Savoury Tuesday has come around again! Today’s offering is a twist on those classic Russian buckwheat pancakes: Blinis. These little Salmon Blini Cupcakes make perfect cocktail hour bites, and they are super simple to make. Better still, they taste even better on the second day – which means you can make them in advance!

Blinis are made with yeast, and so are these cupcakes. They also have sour cream, dill, and a little chopped smoked salmon inside. Topped with a lemony dill and salmon sour cream, they are pretty moreish! They are also gluten free – buckwheat has nothing to do with wheat!

Gluten Free Salmon Blini Cupcakes

makes 36 mini cupcakes or 12 large cupcakes

Blini Cupcakes

ingredients

200g full fat sour cream
7 g dried yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
150mL milk
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
1 egg, separated
2 tbsp finely chopped dill
60g finely chopped smoked salmon

mixing

Line mini cupcake pans with 36 cupcake cases, and spray very well with non-stick spray.  If you only have a 12 or 24 hole pan, that’s fine, you can make these in batches!

Warm the sour cream until it feels slightly warm to the touch. Stir in yeast and sugar, followed by one cup of the buckwheat flour and all the milk. Mix until smooth, then mix in the remaining buckwheat flour. Let this mixture sit in a warm place for about 45 minutes until bubbles form.

Give the mixture a stir to deflate the bubbles, then add in the melted butter, salt and egg yolk. Add the finely chopped dill and smoked salmon, and mix to combine.

Beat the egg white until stiff peaks form and fold into the mixture. Spoon about a tablespoon of batter into each cupcake case. Bake at 175 degrees Celsius for about 16 minutes or until well risen and springy to the touch. Let cool.

Dollop the cold cupcakes with the Dill Sour Cream topping and sprinkle generously with chopped dill – you could also decorate with small pieces of smoked salmon or salmon roe for an extra special look.

Dill Sour Cream Topping

ingredients

180g full fat sour cream
3 tsp finely chopped dill
3 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
30g salted butter, melted
30g sliced smoked salmon, cut into about 3mm dice

about 1/4 cup finely chopped dill, to decorate

mixing

Combine the sour cream, dill, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. Pour over the melted butter and whisk in until smooth. Stir in the smoked salmon.

Enjoy!xxx