CHOCOLATE, BLUEBERRY & BUCKWHEAT BLINIS

CHOCOLATE, BLUEBERRY & BUCKWHEAT BLINIS

Prep Time: 30 mins Cooking Time: 3 mins Serves: Makes about 25

Blinis are part of traditional Russian cuisine and are normally savoury. Here the chocolate adds a dash of sweetness and richness to the tangy blueberries and takes these blinis to new heights. They make great canapés for a summer party.

Ingredients

25g strong white flour

50g buckwheat flour

Pinch of salt

1 tsp. easy-blend yeast

45g raw cane sugar

75g dark chocolate, roughly chopped. Suggestion, Venezuelan Las Trincheras 72

150ml warm full-fat milk

2 small eggs, separated

15g melted butter, plus extra butter for frying

125g blueberries

Crème fraîche, to serve

Facebook

Twitter

Method

Sift the flours and salt into a large mixing bowl, then stir in the yeast and raw cane sugar to mix well.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl is not in contact with the water.

Mix the warm chocolate and milk together in another large bowl. Add the egg yolks and melted butter and whisk to combine.

Tip in the flour mixture and continue whisking to form a thick batter. Cover and leave in a warm place for about 2 hours.

Fold the blueberries into the batter. Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, then gently fold into the batter.

Heat a knob of butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat and, when hot, spoon three or four tablespoons of the batter into the pan, each spoonful forming a small round blini.

Cook for 2 minutes, then turn the blinis over and cook for a further minute. The blinis should be golden and cooked through. Take care not to overcook as the addition of chocolate makes them easier to burn. Remove from the pan and keep warm while cooking the remaining batter.

Serve immediately, topped with a little crème fraîche. The blinis also go well with chocolate sauce.