Russian Buckwheat blini pancakes and tips on using blini pan
Making thick, yummy buckwheat blini, the Russian pancake is a pleasure at the end of winter in Finland. The sourness of buckwheat gives a perfect touch. This recipe makes about 8 blinis, which thanks to the two eggs, whisked whites and yolks separately, have their fluffiness and keep their form easily. Blini is a perfect appetizer for any winter feast, with the perfect blini topping ideas of course.

Are Russian blinis thick pancakes or flat crepe-like pancakes?
There is a huge debate about the Russian blinis and whether should they have buckwheat or only wheat and whether they are blinis actually thick American-style pancakes or thin crepes like French crepes. That is something that we are still unsure of, but the thick slightly fluffy blini with sour buckwheat taste is the blini as we know it in Finland.
In any case, they pop into restaurants and markets every year around February, before the Orthodox start the Greatter in early March. Buckwheat blini is definitely a Lent before Eas celebration of the start of spring around here.
This Russian blini recipe shows you how to do the thick buckwheat pancakes, the way we know it, and how to fry it just right. I normally make the batter ready in the evening for the fridge and leave it for the next day to make for lunch.
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The best blini pans and tips on using
The traditional blini pan (and the best!) is a small cast iron pan with straight high edges of a few centimeters to remotely resemble a low saucepan. The pan with clarified butter is the secret to the crispy edges of the buckwheat blini. When you have finished frying, just clean the excess butter with a paper towel, let it cool, and put it back in the cupboard.
I have used a cast iron blini pan similar to this one for years now, and it also works perfectly for frying eggs in the morning or making big pancakes. Blini pans are small, only about 10 to 12 cm large!

My tips on using a cast iron blini pan
- Use a hot enough pan to fry it, if you have too low heat, blini will suck all the butter in and make it soggy.
- Use clarified butter, that allows easy frying in higher temperatures.
- Use a traditional blini pan, or a mini cast iron skillet, to get the thick pancakes with the distinctive shape of the blini.

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Ingredients you need for buckwheat blinis
For the blini batter
- Yogurt, Greek, or Turkish yogurt gives the best flavor. It can be substituted with kefir milk, buttermilk, or whey kefir. If using more liquid yogurt or the substitutions mentioned, increase the flour slightly.
- Fresh yeast, can be substituted with 10 grams of dry yeast
- Buckwheat flour, is essential for the recipe. It gives a slightly sour flavor
- Wheat flour, can be substituted with buckwheat flour, especially if you want to have gluten-free blinis, or all-purpose flour.
- Caster sugar, can be substituted with cane sugar.
- Milk, in the recipe I have used cow milk, but you can substitute it with the milk of your preference.
- Butter, use salted butter
- Eggs, in the recipe, we use the egg yolks and whites separately. The yolks are added directly to the dough, and the whites need to be whisked to give the dough fluffiness.

For frying
- Clarified butter, can be substituted with melted butter. Clarified butter is always used in traditional blini recipes for it doesn’t burn like normal melted butter, so it is easier when making Russian buckwheat blinis.
You can find the exact measurements on the recipe card.
Tools you may need
- Large bowl
- Measuring cups and scale
- Clean tea towel, plastic wrap, or beeswax wrap
- Medium bowl, for whisking the egg whites
- Electric mixer
- Blini pan, a cast iron one. You can use a crepe pan or nonstick skillet too, but then your blinis will not be as thick and high as with the deep blini pan. Some have made blini successfully with a small saucepan. This cast iron pan (10cm) is close to what I have used for years but with a long beautiful wooden handle or this one that is full cast iron like mine, but slightly bigger (13cm).
How to make
Step one: Make the blini batter base
Heat the yogurt on the stove to lukewarm. Add crumbled fresh yeast and stir well to dissolve it. Add the dry ingredients, the flour mixture of buckwheat flour, and wheat flour with a teaspoon of caster sugar and mix it well.

Step two: Proof the batter base
Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the batter rest for 1-2 hours at room temperature in a warm place until it has small bubbles. Another option is to cover it with cling film or beeswax wrap and stick it in the fridge overnight for 8-12 hours before the next step.
Step three: Heat the milk and butter
Heat the milk and butter in a pot until lukewarm and butter has melted. Take off the stove and keep the butter and milk mixture on hand for the next steps.

Step four: Whisk egg whites
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they become fluffy and foamy and form easily soft peaks.

Step five: Incorporate all
Pour into the bowl the base of the batter, egg yolks, milk, and butter and milk mixture, and mix the thick batter well. Add carefully the whisked egg whites and fold them into the smooth batter.
Step six: Frying
Heat the cast iron blini pan or other similar deep and tiny pan and brush all over with clarified butter. Keep the stove on medium-high heat. Pour about half a cup of batter into the blini pan and make sure you have enough batter that fills the bottom of the pan completely.
Let the first blini fry on the first side on medium heat until you see small air bubbles and the batter starts to solidify and is golden brown. Flip to the other side and brush the top of the blini generously with the clarified butter so that it runs on the sides to the bottom as well.



Repeat with the remaining batter. You can keep the finished blinis warm on a baking pan covered with a baking sheet in the 50°C oven until serving.
Serving the Russian buckwheat blini with delicious toppings
Typically blinis are served with savory toppings like sturgeon roe, a dollop of sour cream and fresh dill, or cold smoked salmon, or the way I love it with smetana (Russian soured cream), pickled cucumbers, and drizzled honey on the top. You can adjust the blini with a different filling to your liking!

How ever you serve these delicious blini make sure to tag me on Instagram with @blue.tea.tile!
Seafood toppings for blini
- Salmon roe with chopped red onion, a dollop of crême fraiche, and lemon zest.
- Vendace roe with smetana or cream cheese and chopped dill.
- Skagen shrimp mayonnaise with dill twig.

Vegetarian toppings for blini
- Smetana, pickled cucumbers cut lengthwise, drizzle honey on the top.
- Mushroom salad made with salted mushrooms, onion, and apple cubes with sprinkled dill.
- Avocado salad with avocados, tomato, feta cubes, and pickled red onion on the top.
Sweet toppings for blini
Though it is not traditional to have blini as a dessert – what’s stopping you? Here are a few ideas fro sweet toppings for blini.
- Cloudberry jam and Turkish yogurt
- Fresh fruit and whipped cream
Storage
Eat right away when they are still crisp. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to three days and reheat them hot for the best flavor.
Leftover blini can be stored in a freezer as well for up to 3 months. When thawed, heat them extremely well and hot on a skillet or a toaster to get the fresh crispy style.
How to tweak this recipe
- For gluten-free blinis, substitute wheat flour with buckwheat flour.
- To enjoy dairy-free blinis you can substitute cow milk with oat milk or other mild-flavored plant-based milk.
Little Helper
Mixing and measuring are the bases of this recipe and good exercise for a little chef. Use the moment after proofing to admire the bubbly dough base and let the little helper stir off the bubbles to see them vanish – it is like magic!
For bit bigger helpers brushing the clarified butter is always a joy with flipping the blinis.
How do you make your blinis?
There is quite a long debate about the perfect blini and the actual Russian blini. Many swear that Russian blini has nothing to do with buckwheat flour but in Finland the core flavor of the “Russian blini” concept is the sourness of the buckwheat.
How do you make your blinis? Let me know in the comments or tag me on Instagram with @blue.tea.tile or let me I would love to know how you do your blinis, or how these ones turned out!
You can find the recipe card below!

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Russian buckwheat blinis | Finnish style
Making thick, yummy buckwheat blinis, the Russian pancakes are a pleasure at the end of winter in Finland. The sourness of buckwheat gives a perfect touch. This recipe makes about 8 blinis, which thanks to the two eggs, whisked whites and yolks separately, have their fluffiness and keep their form easily.
Ingredients
Batter base
- 400ml yogurt (390 g)
- 20 g fresh yeast
- 150ml buckwheat flour (105 g)
- 100ml wheat flour (60 g)
- 1 tsp caster sugar
Add to the base after resting
- 150 ml milk
- 15 g butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 egg whites, whipped
Instructions
- Step one: Make the blini batter base
Heat the yogurt on the stove to lukewarm. Add crumbled fresh yeast and stir well to dissolve it. Add the dry ingredients, the flour mixture of buckwheat flour, and wheat flour with a teaspoon of caster sugar and mix it well. - Step two: Rest the batter base
Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the batter rest for 1-2 hours at room temperature in a warm place until it has small bubbles. Another option is to cover it with cling film or beeswax wrap and stick it in the fridge overnight for 8-12 hours before the next step. - Step three: Heat the milk and butter
Heat the milk and butter in a pot until lukewarm and butter has melted. Take off the stove and keep the butter and milk mixture on hand for the next steps. - Step four: Whisk egg whites
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they become fluffy and foamy and form easily soft peaks. - Step five: Incorporate all
Pour into the bowl the base of the batter, egg yolks, milk, and butter and milk mixture, and mix the thick batter well. Add carefully the whisked egg whites and fold them into the smooth batter. - Step six: Frying
Heat the cast iron blini pan or other similar deep and tiny pan and brush all over with clarified butter. Keep the stove on medium-high heat. Pour about half a cup of batter into the blini pan and make sure you have enough batter that fills the bottom of the pan completely.
Let the first blini fry on the first side on medium heat until you see small air bubbles and the batter starts to solidify and is golden brown. Flip to the other side and brush the top of the blini generously with the clarified butter so that it runs on the sides to the bottom as well.
Repeat with the remaining batter. You can keep the finished blinis warm on a baking pan covered with a baking sheet in the 50°C oven until serving.
Serving
Typically blinis are served with savory toppings like sturgeon roe with a dollop of sour cream and fresh dill, or cold smoked salmon, or the way I love it with smetana, Russian soured cream, pickled cucumbers, and drizzled honey on the top. You can adjust the blini with a different filling to your liking!
Storage
Eat right away when they are still crisp. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to three days and reheat them hot for the best flavor. Leftover blini can be stored in a freezer as well for up to 3 months. When thawed, heat them extremely well and hot on a skillet or a toaster to get the fresh crispy style.
Notes
- The secret to a perfect crispy blini is in the right blini pan and clarified butter. Make sure to check out my tips on blini pan and how to use it in the post above.
- For more blini topping ideas, check the header "Serving the blinis."
- Check the header "How to tweak this recipe " in this post to find out more ways to adjust the recipe to your liking and your diet.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 132Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 72mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 7g
These calculations are generated automatically by Nutritionix based on the ingredients shown in the recipe. The nutrition information is an estimation and may include errors. All nutritional information presented and written within this site (blueteatile.com) is intended for informational purposes only. The writer is not a certified nutritionist or registered dietitian and any nutritional information should be used as a general guideline only.