Blinis

When you think of Russia you probably think of vodka, caviar and blinis. And you would be right! These bite-sized little pancakes are a traditional snack and brilliant for serving as canapés. You can choose to top them with various things but soured cream, smoked salmon and maybe a sprinkling of caviar is always a winner. Washed down with a shot of Russian vodka, of course.

Makes 15 - 18 blini

Ingredients

• 175ml full-fat milk

• 80g plain flour

• 40g buckwheat flour

• a pinch of salt

• 1 tsp caster sugar

• 1 tsp instant yeast

• 1 large egg separated

• vegetable oil, to fry

• soured cream and smoked salmon, to serve

Method

1.Heat 125ml of the milk so it’s just warm.

2. Place the plain and buckwheat flours into a mixing bowl. Add the salt, sugar and yeast and stir to combine. Add the warm milk and mix to form a stiff batter. Cover and leave to stand for 30 minutes.

3. Add the egg yolk and the remaining milk to form a thick batter.

4. Whisk the egg white until soft peaks form, then fold into the batter. The batter should be thick, but easily drop off the spoon.

5. Heat a frying pan and lightly oil the base. Add heaped teaspoons of the mixture to the pan and cook until small bubbles appear all over the surface of the blini. Turn over and cook the other side for about 1 minute until golden brown. Continue to cook in batches until all the batter is used up.

6. Serve with soured cream and smoked salmon.

Taken from Paul Hollywood’s The Weekend Baker, published by Penguin/Michael Joseph Photograph © Issy Crocker