food to glow

Make your own blinis with party-style toppings – vegan and fish, and one just for the kids. Delicious, easy-to-make and freezable. For parties, celebrations, breakfast and snacks.

Note:This page was updated on 27 December 2018 with new images and different toppings. Other, globally-inspired, topping options are also in this post from 2013.

*Jump to Recipe*

Here we are in the no-man’s land between Christmas and New Years’ Eve, lighter of wallet and fuller of belly. Those of us not back to work are perhaps eeking out the days in a sofa-slumped haze of movie watching and internet-bargain buying.

We have certainly been couch critics of a fair few Christmas movies. Our favourite so far has to be the 1954 Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (see below for the trailer). We all had a little tear towards the end. Have you seen this extravaganza of dancing and singing?

Other than discovering old Christmas movies I have also been whiling away time making bouncy, fluffy stacks of blinis for holiday get-togethers, and for the freezer – buckwheat ones, rye ones and spelt ones. These are what we have every Christmas while we open presents. We also have them on New Year’s Eve. Yes, we rather like blinis!

Blini are of course Russian. Whisked up and flipped on griddle pans over the past 1000 years or so, the toppings of old were caviar, wild honey, berries and smetana (the soured dairy cream, not the composer).

Today there is no typical blini topping and, like tortillas and other warmed flat breads, pretty much anything goes, so feel free to pop whatever you like on top. They are utterly delicious – very light, but sturdy enough to hold a hefty topping.

How to make blinis

Would you like to make your own blinis? If you even vaguely like the bought ones, you will be gob-smacked by these easy and delicious homemade ones. There is just no comparison. Even the duff ones are delicious!

Blini are of course little pancakes. Russian ones. But they are no ordinary pancakes: blinis are to pancakes, what Maserati are to cars. A huge leap forward. But unlike a Maserati anyone can enjoy a blini. And make one. Or preferably a whole stack, covered in tangy crème fraîche and best organic smoked salmon. The key with blini is a little patience. Not a degree in chemistry or a cupboard of fancy ingredients. Just patience. 

All you need for blini are:

Flour – plain is fine but a mix of plain and either buckwheat or rye will be even better

Milk – full-fat please

An egg – divided. The yolk enriches the batter and the white can be whisked to make the little pancakes even lighter. If you are vegan, perhaps try this recipe recipe from Ania at Lazy Cat Kitchen.

Yeast – the ready to mix straight in kind

A heavy bottom pan, a slick of oil and a spatula, too

 

And all you do is:

Warm the milk to blood temperature and whisk in the egg yolk and a pinch of salt.

Pour the wet ingredients into dry-whisked flour and yeast, and mix until any lumps disappear. Now cover the batter and leave to bubble up over an hour – and up to 4 if it’s in a cold room. After this time you can whisk the egg white separately and fold it into the batter. If I’m juggling too many tasks I sometimes forget this step and they are always fine. So don’t stress if you forget too.

Then it is just a case of heating a skillet with a little oil and pouring in small amounts of batter. Do a couple of experimental ones to get the hang of the temp and timing. Gas hobs are easier to control than electric, so those with the latter might need to adjust a bit more. Cooks’ perks are what these ones are called. 🙂

You will see in one of the images that the batter is piped rather than spooned. Do whichever suits. I ladled the bubbly batter into a plastic food bag and snipped the end so that we could (Rachel and I) do controlled tight spirals of batter. But usually I just spoon batter in and quickly shape to a rough circle. Cook on one side for about one and a half minutes before flipping and cooking for a further minute. If you won’t be reheating them do cook them a shade longer. To reheat them for a party, pop them on a baking tray to warm through in the oven.

Blini toppings for everyone

New Year’s Eve Classic – crème fraîche spiked with lemon or grated horseradish + smoked salmon, dill sprig, teeny-tiny lemon wedge

Vegan Caviar – cooked Beluga lentils + balsamic vinegar + lemon juice + olive oil + dried ground seaweed + pepper (method in recipe card)

Miso-Lime Grilled Eggplant

Toasted Sesame-Soy Tofu & Spinach Cream

Sweet Potato and Almond with Smoked Paprika

Brie and cranberry sauce

Smoked mackerel or brined herring with tiny-dice marinated beetroot and crème fraîche

Homemade jam or lemon curd (with or without nut butter)

Yogurt, chopped boiled egg and red onion (much, much better than it sounds!)

Chocolate spread/salted caramel/Nutella and sliced banana

Kimchi and chopped egg with sesame

Pureed roasted pepper topped with antipasti artichoke heart pieces

Molasses, treacle, maple syrup or golden syrup

Crème fraîche and homemade jam berries

However you decide to make yours, prepare a batch for now and one for the freezer. Not only do that make brilliant finger foods for parties, they are fab for quick, handheld breakfast and snack pancakes, too.

Remember to follow me on Pinterest and, if you make my Blinis, click on the pin below the recipe card and leave a photo of your make with a comment telling me what you think, or any awesome changes that you made. Similarly, any Instagram posts tagged @food_to_glow using my recipes will go on my Story if I see them. I’m always so proud when you share my recipes with the world. Yay!!!

Whether on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or of course here on the blog, I love to see what you do with my recipes, and I welcome your comments, star ratings, tweaks and suggestions.

How will you top yours?

RIPE FOR PINNING!