Equipment
Ingredients
Blini Batter
- 200 ml whole milk, lukewarm
- 5 g active dry yeast
- 5 g granulated sugar
- 75 g all-purpose flour
- 50 g buckwheat flour
- 2 eggs, separated
- 30 g unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 g fine sea salt
- 30 ml neutral oil
Creamy Radish Topping
- 150 g red radishes, trimmed
- 150 g plain greek yogurt, full fat preferred
- 10 g fresh dill, finely chopped
- 10 ml lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 2 g fine sea salt
- 1 g black pepper
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 57 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- 5 g
- Fat
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 0 g
- Sugar
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 79 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 1 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 0 g
- Cholesterol
- 20 mg
- Potassium
- 50 mg
- Calcium
- 22 mg
- Iron
- 0.2 mg
- Magnesium
- 4 mg
- Phosphorus
- 30 mg
- Zinc
- 0.2 mg
- Vitamin A
- 26 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 1 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.2 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin K
- 0 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.0 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.1 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.04 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.06 mg
- Niacin
- 0.2 mg
- Folate
- 11 mcg
- Water
- 23 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Warm the milk to 38°C/100°F. Whisk in the active dry yeast and sugar until fully dissolved. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes until it becomes slightly frothy.
Whisk the all-purpose flour and buckwheat flour into the milk mixture until a smooth, thick batter forms.
Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let the batter proof in a warm place for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size and visibly bubbly.
While the batter proofs, grate the radishes using the coarse side of a box grater.
Place the grated radishes into a clean kitchen towel. Twist and squeeze vigorously to drain as much excess liquid as possible. This step is crucial to prevent a watery topping.
In a small bowl, mix the drained radishes, Greek yogurt, chopped dill, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper. Cover and refrigerate until assembly.
Once the batter has proofed, gently stir in the egg yolks, melted butter, and fine sea salt until just incorporated.
In a separate, perfectly clean glass or metal bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the rested batter using a spatula, being careful not to deflate the mixture.
Heat a skillet over medium heat and brush lightly with neutral oil. Drop level tablespoons of batter into the pan, leaving space between each. Fry for 2 minutes until bubbles appear and pop on the surface, then flip and cook for 1 additional minute. Repeat with remaining batter.
Transfer the cooked blini to a serving platter and allow them to cool slightly. Top each warm blini with a generous teaspoon of the creamy radish mixture. Garnish with a tiny sprig of fresh dill.
Chef's Notes
- Using a combination of all-purpose and buckwheat flour provides the traditional earthy flavor of Russian blini without making the texture too heavy.
- Ensure your bowl for whipping egg whites is completely free of grease; even a drop of fat from an egg yolk can prevent the whites from reaching stiff peaks.
- To scale this for a larger party, you can cook the blini in advance, cool them on a wire rack to prevent sogginess, and gently reheat them in the oven before topping.
- Adding a pinch of salt to the radishes before squeezing them can help draw out extra moisture through osmosis.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store the blini and the radish topping in separate airtight containers.
Freezer: 1 month — Only freeze the blini, not the topping. Separate blini with parchment paper.
Reheating: Reheat blini in a 180°C/350°F oven for 5 minutes or in a toaster before adding fresh topping.
Troubleshooting
Watery radish topping
Cause: Insufficient moisture squeezed from grated radishes
Fix: Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve or stir in a small amount of extra thick Greek yogurt
Prevention: Squeeze radishes forcefully through a highly absorbent kitchen towel or cheesecloth
Blini are dense and heavy
Cause: Egg whites were over-mixed into the batter, deflating the air
Fix: Cannot be fixed once the batter is mixed
Prevention: Fold egg whites with a spatula using a gentle bottom-to-top motion
Blini burning before cooking through
Cause: Pan is too hot or residual sugar in the batter is scorching
Fix: Reduce heat immediately and move pan off the burner for 30 seconds to cool
Prevention: Maintain medium-low heat and re-grease pan lightly between batches
Cultural Context
Blini are deeply woven into Russian culinary history, traditionally prepared at the end of winter during the Maslenitsa festival. Their round, golden appearance symbolizes the return of the sun, making them a festive dish signifying warmth, life, and renewal.
