With Shavuot (19th to 21st May) just around the corner, JLife heads to the kitchen cupboard and pulls out a recipe to celebrate all that’s great about dairy desserts.
It’s spring, which means it’s time for Shavuot, when kitchens are filled with eager bakers and a delicious selection of dairy foods. Cheesecake is often the most popular pudding pick, but this year JLife is marking the holiday with a sweet and creamy blintz creation instead. Pick up your whisk and get cooking!
Flippin’ Good
We’ve snaffled this classic recipe for cheese blintzes with berry compote from food writer Anne Shooter’s latest cookbook, Cherish, published by Headline Home. Ideal for breakfast, brunch or dessert, these light crepe style filled pancakes are quick and easy to whip up and will be a hit with all the family – just make sure they save you some! Tip: You can make them the day before and fry just before serving.
INGREDIENTS
For the blintzes:
100g plain flour
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 eggs
100ml milk
100ml water
Sunflower oil (or other flavourless oil)
Butter
For the filling:
250g ricotta
50g full-fat cream cheese
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Grated zest of 1 lemon
A pinch of salt
For the compote:
400g frozen mixed berries
60g caster sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Sour cream to serve (optional)
TO PREPARE…
1.To make the batter, simply pop all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and whizz to a smooth batter.
2.Or, to make them by hand, start by putting the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl, mix together and make a well in the centre.
3.Then mix together the eggs, milk, water and two teaspoons of oil in a jug and pour slowly into the well. Use a wooden spoon to stir, gradually bringing in the flour from the sides, to create a smooth batter.
4.Once made, pour the batter into a jug and set aside for 30 minutes, or put in the fridge overnight.
TO MAKE THE BLINTZES:
1.Blend all the ingredients for the filling in a food processor or blender, or use a handheld electric whisk, and set aside.
2.For the compote, put the ingredients into a small pan set over a medium heat for around five minutes, until the berries start to collapse.
3.To cook the blintz, put a teaspoon of oil into a 15cm non-stick pan over a medium heat. You can use another size but this is the perfect size for blintzes.
4.Wipe the oil over the base of the pan with kitchen paper, then add a knob of butter.
5.When it is foaming, use a ladle to pour just enough batter into the pan to coat the base. You can make the layer quite thick but as soon as it starts to set, pour any excess batter that has not set back into the bowl – this way you will get super-thin pancakes.
6.As soon as the pancake starts to curl up from the sides of the pan and turn brown, turn it on to a plate and cover with a piece of greaseproof paper. You are only cooking one side of it at this stage. Continue until you have about eight pancakes.
7. To fill, put a pancake, cooked-side up, on a board and spread a tablespoon of filling along the bottom half.
8.Fold the bottom of the pancake up, fold in the sides, and fold over into a parcel. Repeat with all the pancakes and filling. The filled blintzes can be chilled in the fridge overnight at this point.
9.When ready to cook, heat a good knob of butter and two teaspoons of sunflower oil in a large frying pan. Put in the blintzes and fry on both sides until golden brown. You can keep them warm in a low oven for up to 15 minutes.
10.Serve with the compote and sour cream.
Photo: Emma Lee