These easy to make canapes and finger foods are guaranteed to impress your guests. Using a squeezy bottle here will really help you get even circles, but you can spoon your blinis into the pan with 2 teaspoons for a more rustic look.
Makes 80
40g spelt flour
130g strong white flour
1 tsp salt
7g sachet easy-blend/rapid-rise dried yeast
150ml crème fraîche
175ml whole milk
2 eggs, separated
30g unsalted butter
A squeezy bottle
- Sift together the flour and salt. Sprinkle over the yeast.
- In a small saucepan, warm the crème fraîche and the milk together. When it is warm to the touch (if it is too hot it will kill the yeast), whisk in the egg yolks. Pour the mixture over the flour and yeast. Mix well, cover with a kitchen towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hour.
- In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. With a large spoon, gently fold them into the batter. Spoon the batter into a squeezy bottle.
- Heat a non-stick pan and, using a paper towel, rub butter all over the base. Squeeze out little 4-cm blinis into the pan. Don’t touch them until they are ready to turn. You will know they are ready when tiny bubbles appear through the batter. Use a palette knife to flip them over and cook briefly on the other side.
- Cool on a wire rack, then serve. You can store them in the refrigerator or freeze, well wrapped. To serve, warm them in the oven 180C/gas 4 for 5-6 mins. There is no need to defrost them first.
You can prepare the blinis ahead and freeze them for up to 1 week.
Beetroot salmon blinis
Curing a side of fresh salmon in beetroot and gin is a tasty way to cater for a large number. However, here we’ll show you a quick cheat, using smoked salmon and pickled beetroot juice.
Makes 30
4 tbsp pickled beetroot/beet juice
2 tsp gin
100g smoked salmon
30 blinis
100 ml crème fraîche or sour cream
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
50g lumpfish caviar
- Pour the pickled beetroot/beet juice into a small container or shallow bowl. Add the gin and the salmon and leave for 5-10 mins.
- Slice the salmon into 30 pieces. Top each blini with half tsp of crème fraîche or sour cream, a piece of salmon, a squeeze of lemon and a little caviar. Serve.
Recipe from Delicious Recipes for Canapés, Finger Food and Party Snacks by Milli Taylor, published by Ryland Peters & Small