Blinis

Appetizer, Appetizers & Snacks, Snack

Although Russian and not French, these have been adopted by the French as the perfect base for smoked salmon and caviar at fancy occasions. Tiny, fluffy pancakes that work for everything from Christmas nibbles to a lazy Sunday breakfast.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings 4

Ingredients 

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• 50 gr plain flour
• 50 gr buckwheat flour
• 2 egg
• 150 ml whole milk
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp instant dry yeast
• 2 tbsp crème fraîche
• 25 gr unsalted butter for cooking

Equipment

mixing bowl

whisk

frying pan

double spatula

saucepan

Instructions

1. Make the batter

• Sift both flours and the salt into a large bowl. Sprinkle in the yeast and give it a quick stir.

  In a small saucepan, gently warm the milk and crème fraîche together, just until it's slightly warm to the touch, not hot. If it's too hot, you'll kill the yeast, which defeats the point.

  Whisk the egg yolks into the warm milk mixture, then pour the whole lot into the flour. Whisk until you've got a thick, smooth batter.

2. First rise

• Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave it somewhere warmish for about an hour. If your kitchen's cold, stick the bowl inside a larger bowl filled with warm water, that'll do the trick.

  After an hour, the batter should look spongy and bubbly. That's the yeast doing its thing.

3. Add the egg whites

• Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until they form stiff peaks. Gently fold them into the batter, you want to keep as much air in there as possible.

  Cover again and leave for another hour. Yes, more waiting. Make yourself a cup of tea.

4. Cook the blinis

• Melt the butter in a frying pan, then tip it into a cup. Use some scrunched-up kitchen paper to brush a thin layer of butter onto the pan before each blini.

  Keep the heat at medium. Add 1½ tablespoons of batter to the pan, one tablespoon first, then another half on top. It won't spread much, which is fine. You're aiming for blinis about 10cm across.

  Cook for 40 seconds, no longer, then flip and give it 30 seconds on the other side. Transfer to a wire rack and repeat, brushing the pan with butter each time.

5. Keep warm or make ahead

• Once they're all cooked and cooled, wrap them in foil parcels (about 6 per parcel). When you're ready to serve, warm them in a low oven (140°C) for 10 minutes.

Notes

• Don’t skip the yeast. You could use baking powder instead, but you’ll lose the slightly tangy, fermented flavour that makes proper blinis special.
• Using buckwheat flour gives them that earthy, nutty taste. You can find it in most supermarkets or health food shops. Don’t use 100% buckwheat unless you really love that flavour, the mix with plain flour keeps them soft.
• Folding in whisked egg whites makes them light and fluffy rather than dense. Don’t skip this step.
• These are brilliant for parties because you can make them earlier in the day, then just warm them through before serving.
• They freeze well too. Layer them with baking paper, freeze in a container, and reheat from frozen in a low oven.

About this recipe

Blinis were what my mum always bought at Christmas, ready-made from the supermarket, for the festive toppings. Back then the holiday shelves were full of them, and we never thought twice. But once you make blinis at home though, you realise they are just small yeasted pancakes that taste worlds better than anything in a packet. They come out softer, fluffier, and carry a gentle buckwheat flavour the mass-produced ones never quite manage. After that, picking up a plastic-wrapped tray from the shop feels like going backwards.

Where blinis come from

Blinis have been part of Russian cooking for centuries. They go back at least to the 9th century and were tied to Maslenitsa, Butter Week, the last big celebration before Lent. Their round shape stood in for the sun, and eating them was a way of welcoming back warmth and light after a long winter. They were made with buckwheat flour, which was the main grain in northern Russia, and people ate them in serious quantities over that week before the fast.

Originally, a blini was very simple: buckwheat flour, water or milk, and a natural leaven from fermentation. Over time, yeast replaced the old ferment, eggs were added for richness, and the recipe slowly shifted into something closer to what we recognise today.

How blinis arrived in French cooking

The French picked up blinis in the 19th century, through contact with Russia and the waves of Russian aristocrats and intellectuals who passed through Paris. French chefs started pairing these Russian pancakes with caviar and crème fraîche, turning a humble pre‑Lent food into one of the most luxurious canapés on a French table. That pairing stuck, and blinis settled so firmly into French apéro and holiday culture that they now sit happily next to dishes that have been French for hundreds of years.

The tiny blinis you see at French parties, usually about 5 cm across, are a French adaptation. Traditional Russian blinis are much larger, closer to a regular pancake. The miniature size is purely practical for standing around with a glass in one hand and food you can eat in one or two bites in the other.

The buckwheat question

This recipe uses both buckwheat and plain flour so you get that nutty, earthy flavour without the full force of 100% buckwheat, which can feel too intense if you are not used to it. The buckwheat brings depth and a different kind of savouriness that makes a homemade blini taste like more than just a small pancake. The plain flour lightens the texture and keeps them soft and fluffy, which is very much in line with the traditional Russian idea of what a good blini should feel like.

Yeast is what separates these from crêpes or galettes. It gives a slight tang and lets the batter puff up as it rests. Folding in whisked egg whites right at the end pushes even more air through the mixture. Both steps matter, and skipping either one leaves you with something flatter and less interesting.

The right bowl for the batter

Making blinis involves a few stages: mixing the first batter, letting the yeast get going, then folding in the beaten egg whites. For that last step in particular, you want a bowl that is wide enough to fold gently without knocking all the air out, solid enough not to skate around the worktop, and big enough that the batter does not slosh over the sides.

I recommend using the Joseph Joseph mixing bowl for this. The non‑slip base keeps it steady while you fold, which really helps when you are trying to keep the batter airy. The size is ideal for a full batch of blini batter, and the pour spout makes it easy to tip the mixture into the pan without dripping it everywhere.

Classic Toppings

Traditional Russian toppings are smoked salmon with crème fraîche and dill, or caviar with sour cream if you are going all out. Cream cheese with thin slices of cucumber and a little lemon zest is a lighter but still very good option. Beetroot blended with cream cheese and topped with a bit of fresh horseradish gives you something earthy and sharp that works beautifully with the buckwheat in the blinis.

For something more relaxed, blinis topped with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon make a very good breakfast that feels much fancier than the effort involved.

If you are making them for a proper occasion, the couple of hours they take are worth every minute. Make a double batch and freeze half. They reheat well, and knowing you have a stash of homemade blinis in the freezer makes it very easy to put together something special at short notice.