blini with a piece of smoked salmon. Add a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprig of dill.

BUCKWHEAT BLINIS WITH SMOKED SALMON AND CRèME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium bowl.
• Place milk and butter in small saucepan. Stir over low heat until butter melts and thermometer registers 110°F (if mixture gets too warm, cool until temperature returns to 110°F). Pour warm milk mixture into flour mixture and whisk until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Whisk buckwheat batter to deflate; then whisk in eggs. Do ahead Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Transfer to large bowl. Cover; chill (may increase in volume; rewhisk before using).
• Preheat oven to 200°F. Heat griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Brush lightly with melted butter. Working in batches, pour 2 tablespoons batter for each blini onto griddle, spacing apart. Cook until bubbles form on top and begin to pop, about 1 1/2 minutes. Turn blinis; cook until golden brown on bottom, about 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer to baking sheet. Tent with foil and place in oven to keep warm while cooking remaining blinis. Do ahead Blinis can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, cover, and chill. Brush blinis lightly with melted butter and rewarm on baking sheet in 350°F oven 5 minutes.
• Arrange warm blinis on platter. Spoon 1 rounded teaspoon crème fraîche atop each. Top with smoked salmon. Garnish with salmon roe and dill sprigs and serve.

SMOKED SALMON & EASY BLINIS

Steps:

• For the blini mix, tip the flour into a bowl, then season. Make a well in the middle, then add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth, gradually add the rest of the milk, then the butter and chives. Whisk the egg whites until starting to stiffen, then fold into the batter. To cook, lightly grease a frying pan, then sizzle spoonfuls for 2-3 mins on each side until golden, flipping them over when bubbling. Set aside and keep warm.
• Make a dressing in a large bowl with the mustard, vinegar and olive oil. Add the leaves, then toss. Serve the salad, salmon and blinis with some beetroot on the side.

CAVIAR AND BLINIS

Steps:

• 1. Combine the pancake mix with the salt, egg, butter or oil, and milk or water.
• 2. Lightly brush another tablespoon of melted butter onto a skillet over medium-high heat.
• 3. When the skillet is hot, spoon the batter into it a tablespoon at a time.
• 4. Cook the blinis until tiny bubbles appear, about 1 minute, then flip them and fry until golden brown on each side.
• 5. Transfer the blinis to a platter and serve warm with the caviar, crème fraîche, chives, and smoked salmon and onion (if desired).

LEMON BLINIS WITH CAVIAR AND SCALLION CRèME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• Stir together crème fraîche and 1 tablespoon of the scallions.
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large non-stick skillet over low heat and scrap into a small bowl. Whisk in milk, egg, and 1 teaspoon zest. Add flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt and whisk until smooth.
• Melt half of remaining butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat.
• Drop 6 rounded teaspoons of batter into skillet and cook until tiny bubbles form on the surface, edges appear dry, and undersides are golden, about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Flip and cook until golden and cooked through, about 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
• Melt remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter in skillet and make 6 more blinis (you will have a little batter left over).
• To serve, top blinis with a small dollop of scallion crème fraîche and some caviar, then sprinkle with remaining lemon zest and scallion.

BLINIS WITH SMOKED SALMON AND CAVIAR

Steps:

• Place milk and 3 tablespoons butter in small saucepan. Stir over low heat just until butter melts. Meanwhile, whisk together both flours, sugar, salt, and yeast in a medium bowl. Pour warm milk mixture into dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature until doubled in volume, 1½-1¾ hours.
• After resting, batter will be bubbly and lofty. Whisk to deflate; then stir in beaten eggs just to incorporate-the texture should be silky. Meanwhile, set a skillet over medium heat and add a tablespoon of butter. Working in batches, pour 2 tablespoons batter for each blini onto skillet, spacing apart. Cook until bubbles form on top and they begin to pop, about 1½ minutes. Turn blinis; cook until golden brown on bottom, another 1½ minutes (add more butter to the pan as you need it). Transfer blinis to a serving platter. Tent with foil to keep warm while you cook remaining blinis. Makes approximately 12 blinis.
• Assembly: Serve blinis with a dollop of crème fraîche, smoked salmon, and caviar-the more the better!

RUSSIAN BLINIS WITH CAVIAR

Steps:

• Scald the milk and set aside.
• Dissolve the yeast in one-fourth cup warm water.
• Sift the white flour into a bowl, add the buckwheat flour, salt and sugar.
• Beat the egg yolks until thick. When the milk has cooled to lukewarm, add the yolks and three tablespoons of the melted butter. Add the yeast. Mix well and pour into the flour. Mix thoroughly, removing any lumps. Set aside in a warm place lightly covered with a towel for about two hours, or until doubled in bulk.
• Whip the egg whites until they stand in stiff peaks and fold them into the batter.
• Lightly butter a small frying pan. Pour in just enough of the pancake mixture to coat the bottom of the pan. When the mixture begins to bubble, turn the pancake over and cook lightly on the other side. Wrap the pancakes in a napkin and keep them warm in the oven while you cook the others. Serve in a pile, wrapped in a napkin.
• Serve the caviar, the sour cream and the remaining melted butter in small bowls on the table. Each person puts a pancake on a plate, butters it, adds sour cream and caviar, and rolls it like a crepe.

BUCKWHEAT BLINIS

Steps:

• Pour warm milk into a large bowl, then sprinkle yeast onto the milk, and allow to soften for 5 minutes. Stir in sugar and buckwheat flour; cover, and let rise for 1 hour.
• Stir in the eggs, sour cream, heavy cream, salt, and flour until a batter forms. Cover again, and let rise for 2 hours.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray, then pour in small amounts of batter to form 1 1/2-inch blinis. Cook until the blinis begin to set and dry, and the bubbles begin to burst, about 2 minutes. Flip over, and continue cooking until browned on the other side, about 1 minute.

BLINIS WITH SMOKED SALMON

Steps:

• To clarify the butter, melt it in a small saucepan over low heat. Using a spoon, remove white foam from surface of melted butter, and discard. Allow butter to sit 15 minutes. Pour off the golden liquid, leaving the sediment in the bottom of the saucepan. Set aside.
• Place buckwheat and all-purpose flours, baking powder, salt, egg, milk, and 1 tablespoon clarified butter in a large bowl; whisk until well combined.
• Heat 2 tablespoons clarified butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Drop batter into skillet, 1 tablespoon at a time. Cook until blinis are covered with bubbles, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip; cook until brown, about 1 minute more. Repeat with remaining batter.
• To serve, top blinis with the smoked salmon, 1/2 teaspoon creme fraiche, and a sprig of dill.

BLINIS WITH TAPIOCA CAVIAR, CANDIED FRUITS, TOASTED PECANS, AND CRèME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• For tapioca:
• Bring 3 quarts water to boil in large saucepan. Add tapioca and boil until tapioca is clear, stirring occasionally, about 16 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water until cool. Transfer tapioca to medium bowl.
• Pour cream into heavy small saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to simmer. Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and salt in medium bowl 1 minute. Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into yolks. Return mixture to saucepan and stir over medium heat until mixture is thick enough to coat back of spoon, about 5 minutes; do not boil. Transfer custard to medium metal bowl. Set over bowl of ice water and stir until custard is cool. Stir 3/4 cup custard into tapioca. Do ahead Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill tapioca and remaining custard separately. Stir all remaining custard into tapioca to loosen before continuing.
• For blinis:
• Cook potatoes and parsnips in separate medium saucepans of boiling salted water until very tender, about 15 minutes. Drain vegetables well, then transfer to sieve set over medium bowl. Force potatoes and parsnips through sieve into bowl. Stir in milk. Whisk in flour in 3 additions. Add eggs 1 at a time, whisking to blend after each addition. Whisk sugar and salt into batter. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold egg whites into batter.
• Line rimmed baking sheet with foil. Heat griddle over medium heat. Brush with oil. In batches, drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto griddle, spreading to form 21/2- to 3-inch rounds. Cook until brown, about 21/2 minutes per side. Transfer to sheet. Do ahead Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, cover tightly with foil, and chill. Rewarm uncovered in 350°F oven, about 7 minutes.
• Divide tapioca among 8 small bowls. Place 1 bowl on each of 8 plates. Divide warm blinis among plates. Arrange dried cherry halves, candied apricot slices, and toasted pecans on plates. Place dollop of crme frache and honey and small mound of ground cinnamon on plates.

BLINIS

Steps:

• Whisk milk, 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons flour, eggs, and sugar together in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup melted butter; whisk well. Let batter sit, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add beef; cook until no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain. Chop the boiled beef finely until even in texture.
• Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook, while stirring, until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium and add the chopped beef, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir filling until flavors combine, about 10 minutes.
• Heat oil in a nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Pour 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter into the skillet and quickly rotate the skillet to spread batter out in a thin layer. Cook until edges are brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Run a spatula around the edge of the skillet to loosen blini; flip and cook until the other side has turned light brown, about 1 minute more. Repeat with remaining batter.
• Spread 2 tablespoons beef filling on 1 side of each blini. Fold edges over filling and roll blini up. Repeat with remaining filling and blini.

SMOKED SALMON ON BUCKWHEAT BLINIS

Steps:

• In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, oil, beer, salt and pepper. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks are formed. Fold into the first mixture.
• Set a large skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and drop in spoonfuls of the batter, each about the size of a half dollar. (To prevent overcrowding, cook the batter in several batches.)
• Cook the first batch of the rounds until they bubble, about 2 minutes. Turn them over and continue cooking until they are nicely browned, about 2 minutes. Remove the blinis and let them cool on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter.
• Top each blini with a bit of the smoked salmon, then a dollop of the creme fraiche or sour cream. Garnish with the fresh dill.

POTATO BLINIS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Prick potatoes all over with a fork and bake on a rimmed baking sheet until very tender and a knife slides easily through flesh, 60-70 minutes. Let cool slightly. Reduce oven temperature to 200°F.
• Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, egg, and sour cream in a medium bowl to combine; set sour cream mixture aside.
• Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop flesh from skins; discard skins. Pass flesh through food mill or ricer fitted with the small-hole disk into a large bowl. Working quickly, sprinkle flour, salt, pepper, baking soda, and nutmeg over potatoes; toss lightly with a fork to distribute ingredients, fluff potatoes, and break up any clumps. Make a well in the center and pour in reserved sour cream mixture. Whisk in a circular motion, working from the center out to incorporate, just until smooth (it should look like a thick pancake batter). Cover; let sit 10 minutes.
• Heat a large skillet, preferably nonstick or cast iron, over medium-low. Brush skillet with a thin layer of butter. Spoon scant tablespoonfuls of batter into skillet, spacing about 1" apart. Cook blinis until undersides are golden brown and surfaces look matte and bubbles form on top, about 90 seconds. Gently flip and cook until other sides are golden brown, about 1 minute. Transfer to a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet and keep warm until ready to serve (up to 1 hour before). Repeat with remaining batter, wiping out skillet between batches and brushing with more butter.

BLINIS

Steps:

• Cream the yeast with a little milk, then add the remaining milk, the egg yolks and sour cream.
• Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and add the yeast mixture. Stir to make a thick batter. Leave for at least 1 hour in a warm place. The batter should now look bubbly. Stir well. Just before cooking, whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the batter.
• Heat a little oil in the pan and pour off any excess. Then pour in a tablespoon of batter. Turn the pancake over when it shows bubbles on the top side. Cook lots. One bliny is never enough.

BLINIS WITH CRèME FRAîCHE, ROAST BEEF & CORNICHONS

Steps:

• Warm the blinis following the pack instructions. Mix together the crème fraîche and mustard and spoon onto the blinis. Fold the beef on top then add the cornichons. Arrange the blinis on a platter, grind over some black pepper and serve.

SWEET POTATO BLINIS WITH CURED SALMON, CREME FRAICHE, AND CAVIAR

Steps:

• Place prepared sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, and cook until the potatoes are tender and can be mashed easily with a fork. Drain well and return to the saucepan. Add the honey and 4 tablespoons of the butter and mash until smooth. If possible, puree this mixture in food mill. In a small bowl, combine the milk and eggs and stir in the sweet potato puree. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne. Add the dry ingredients to the sweet potatoes and stir until just blended.
• Melt the remaining butter and reserve. Heat non-stick skillets over medium-heat and coat with some of melted butter. Drop sweet potato mixture into skillets in 1 1/2-tablespoon amounts. Turn once, cooking until golden and crisp, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a large baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining butter and batter. The pancakes can stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Reheat in a 325 degree F. oven for 5 minutes before serving.
• To serve, arrange 3 blinis on a plate and garnish each with a slice of cured salmon, a dollop of creme fraiche and a small spoonful of caviar.

POTATO BLINIS - LITHUANIAN.

Steps:

• Grate the potatoes on the star pattern of your grater, so it comes out looking like a sort of paste.
• Stir in the salt, then start making a well in the mix with a large spoon, removing as much water as possible.
• When you are fed up with this procedure, mix in the egg. At this stage you may want to add a spoonful of flour (plain) or cornflour, but try to resist as it alters the taste of the blini. A spoon of potato flour or starch would be better, but nothing at all is really necessary.
• Add oil and butter to a hot pan, put spoonsful of mixture - 1 spoon per blini - and cook until golden, turn and cook the other side until golden. Place on a platter, covered, in a warm oven to keep warm until the rest of the mixture is cooked.
• My mother-in-law has always served these with several side dishes of quartered tomatoes, sliced lengthwise cucumbers both fresh and pickled (Polski Ogorki), sour cream, caviar, as either an entree or a main, depending upon how many pounds of potatoes used and how keen you are.

CINNAMON TOAST 'BLINIS'

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Beat cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, egg yolk and vanilla with whisk until blended. Mix remaining sugar and cinnamon in separate bowl.
• Flatten bread slices with rolling pin to 1/8-inch thickness. Spread each with 1 rounded Tbsp. cream cheese mixture; roll up tightly, starting at one short side. Brush with butter; roll in cinnamon sugar. Cut each roll into 3 pieces; place, seam sides down, on baking sheet.
• Bake 12 to 15 min. or until edges are lightly browned.

COCKTAIL BLINIS

Steps:

• Heat the milk in a saucepan until just steaming, then remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and butter, swirling until the butter melts. Tip the flours and yeast into a bowl and season with 1/4 tsp salt. Make a well in the middle and pour in the milk mixture and the egg yolks. Whisk until you have a smooth batter, then cover with cling film and set aside for 1 hr (if you want to make the blinis ahead and freeze them, jump to step 4).
• Meanwhile, prepare the toppings. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the quail's eggs and cook for 2 1/2 mins. Drain the eggs and run under cold water, then leave to cool completely. Tip the beetroot and cream cheese into a food processor and season with a pinch of salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Whizz to a purée, then scrape into a bowl and chill until ready to serve.
• For the salmon topping, flake the salmon into a bowl, add the cream cheese, lemon zest and juice, and horseradish, if using. Mash everything together with a fork, then chill until ready to serve. Peel the cucumber into long strips using a vegetable peeler, discarding the seedy middle part, and pop into a bowl of cold water.
• Check the blini batter - it should be bubbly on the surface. Tip the egg whites into a bowl and whisk until they hold soft peaks. Add to the blini batter and gently fold together, trying to keep as much air in the mixture as possible.
• Get a wire rack or two ready to cool the blinis (this will prevent them from going soggy when cooling). Heat a knob of butter and a drizzle of oil in a large pan (if you have two pans, this will speed things up). When the butter is foaming, spoon tablespoons of the batter into the pan, leaving space between each one as they will spread a little. Cook over a medium heat until bubbles pop on the surface and the undersides are golden brown. Flip over and cook for 1-2 mins more, then transfer to the rack to cool. Wipe out the pan and continue cooking the remaining blinis in the same way. Will keep in an airtight container for 1 day, or freeze the cooked blinis on a baking tray covered with cling film, then foil, for up to a month. Defrost at room temperature before topping.
• To assemble, top half the blinis with the beetroot purée, peel and halve the eggs and place them on top, then scatter with cress and season with a little black pepper. Top the remaining blinis with the salmon pâté. Dry the cucumber slices well and ruffle each piece back on itself, then squash firmly between your fingers so it lays flat. Place them on top of the salmon, add a tiny blob of caviar and eat as soon as possible, preferably with glasses of fizz!

SMOKED SALMON & HERB BLINIS

Steps:

• Warm the blinis following the pack instructions.
• Spread the blinis with the cream cheese, lay the salmon trimmings on top and scatter over the cress. Season with black pepper and serve immediately.