Party Blinis

Blinis should always be served warm . You can buy them in the shops but it’s more fun to make your own and serve them straight away. This recipe is ideal as party finger food or as a starter. You can top them with whatever you like but smoked salmon and sour cream with a sprig of parsley is my party favourite.

Ingredients

40g buckwheat flour

125g plain flour

salt

¾ teaspoon easy blend yeast

175lm warmed milk

2 eggs (separated)

125g melted,clarified butter

150ml crème fraiche

Method

Start by sifting the flour into a roomy bowl and make sure you get plenty of air in . Sprinkle on the dried yeast and add a pinch of salt. Add the egg yolks and crème fraiche to the warmed milk and give a light whisk and then add this to the bowl. Now whisk to make a batter and leave to prove somewhere warm for about an hour.

Whisk the egg whites into soft peaks and fold them into the batter.

Leave for another hour.

When you are ready to make the blinis heat some of the butter in a frying pan but only use a tiny amount and be very careful not to burn it. Drop about a tablespoon of the batter into the pan and it will start to cook immediately. Depending on the size of blinis you want you can add more batter on top. Another ½ tablespoon will give you 4inch blinis.

Like pancakes the first one or two may not turn out well. Keep going and the next ones will be fine.