This is a super easy recipe for blini which is a close cousin to French crepes. They are slightly thicker and sweeter than the French alternative. It is easy to wing and takes just a few minutes if you have a blender/magic bullet. A blender could be used for a large volume but if you just want a few servings the magic bullet is the way to go. I highly suggest using one of these, since doing it by hand can leave small clumps of flour and it takes forever to sit there and break all the clumps out.
The size of the blini depends on your pan, you can either do small ones or medium ones. In this recipe, I made small ones.
Blini (Ukrainian Crepes)
Servings 12 small blins
Equipment
- Magic bullet or blender
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk (if you don't have milk, you can use water but milk tastes better)
- 1/2 cup sugar (if you want more savory crepes reduce this to 1/4 cup)
- 2 tsp sunflower oil + more for the pan (vegetable oil can be substituted, but it will give a less authentic taste)
- unsalted butter (to rub on the blini after)
Instructions
Batter (magic bullet/blender)
- Put the eggs at the bottom, followed by the flour, sugar, and milk, then blend. (This way the flour doesn't get stuck to any surfaces and gets blended in evenly.)
- Check the consistency of the batter, it shouldn't be too thick. It should be runny so it could easily coat a pan and be swirled around into a thin sheet. A good rule of thumb would be a bit thicker than milk itself.
Batter (by hand)
- Beat the eggs, milk, and sugar.
- Whisk in the flour a little at a time making sure no clumps arise. Check the consistency of the batter. It shouldn't be too thick and should be runny so it could easily coat a pan and be swirled around into a thin sheet. A good rule of thumb would be a bit thicker than milk itself.
Cooking
- Heat up a pan and rub the sunflower oil on it. The pan should be coated with oil but not have any liquid in it. This is important for the consistency!
- Once the pan is hot, pour the batter onto the pan while slowly swirling around to make sure the batter coats the whole pan. Start with the top corner of the pan and swirl around, continuously pouring. For a larger size pan, the amount of batter is about 1/4 of a cup. For smaller sizes I like to pour straight from the container, or use a ladle.
- The blin is ready to flip when the corners start turning brown, and you can easily slip a spatula under.
- Flip and cook for 30 seconds on the other side.
- Place on a plate and lightly rub with butter. I like to use a stick and just rub it around on both sides. This makes them softer and adds a delicious flavor.
- Serve with your favorite toppings! You can either dip, or fill the inside and roll.
Tricks
- Don't pour too much batter because you want it to be a thin layer.
- Be confident with your pour, if you pour too slow, the blin will cook at different paces.
- Swirl any extra batter around so it is evenly distributed on the top.
- Use a spoon to push liquid batter into any holes instead of adding more batter.
- If you notice the batter too thick while making your first blin (doesn't swirl around the pan easily) add some more milk or water. If it is too thin (try it and see how you like it) the add a bit of flour. It sometimes takes a little bit of give and take to get the right consistency, but everyone prefers different ones!
Notes
Toppings:
There are unlimited amounts of toppings for these. You can choose a savory option or a sweet option.
My favorite sweet toppings are:
*honey
*jams (raspberry jam mixed with sour cream is one of the best things!)
*jam with sour cream and sweetened condensed milk (Ukrainian standard)
*maple syrup
*fresh fruit and nutella
Savory toppings:
*Cream cheese and lox
*Mushroom and onion
*Meat and onion
Leave a Reply