Buckwheat Blini With Caviar

By David Tanis

Buckwheat Blini With Caviar
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
Total Time
15 minutes, plus at least 2 to 3 hours’ rising
Rating
4(117)
Comments
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The holidays present a number of opportunities to splurge, and New Year’s Eve is the ultimate night for it. Though it may seem a cliché, the classic combination of blini and caviar is the perfect example — indulgent, elegant and delectable to the extreme. If you are hosting a small crowd for drinks (preferably Champagne or vodka with these), it’s all you need to serve, though it also can be a sit-down first course. Preparation is simple: the blini are topped with a dab of crème fraîche, a spoonful of caviar and a drizzle of butter.

Featured in: Before the Clock Strikes 12, a Time to Indulge

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Ingredients

Yield:About 60 3-inch blini, 10 to 12 servings

    For the Blini

    • 1package dry active yeast
    • 1teaspoon sugar
    • 3cups slightly warm milk
    • 1cup all-purpose flour
    • 1cup buckwheat flour
    • ½teaspoon salt
    • 2tablespoons melted butter
    • 4eggs, separated

    For Serving

    • 6ounces crème fraîche
    • ¼pound (1 stick) melted butter, kept warm
    • At least 125 grams caviar or trout roe
    • 2tablespoons finely cut chives
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

268 calories; 17 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 162 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in 1 cup milk. Stir in ½ cup all-purpose flour and let stand until bubbly, about 10 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Combine remaining all-purpose flour, the buckwheat flour and salt. Add 2 cups milk to the yeast mixture and gradually whisk in flour-salt mixture until you have a smooth, thick batter. Whisk in melted butter. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Leave at room temperature and let batter slowly double in size, about 2 to 3 hours. (The batter may remain at room temperature even longer if necessary.) You may also mix batter and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before proceeding with recipe.

  3. Step 3

    When you are ready to cook blini, stir down batter, which will have become quite frothy. Beat egg yolks and whisk into batter. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Gently fold egg whites into batter.

  4. Step 4

    Spoon batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle, using a large soup spoon to make blini that are 3 inches in diameter. Cook for about 2 minutes, until bottom is well browned. Flip and cook 1 minute more. (Wait until surface is covered in bubbles before flipping.) Keep warm in a low oven. Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche, a drizzle of butter, a generous spoonful of caviar and a sprinkling of chives.

Ratings

4 out of 5
117 user ratings
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Comments

Barbara Wheeler

Two cups of flour and three cups of milk does not make a thick batter. Checking other recipes, I added an additional cup of flour (actually half a cup, since I was making half this recipe). The resulting batter was perfect and made the predicted number of 3-inch blinis and they were addictively delicious.

Vasily

Lox, herring, sprats chopped onion, crumbled hardboiled eggs are great additions. I prefer sour cream to creme fraiche. I have altered this recipe slightly by changing the proportion of buckwheat flour and regular flour. By using a mix that is made up of 1 1/3 cups regular flour and 2/3 of a cup of buckwheat you get a "lighter" blini. Iced vodka shots are a must.

Dawn

I made these links for the first time today and had no problem with the consistency of the batter. The recipe produced an easily pourable batter - I used an 1/8 cup measuring cup. I did beat the egg whites to a stiff point as you would for a souffle and carefully folded in. They were perfect!

sck

Better than ones from Russian cookbook! Recipe makes a ton, so halve next time. Soup spoon works well for adding batter to skillet.

Jonathan

I chose this recipe because of Barbara's note. I like a thinnish blini that I can roll up like they used to serve at The Russian Tea Room. So I used this recipe and added one less egg because I wanted less stiff blinis. Came out like I wanted ... a little crepey but still clearly a pancake.

Dawn

I made these links for the first time today and had no problem with the consistency of the batter. The recipe produced an easily pourable batter - I used an 1/8 cup measuring cup. I did beat the egg whites to a stiff point as you would for a souffle and carefully folded in. They were perfect!

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