Blini, Fluffy Buckwheat And Plain Flour Pancakes

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Blini, Fluffy Buckwheat And Plain Flour Pancakes

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These addictive soft and spongy pancakes are associated with Russian cuisine. 

They are often served topped with savoury items like smoked salmon, caviar, salmon roe and sour cream. More humble ingredients like chopped eggs and melted butter go on them too.

I like blini that have buckwheat flour added into its batter. The batter also has to be yeast risen. I appreciate how the yeast helps to develop the mix of buckwheat and plain flours into pancakes with a flavour that is certainly not like the all-purpose flour, eggs and milk pancakes that many of us are accustomed to.

How do these blini taste? A 100% buckwheat flour pancake will have a clearly earthy and almost metallic taste. The mixture of buckwheat and all-purpose flour that I use in a rough 1:3 ratio gives the blini a pleasant slight earthiness and the blini are light and spongy. Take a look at the depth of the blini in my cover photograph. No amount of quick acting baking power or bicarbonate of soda can replicate the taste and texture of the work yeast does to the batter.

Whilst reading up on blini, I found it interesting that whilst most of the world outside Russia (and possibly in parts of the Balkans) refer to blini almost definitively as small raised pancakes, children who grew up eating their grandmother's blini will say blini are in fact similar to crepes, those wide and thin pancakes.

They would say the recipe that I am providing are not actually for blini but for Oladushki/Oladyi, small thick pancakes. I am not Russian and I am certain my grandmother never even heard of the word blini, so I won't know right from wrong here. All I know is blini are a treat to eat and highly addictive! 

Serve them as starters, as a light brunch, for tea, any time is a good time!

BLINI FLUFFY BUCKWHEAT PLAIN FLOUR PANCAKES

Prep:	10 minutes
Cook:	10 minutes
Inactive:	30 + 10 minutes for batter to rise and develop flavour
Level:	Easy
Makes:	20 circles of  2" (5cm) blini
Oven Temperature:	-
Can recipe be doubled?	Yes
Make ahead?	Keeps well refrigerated up to 2 days.

Just the ingredients For the batter 1/8 cup (0.70oz)(20g) buckwheat flour 1/4 +1/8 cup (1.76oz)(50g) all-purpose/plain flour 1 teaspoon vital wheat gluten 3/4 teaspoon instant yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 Tablespoon butter 1/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons (100ml) milk 3 Tablespoons (50ml) light sour cream 1 egg yolk 1 egg white For the topping (a combination of any of the following) Light sour cream or creme fraiche Salmon roe Caviar Ikura (Shoyu) Japanese salmon roe marinated in soy sauce & sake/mirin Ebiko, Japanese prawn roe Tobikko, Japanese flying fish roe Lump fish roe Hard boiled eggs, chopped up Melted butter

Ingredients

For the batter

Dry ingredients

1/8 cup (0.70oz)(20g) buckwheat flour

You could increase the ratio of buckwheat to plain flour to your liking. Locally, you are likely to find buckwheat flour in the Health Food aisle of better stocked supermarkets.

1/4 +1/8 cup (1.76oz)(50g) all-purpose/plain flour

1 teaspoon vital wheat gluten

Vital wheat gluten is derived from the endosperm of the wheat berry and is often added to a bread dough mix to help bake a loaf with more volume. I add it to give the blini extra lightness. 
Vital wheat gluten can be purchased at better stocked supermarkets. I use Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten. This does come in a 1 lb 6 oz (623g). It is a large bag so keep sealed and refrigerated. I use it often in my wholemeal loaves. Take a look at my recipe for Moroccan Inspired Wholemeal Round Loaves. It bakes beautiful, light wholemeal loaves with the addition of vital wheat gluten. 

For the same reason, I add vital wheat gluten into my Braided Stollen With Three Logs Of Marzipan. It is a sweet loaf studded with fruits and threaded with marzipan. Delicious.

This recipe will work without the vital wheat gluten. The blini will taste the same but you might not get the same depth and softness.

3/4 teaspoon instant yeast

I use SAF-instant.

1 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients

1 Tablespoon butter

1/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons (100ml) milk

3 Tablespoons (50ml) light sour cream

1 egg yolk

1 egg white

Others

1 Tablespoon butter for buttering the skillet for frying

For the toppings

Light sour cream or creme fraiche

Salmon roe

Caviar

Ikura (Shoyu) Japanese salmon roe marinated in soy sauce & sake/mirin

Ebiko, Japanese prawn roe

Tobikko, Japanese flying fish roe

Lump fish roe

Hard boiled eggs, chopped up

Melted butter

Method

Mix the flours, vital wheat gluten, yeast, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Set aside the dry ingredients.

Melt the butter. Add the milk, sour cream and stir to mix. Add the egg yolk and mix well. With a whisk, gradually add into the dry ingredients, making sure there are no lumps and the batter is smooth. 

Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes or until tiny bubbles appears on the surface of the mixture and it looks slightly frothy.

Once it reaches that stage, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form.

Transfer 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the batter and mix in gently. Next, work in the remaining 2/3 of the egg whites by using a wide spatula or spoon to gently fold in the egg whites. Work with a light hand so that you keep as much air bubbles in the egg whites as possible.

Let the batter sit for 10 to 15 minutes while you prepare your skillet.

When you are ready to fry, heat the skillet on medium heat.  Butter the skillet and dollop 1 Tablespoon (use less/more depending on the size of blini you want) into the heated skillet. Leave 1" (2.5cm) around each blini to allow room to flip the pancakes.

Once the circumference of the blini have dried up a little and tiny bubbles appear on the surface (takes about 90 seconds), flip the blini over. 

It should take another 1 minute for the blini to cook through. 

Transfer to cool before embellishing with your choice of toppings.

Tips

• Prepare batter ahead

The batter can be made ahead the day before. This means you will end up with blini that are slightly sour as the yeast has been given more time to develop the batter. Some people prefer this taste and will deliberately set aside time for the batter to develop to achieve this flavour. Note that you only add the whipped egg whites 10 minutes before you are ready to fry.

• Batter can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, quintupled, sextupled. 

At my recent New Year Eve's party, I sextupled the recipe to cater to over 20 people and made 20 X 6 = 120 blini. Using a long double burner griddle (you can use 2 skillets), I fried the blini an hour before party time. You could fry them up to 2 days before. They cook really fast so you are actually bent over a stove for a shorter period than you expect.

I topped 2 trays of blini with my choice of toppings and served them to the first guests. Thereafter, I had these guests help me replenish the blini which was great as it gave me time to prepare the rest of dinner.

• Other ways to serve

Making it informal or serving to a smaller group

If you want to make it less formal or if you are having a small group over, lay out the blini and toppings and have guests help themselves. That is how I set it up in my cover photograph. It might be less formal eating but it still manages to make a dramatic and indulgent presentation.

Top it with unconventional toppings

One of my favourite combinations is an easy mix of avocado and light sour cream as a base that I top with crisp bacon. Yummy.

WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                                 
I am going to work on a series of Easter breads. Through the years, I have seen many delicious looking Easter breads and I have always wanted to try my hand at baking them. So this year, I am going to do just that as we move towards Easter. 

To start my Easter bake off, I am going to post my recipe for a lovely loaf of Hot Cross Buns. I don't particularly care for traditionally Hot Cross Buns which I find rather bland and predictable, so look out for my next post where I show you how it can be baked to taste more interesting.

Tidying Up In Progress

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https://kitchenbaroness.wordpress.com/

Hello. 

I am working on those Pull Down Tabs at the moment. I am finding it more than a bit of a challenge as I am more comfortable wrapping my fingers around a knife and spoon than a keyboard. 

At the same time, I am frantically trying to grasp and decode all those technical jargon to make sense of all the instructions. 

With a lot of help, I will hopefully get it done sooner than later. 

All my links have disappeared for the moment.

Thank you for being patient. 

In the meantime, please continue to refer to the sidebar for recipes. 

Happy eating. 

KitchenBaroness 

Quick Mac And Cheese

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Quick Mac And Cheese

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Lightly creamy and not too cheesy. This is the way I like Mac And Cheese. Macaroni And Cheese is satisfying to eat but as it is conventionally made with a bechamel/white sauce - butter, flour and milk - it can get heavy going after a while. This recipe is an alternative to a flour based sauce. I use evaporated milk. 

Having reservations? Cook's Illustrated, shares the same idea as I do. The editors, their team of chefs, food scientists and tasters had tested and retested recipes for Mac And Cheese and then developed a recipe that uses evaporated milk as well. 

Why stand over a hot stove stirring away to make a roux (stirring flour into melted butter) and then a sauce (adding milk and cheese gradually) if you don't have to? 

If you do not cook the roux far enough, the sauce will taste raw and there is that fear of the sauce becoming grainy because of that or because you added the cheese into a sauce that was too hot, too quickly or ... 

Why bother with the hassle and unpredictability? Using evaporated milk will help prevent these issues and the Mac And Cheese will still taste like Mac And Cheese, and a good one too. There will be no gritty texture, raw taste and no, it will not be sweet or taste like dessert. The bonus? It is way quicker to prepare and put on the table!
QUICK MAC AND CHEESE                                                    

Prep:	10 minutes
Cook:	10 minutes
Inactive:	-
Level:	Easy
Serves:	2
Oven Temperature:	-
Can recipe be doubled?	Yes
Make ahead?	Keeps refrigerated up to 2 days.

Just the ingredients For the macaroni 4 oz (113g) macaroni 4 cups (1 litre) water 1 teaspoon salt For the sauce 4oz (113g) grated sharp cheddar 1 oz (28g) grated Parmesan 5/8 cup (147ml) evaporated milk 1 large egg (1/4 cup) 1 teaspoon mustard (either powdered or paste) Hot sauce/chilli powder to taste Black pepper to taste For the topping (optional) 2 Tablespoons (1oz)(28g) butter 1/4 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

For the macaroni

4 oz (113g) macaroni

You could use gluten free pasta to make the Mac And Cheese entirely gluten free.

4 cups (1 litre) water

1 teaspoon salt

For the sauce

4 oz (113g) grated sharp cheddar
Reserve 1 Tablespoon of cheddar.

Use sharp cheddar as it provides a more definitive flavour. The taste of regular cheddar gets lost once it is mixed in with the evaporated milk. 

Not all cheeses melt well. Refer to 'Tip' section below to find out more and a few suggestions.

1 oz (28g) grated Parmesan
Grate it finely and do not use too much Parmesan. It will be hard to melt it in. Omit and use all cheddar if you like.

5/8 cup (147ml) evaporated milk

Reserve 1 Tablespoon of milk.

1 large egg lightly beaten (1/4 cup)

1 teaspoon mustard (either powdered or paste)

Hot sauce/chilli powder to taste
I use Tabasco.

Black pepper to taste

For the topping (optional)

2 Tablespoons (1oz)(28g) butter

1/4 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

Method

Bring the 4 cups of water to a boil in a pot on high heat. 

In the meantime, combine in a bowl, the cheeses (reserve 1 Tablespoon of cheese), evaporated milk, egg, mustard, hot sauce/chilli powder and black pepper. Set aside.

When the water comes to a boil, add the salt and bring it back to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente (there is still a bite to it). This should take 7 to 10 minutes. It is best to refer to cooking times indicated on the reverse of the macaroni packaging. You might want to stir the macaroni once or twice during this time just to be sure they do not stick.

In the  frying pan where you will be cooking the macaroni, add the 2 Tablespoons (1oz)(28g) of butter. Set the saucepan over a burner and melt it on medium high heat. Stir in the Panko and continue to stir until it turns golden brown. It should take 5 to 7 minutes. Turn off the burner. Remove the frying pan and decant the golden crumbs.

Return the frying pan to the burner. 

As soon the macaroni is al dente - do not overcook so test for 'bite' (eat one!) after 5 minutes of cooking and then retest if necessary, drain and transfer to the frying pan.

Turn on the burner between medium-low to medium. Do not have the temperature higher than medium. 

Add the mixture of milk, cheese, egg, mustard, hot sauce/chilli powder and black pepper.  Mix into the macaroni and do not stop stirring. 

After 5 minutes or as soon as the cheese has melted, stir in the reserved 1 Tablespoon of cheese and evaporated milk, immediately turn off and remove the frying pan from the burner. Continue to stir to melt the cheese. This helps diffuse the heat and prevent eggs from scrambling.

You just need to heat the sauce through. Do not boil as you will end up with scramble eggs or the cheese might seize up and turn gritty! Having given you all the warnings, I cannot recollect producing a single gritty sauce after switching to evaporated milk. Your eggs could scramble though if you continue to cook further.

Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve immediately. Remember to scatter the golden brown panko over the Mac And Cheese.

Tips

To help produce a smooth sauce

• Use grated cheese.
• Keep the temperature at not higher than medium. Cheese dislikes high temperatures and will seize and turn into little gritty globs.
• As soon as the cheese melts, add that last 1 Tablespoon of cheese and evaporated milk and remove frying pan from burner. Stir. This diffuses the heat and prevents the cheese from clumping and eggs from scrambling.

Some cheeses that melt well

Keep in mind the flavour of the cheese sauce that you have in mind when selecting.

• Gouda
• Emmenthal also known as Swiss cheese
• Muenster
• Asiago
• Fontina
• Gruyere
• Blue cheeses
• Cheddar
• Brie, Camembert or another soft rind cheese. Remove rind before melting.

Some cheeses that are difficult to melt

Hard cheeses like parmesan have to be grated finely and used in much lesser ratios with a cheese that melts easily. Use too much and it will be gritty sauce for you.

Some cheeses that won't melt well no matter how hard you try

Mozarella, provolone, stringy cheeses and the like as they would pretty much refuse to cooperate with the sauce and keep its sinewy appearance and texture.

Halloumi, Ricotta, Cottage Cheese, Paneer (Indian cheese), Feta. These are definitely not meant for smooth sauces.
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                                 

Blini (bliny)! 

These soft and spongy buckwheat and all-purpose flour, yeast risen pancakes are often associated with Russian cuisine. Today, there are many variations to the recipe. It was traditionally served with a dollop of sour cream, caviar, chopped eggs or perhaps just butter. 

I believe this is the week where copious quantities are being eaten in Slavic parts of the world celebrating the ending of winter and the promise of spring.

Lucky them! Blini make great party food.

A Chocolate Hazelnut Ball In A Banana Coconut Cupcake

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A Chocolate Hazelnut Ball In A Banana Coconut Cupcake

Link to my newest and old recipes, click:

https://kitchenbaroness.wordpress.com/

The flavours of banana and coconut with the contrasting textures of soft cake and slightly crunchy coconut flakes makes this cupcake scrumptious. What makes it even better is that surprise of a whole chocolate hazelnut ball within!

It is wonderful to sink your teeth into a thin layer of crushed nuts, an inner lining of wafer,  generous chocolate cream and the crunch of one whole hazelnut. 

I often have a box of chocolate hazelnut balls in my pantry. I don't buy them. I don't have to. I receive them as gifts.

Where I live, Ferrero Rocher, promotes their chocolate hazelnut balls heavily. They are good but they are terrible for my waist line. I am always happy when someone else eats them up before me. Ever wondered why Rocher chocolates are so tasty? They are made by the same company who makes Nutella!

This cupcake was created out of necessity and desperation. Necessity because I am clearing out my pantry. Desperation because I can't afford to eat another Rocher chocolate and everyone else in the house is tired of them at the moment. 

So I had to come up with something creative. I also had to clear out my bag of sweetened coconut strips, a packet of coconut milk that was close to expiring and I have so many frozen bananas in my freezer it's insane.

The result of putting these ingredients together is this phenomenally good cupcake. I like how the coconut milk lightens the taste of the bananas which can be overpowering if I had used milk instead.

This is a super good way to use up those Rocher chocolates and have everyone else finish the cupcakes because they are really good! 

Valentine's Day is round the corner. I am going to use up all my remaining Rocher chocolates on these cupcakes.  I am going to share the love and the calories. 

A CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT BALL IN A BANANA COCONUT CUPCAKE

Prep:	15 minutes
Cook:	25 minutes
Inactive:	-
Level:	Moderately easy
Makes:	5 to 6 depending on the size of the cupcake liners
Oven Temperature:	360F (180C)
Can recipe be doubled?	Yes
Make ahead?	Keeps well on the kitchen counter up to 2 days, longer if refrigerated.

Just the ingredients For the batter 3.52oz (100g) unsalted butter 2.64oz (75g) caster sugar 1/2 cup banana (about 1 large banana) 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 1 medium sized egg (1.76oz; 50g without shells)  4.58oz (130g) plain/all-purpose flour 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1.76oz (25g) sweetened desiccated coconut OR  sugared coconut strips, cut into small shreds 1/4 cup coconut milk 1 Tablespoon yogurt 5 or 6 Ferrero Rocher For the topping 1.41 oz (40g) strips of sugared coconut strips OR 10 Tablespoons icing sugar  3 teaspoons coconut milk 5 Tablespoons sweetened desiccated coconut

Ingredients

For the batter

3.52oz (100g) unsalted butter

Softened

2.64oz (75g) caster sugar

1/2 cup banana (about 1 large banana)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 medium sized egg (1.76oz; 50g without shells) 

4.58oz (130g) plain/all-purpose flour

1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

0.88oz (25g) sweetened desiccated coconut OR 
sugared coconut strips, cut into small shreds

1/4 cup coconut milk

1  Tablespoon yogurt

5 or 6  chocolate balls that have a whole hazelnut encased within
Examples: Ferrero Rocher, Lindt Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Lindor Truffles, Perugina Baci

For the topping

1.41oz (40g) strips of sugared coconut strips OR

Coconut icing

10 Tablespoons icing sugar 

3 teaspoons coconut milk

5 Tablespoons sweetened desiccated coconut for sprinkling

Method

The batter

You need large cupcake liners. I use either 2.4 x 1.8" (6 x 4.5cm) or 2.7 x 1.9" (6.8 x 4.82cm) (bottom diameter x height). These larger size liners will allow the hazelnut chocolate balls to nestle perfectly in the centre. 

You could use slightly smaller sized ones though I have not tried to do so. If you are using smaller cupcake liners, be careful how deep or how far up you decide to rest the chocolate ball.  Too low and it might sink.  Too high and it might rise up. I recommend using larger size ones as you have more depth to play with.

Before starting, all your ingredients should be at room temperature. 

Turn on the oven to 360F (180C) and adjust the oven rack to middle position.

Dry ingredients: Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Wet ingredients: Mix the yogurt into the coconut milk. Set aside.

Attach whisk attachment to the beater shaft of your mixer. 

Turn your mixer to medium low and work it up to medium high speed to cream the softened unsalted butter with the sugar, banana and vanilla essence until it is thick - like the texture of a body lotion. When you lift up the whisk, it will leave only a faint trail. Scrape bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula.

With the machine running on medium, add the egg and incorporate for 1 to 2 minutes so that the batter thickens up further.

Remove from the mixer stand and use a spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to fully incorporate egg. 

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and fold in gently and quickly into the batter with the spatula or long wide spoon.

Add 1/2 of the wet ingredients and do likewise.

Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients and incorporate likewise. Do not overmix.

Add the last 1/2 of the wet ingredients and mix in.

Add the last 1/3  of the dry ingredients with the 0.88 oz (25g) sweetened dessicated coconut and incorporate well ensure that there are no flour lumps. Work with a light hand and do not overmix or the cupcakes will be heavy and doughy.

Divide the batter into either 5 or 6 cupcakes and leave about 5 or 6 Tablespoons of batter behind to cover the chocolate balls. 

Insert the chocolate ball until the top reaches the top level of the batter. Refer to the picture below. Cover the ball and level it up with 1 Tablespoon of batter. The cupcake liners below measure 2.4 x 1.8" (6 x 4.5cm) and I had used 5.

These will rise into a dome which is the way I want them as the dome accentuates the spherical hazelnut balls. If they crack on you, it's a small matter as you can cover it up with the sweetened coconut strips or coconut icing. 

If you want them flat, only fill them up under 2/3 full. 

Bake for 25 minutes. To test for doneness, do not skewer through the centre where the chocolate ball sits but in between the centre and the side. 

If the skewer comes out clean, remove and transfer to a cooling rack. Be patient and wait until it completely cools before eating as the chocolate ball is hot!

The topping

• Coconut strips

If using coconut strips, simply poke them through the top so they look like windsocks flapping in the air.

• Coconut icing

If you choose to top with coconut icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually work in the coconut milk until it has a consistency of smooth peanut butter. It should not be runny.

Slather on top of the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle the desiccated coconut immediately so that it can adhere.

These would make such an unusual cupcake to gift for Valentine's Day! Don't tell them about the Ferrero Rocher unless of course they are allergic to nuts!

Tips

Boxing cupcakes for gifts

Pick up gift boxes and line them with food grade tissue sheets or printed wax paper. If you do not have access to those than use parchment paper. 

Sometimes, to pretty up the parchment paper, I doodle on them with my edible food pen. The pen ink is made of glycerin, water and food colouring. I bought my pen from a baking supply store but I do see them being sold at better stocked supermarkets.

Gift boxes can be inexpensive and they are often pretty enough that you do not need to dress them up further.

If the only gift boxes you can find are dull and boring looking, choose single coloured boxes instead of patterned ones. This will allow you a neutral canvas to embellish with ribbons and such.

If you do not have the energy or creativity, I have an easier idea. 

We all have pen or pens and perhaps even markers in our homes. Use those to work in some squiggles on the outside of the box. Black ink is always a safe colour to use. Keep it simple and don't overdo the artwork. Outlining a few hearts or bubbles is a safe choice.

Write a message on the inside bottom of the gift box. No one really expects that and it amuses them.

Have fun and don't stress too much wondering if it is pretty enough as your recipient isn't expecting a signed masterpiece.
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                                 
A quick and easy Mac And Cheese.

In an earlier blog post, The Ultimate Milo Dinosaur - The Best Icy Chocolate Drink, I had mentioned that I would post a recipe for Mac and Cheese. 

If you had made my delicious chocolate drink you would have had quite a bit of evaporated milk leftover. This is the recipe that will use up that milk.  

Never had Mac and Cheese made from a sauce that uses evaporated milk? It makes the sauce silky smooth without the fear of it going grainy and gritty. Look out for the recipe.