russian blini

As a special birthday morning surprise for Dane, I made him Russian blini (very thin crepes) for breakfast. They were a little intimidating, since traditionally the blini are paper thin, but turned out much better than I expected (and if they had been a little thick, I don't think he would have minded)!

Russian Blini (recipe from here)
2 eggs
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
~2 cups flour
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
nonstick cooking spray

Whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, and salt. Slowly combine flour about 1/4 cup at a time, until the batter is runny but thicker than milk. Stir in the oil and let rest for about 5 minutes. Preheat a nonstick pan (mine was 9") over medium heat and generously oil with cooking spray.

Blinis are all in the execution, so here are a few tips: Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the hot pan. While pouring, quickly tilt the pan in a rotating motion with your wrist so the batter creates a very thin layer over the entire surface. Cook for about 1-2 minutes until small bubbles form and the bottom is golden, then carefully flip with a spatula. Cook for 1 minute, then transfer to a plate. Spray the pan in between each blini! If your blini seems too thick (like I said, it should be paper thin--almost transparent) you can either add a bit more milk to the batter or use less batter per blini. Also, time & temperature may have to be adjusted depending on your stove. The pan should be hot enough that the batter sizzles on contact but not so hot that the blini burns in under a minute. Don't lose confidence--after the third or fourth blini you will get the hang of the rhythm of cooking these!

Don't forget to top with some sweetened condensed milk!

This recipe is pretty involved and takes a few tries to get right, so it's best to make on a weekend morning when you have plenty of time. Also keep in mind that you'll have to make a lot of blini per person (the stack in the photo has about 25-30).  The original recipe site has some great photos of the process if you need a step by step visual.

I hope I haven't intimidated you from making these--they are truly delicious and fun once you get the hang of the cooking method! This is a great recipe if you want to push yourself in the kitchen!