Blintzes
Thin crêpes filled with sweetened cream cheese and ricotta, folded into parcels and cooked in butter until golden.
Photograph credit: Barb's Blintzes by roland · CC0 1.0 · Flickr
A blintz is two things: a crêpe and a parcel. The crêpe is thin, delicate and cooked on one side only; the parcel is formed by wrapping the filling in the pale, cooked side and then browning it in butter. The result is crisp outside, soft and creamy inside, and it is a traditional dish for the Jewish festival of Shavuot.
The batter is flour, eggs, milk, water and a pinch of salt, whisked until smooth, and then rested for 15 minutes. It should be thin, like single cream. Cook the crêpes on one side only. The cooked side faces inwards, and the raw side browns later in butter.
Pour a small ladle of batter into a hot, buttered 18 cm pan, swirl it to coat, and cook for 1 minute, until the edges lift and the surface looks dry. Turn out onto a clean cloth. Repeat to make 12.
The filling is cream cheese, ricotta, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla and lemon zest. Place a spoonful on each crêpe, fold the sides in and roll up like an envelope. Cook the parcels seam-side down in butter for 2 minutes on each side, and serve with soured cream and berry jam.
Questions About Blintzes
How long does Blintzes take to make?
25 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking, plus 15 minutes of resting, so allow 1 hour from start to finish. The recipe serves 6.
The Method for Blintzes
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Whisk the flour, eggs, milk, water, salt and melted butter until smooth. Rest for 15 minutes.
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Cook the crêpes in a hot buttered 18 cm pan, 1 minute on one side only, until the surface is dry. Turn out cooked-side up. Make 12.
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Mix the cream cheese, ricotta, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla and zest.
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Put 2 tablespoons of filling on the cooked side of each crêpe, fold in the sides and roll up.
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Melt the 40 g butter in a pan and cook the parcels seam-side down for 2 minutes on each side until golden. Serve with the soured cream and jam.
A Few Pointers
- Cook the crêpes on one side only.
- Do not overfill.
- Make the crêpes ahead and fill them later.
Serve It With
Soured cream · Berry jam · Fresh berries · Coffee
Keeping and Reheating
Filled blintzes keep in the fridge for 2 days. Brown them just before serving.
What's in a Serving
Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: where a line offers a choice of foods, only one of them is counted. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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