My Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Blinis are the perfect appetizer for Christmas, New Year, or a dinner party! Find out how to make them below.
Crowd pleasing canapés
One of my favourite things about the festive season is the parties! Friends, colleagues, family all coming together to eat, drink and be merry. As long as there is good food, good music and good company I am happy. When it comes to Christmas party food it never disappoints. Party planners always go all out with elaborate menus and platters of canapés.
There's no reason why you can't elevate your own gatherings at home by serving some small bites like these Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Blinis.
What are blinis?
A blini is a small pancake commonly eaten in Russia. They are traditionally made from wheat or buckwheat flour and served with smetana, tvorog or caviar.
Because they are small, bite sized morsels, they are the perfect vehicle for a wide range of toppings. Smoked salmon and cream cheese is a delicious, rich topping that isn't a million miles away from the traditional caviar topping.
The good news is that although blinis look impressive and are considered quite a "posh" party food, they are surprisingly easy to make!
Pro tips for making blinis
Store bought blinis are perfectly round and equal in size. To achieve the same, put the batter into a piping bag and pipe the outside of the circle in the pan first then fill with the batter. You will have perfect circles every time!
To make sure each blini is an even shade of golden brown, imagine your frying pan is a clock. Start adding the batter to the pan at 12 o clock and then work your way round clockwise. If your pan is large enough, do this for a second time with an inner ring. When you come to flip your blinis start art 12 o clock and work your way round. That way you won't forget which one has been cooking for the longest and accidentally leave it to get burnt.
The recipe
Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Blinis
Ingredients
- 75 grams wholemeal flour
- 100 grams plain flour
- 7 grams fast action dried yeast
- 0.25 teaspoon salt
- 1 medium egg
- 250 ml milk lukewarm
- 100 grams cream cheese
- 50 grams sour cream or creme fraiche
- 1 lemon zest and 1 tablespoon of juice
- 30 strips smoked salmon
- 1 tablespoon chives finely chopped
- 0.5 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Mix the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the egg and milk, whisking well.
- Whisk the egg and milk together gradually drawing in the flour until all of it is incorporated and there is a smooth batter. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to stand for about 1 hour, after which it will have thickened slightly.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large, flat bottomed pan over a medium heat.
- Using either a teaspoon or piping bag, add the batter to the pan to make bite-sized pancakes.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes, until bubbles appear on the surface of the pancakes.
- Flip over and cook for another minute or until golden on both sides.
- Carefully transfer the blinis to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter until all of it has been used.
- Before serving, mix the cream cheese, sour cream and zest and lemon juice.
- Lay out the blinis onto a platter and top with half a teaspoon of the cream cheese mix.
- Next, roll up thin strips of the salmon (no wider than the diameter of the blini) and push gently into the cream cheese.
- Finish off with a few cracks of black pepper and the chopped chives over the platter to season!
- Serve cold with a wedge or two of lemon.
Nutrition
Storage
During the festive season it's always good to be able to make a recipe head. I wouldn't recommend assembling these Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Blinis until the last minute. But, you can make the blinis ahead of time.
If you are eating these on the same day then the tiny pancakes will be fine kept at room temperature until you are ready to assemble.
The blinis will also keep up to 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Alternatively, you can freeze them until you wish to use them!
Make this recipe vegetarian / vegan
Yes, you read that right! Thanks to food science, you can make this recipe suitable for vegetarians or vegans.
If your guests follow a vegetarian diet, all you will need to substitute is the smoked salmon. I can highly recommend the'artyvegan's plant based smoked salmon that is made from carrots!
For those guests who are vegan (and so won't eat eggs or dairy) follow my vegan blini recipe and swap the cream cheese for a vegan version. Vegan cream cheese is readily available in supermarkets. Most supermarkets in the UK sell an own-brand version. Koko and Violife are also often available.
More party food
Christmas Recipe Archive
To find more recipes that are perfect for the Christmas season, check out the Christmas Recipe Archive.
Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Xinmei @ Pudding Pie Lane says
What's Christmas without smoked salmon and cranberry (maybe even together??)!It sounds like you had great fun with all of your family 🙂
Emmyw says
Haha! Now that's a flavour combination 😉 I may just have to try it!!!! We did have a lovely afternoon thanks! Hope all your family are well and happy this Christmas 🙂 x