Year: 2025

  • Buckwheat blini

    Buckwheat blini

    & all the trimmings!

    On the 16th of December, with the almost-polar night wrapped around us, the kitchen called. Buckwheat blini felt like the right kind of quiet project – batter rising under a tea towel, thinly sliced shallots steeping in vinegar and sugar.

    One by one, I spooned the mixture into the pan, watching the edges turn golden. We skipped the mustard this time, but there were avocados on the kitchen bench – perfectly ripe and just asking to be part of it all. A dollop of smetana, a slice of smoked salmon, tangy pickled shallots, and a generous squeeze of lemon brought it all together.

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    Buckwheat blini

    Fluffy, nutty buckwheat blini with tangy pickled shallots, creamy smetana, and silky smoked salmon – a dish that feels both indulgent and comforting. Perfect for special occasions, an elegant fika, or even a relaxed weekday dinner. On school nights, I like to serve it buffet-style: a platter of blini, a jar of smetana, and smoked salmon arranged on my favourite plate. Everything in the centre of the table, ready for the three of us to assemble their own.

    Notes

    I’m partial to my plättlägg when making blini. It’s a Swedish pancake pan with shallow indentations, perfect for creating evenly sized, golden rounds that hold their shape beautifully. It’s traditionally used for plättar – small Swedish pancakes – but works wonderfully for blini, too. If you don’t have one, a non-stick frying pan will do just fine.
    Author: Fanny Zanotti
    Prep Time30 minutes
    Cook Time20 minutes
    Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
    Makes 30 blini

    Ingredients

    For the blini

    • 25 g fresh yeast
    • 3 dl whole milk
    • 75 g buckwheat flour
    • 120 g plain flour
    • 2 eggs separated
    • a pinch of flaky sea salt
    • 50 g salted butter melted

    For the pickled shallots

    • 2 shallots peeled and thinly sliced
    • 50 ml distilled vinegar [12%]
    • 90 g caster sugar
    • 150 ml water

    Toppings

    • smetana
    • wholegrain mustard
    • smoked salmon sliced
    • fresh dill to garnish
    • avocado
    • lemon sliced into wedges

    Instructions

    Pickled shallots:

    • Combine the vinegar, sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, then set aside to cool.
    • Add the sliced shallots to the cooled liquid and leave to pickle while you prepare the blini batter.

    Blini:

    • Crumble the yeast into a large mixing bowl. Warm the milk to 30°C and pour it over the yeast, stirring until dissolved.
    • Gradually whisk in the buckwheat flour and plain flour until the batter is smooth.
    • Separate the eggs, reserving the whites. Beat the yolks and salt into the batter. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 30-40 minutes.
    • Melt the butter and whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Stir the melted butter into the batter, then gently fold in the whisked egg whites.
    • Heat a blini or non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a little butter. Spoon small amounts of batter into the pan to form individual blini. Cook until golden on both sides.

    To serve

    • Place a dollop of smetana on each blini, followed by a slice of smoked salmon and a few rings of pickled shallots. Garnish with fresh dill and lemon juice. Some freshly crushed black pepper or grated horseradish is a favourite too!
    • Serve immediately.

  • Chez Ma Tante’s pancakes

    Chez Ma Tante’s pancakes

    I’ve always been fascinated by fluffy American-style pancakes, perhaps because I didn’t grow up on them. In my childhood, pancakes, crêpes, really, were thin and delicate, the kind you’d fold into four with sugar and lemon or jam from my grand-mère’s wooden cabinet in the garage. The golden, towering stacks always felt like something from a storybook – indulgent, almost impossibly decadent.

    I already have two favourite recipes. One is a buttermilk classic by the great Marion Cunningham, who knew her way around the simplicity of breakfast like no one else. Her recipe reads like a letter from a friend, gently nudging you towards the joy of the everyday. The other is a five-minute wonder, a batter I can whisk together with my eyes closed on mornings when hunger wins over patience.

    And yet, when I stumbled upon Chez Ma Tante’s recipe one morning, I couldn’t resist. It felt like an invitation to try something new. The batter is looser than both of my regular recipes, and the results are ever so wonderful: a light and airy crumb with edges that cook to crisp, caramelised perfection.

    The original recipe calls for a full cup of clarified butter for cooking, but I couldn’t quite commit. A couple of tablespoons did the trick, yielding pancakes that were delicate yet indulgent. I had mine plain, marvelling at the texture and buttery caramelisation, but I can only imagine how they’d taste with a drizzle of maple syrup and a pat of butter melting into every crevice.

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    Chez Ma Tante’s pancakes

    Adapted from the New York Times.
    This is a recipe that doesn’t ask much but rewards you with pancakes that feel a little extraordinary. Perhaps it won’t replace my tried-and-true favourites, but it’s found its place – for mornings when I want pancakes that are both simple and a little special.
    The method is straightforward but with its own charm: sugar, salt, and a surprising 2 ½ tablespoons of baking powder whisked directly into an egg and yolk, before alternating in the milk and flour, finishing with melted butter.
    Serve them plain or with maple syrup and a pat of butter, and you’ll understand why this recipe deserves a spot in your morning repertoire.

    Notes

    On butter and cooking the pancakes:
    Chef Jake Leiber cooks his pancakes in a whole cup of clarified butter, but I prefer a simpler approach. I slice a generous piece of salted butter and stick it to the tines of a fork, using it to butter my cast-iron pan as I go. The butter browns gently, leaving the edges dark, crisp, and delightfully salty.
    On cast-iron:
    When it comes to pancakes, I always reach for my cast iron pan. Preheated over medium-high heat for 5-8 minutes to ensure an even surface, then lowered to medium-low for cooking, it produces pancakes with a light and airy crumb and caramelised edges that crackle under the fork.
    Author: Fanny Zanotti
    Prep Time15 minutes
    Cook Time20 minutes
    Makes 6 large pancakes

    Ingredients

    • 1 egg
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 2 ½ tablespoons 35 g baking powder
    • 2 tablespoons 25 g caster sugar
    • 1 teaspoon 5 g flaky sea salt
    • 300 ml whole milk
    • 130 g plain flour
    • 30 g salted butter melted
    • 60 g cold salted butter for cooking

    Instructions

    • Pre-heat your cast-iron pan on medium-high heat for at least 5 minutes, then reduce to medium-low.
    • In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
    • Gradually add the the milk and flour in alternating turns, whisking gently until a lumpy batter forms – do not overmix the batter. Finally, whisk in the 30g of melted butter.
    • Stick the cold butter to the tines of a fork and use it to butter you pan – it should start foaming and sizzling. Pour about 100 ml of batter for each pancake, letting it spread naturally.
    • Cook for about 1 1/2-2 minutes, or until golden brown with crisp edges, then flip and cook for another 1 minute or so on the other side.
    • Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter to the pan as needed. Serve warm with extra butter and maple syrup.

  • Saffranskladdkaka

    Saffranskladdkaka

    [Swedish saffron blondies]

    Snipp, snapp, snut – så var julen slut. Christmas has come and gone, and I never got around to sharing this recipe.

    We always celebrate the coming Advent early – often already in November. We call it novent. Candles in the windows, the first cups of glögg, something saffron-scented in the oven.

    Usually, it’s Birgitta’s saffranskaka – the one with plump raisins just so, and grated marzipan folded into the batter. But this year, we tried something new.

    A golden, delicate saffranskladdkaka, its edges just set while the centre stays soft. A new tradition for the years to come, perhaps?

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    Swedish saffron blondies

    A new saffron cake might just claim a spot among our Advent traditions. Made in one pot, it goes from cupboard to oven in just ten minutes.
    Saffranskladdkaka [literally, saffron sticky cake, a kind of saffron blondies]. Spectacular in thin wedges, served with a generous spoonful of vanilla custard and slices of clementine.
    Author: Fanny Zanotti
    Prep Time10 minutes
    Cook Time25 minutes
    Total Time4 hours 35 minutes
    Makes 16 thin slices

    Ingredients

    • 225 g salted butter
    • 1 g ground saffron threads
    • 300 g good quality white chocolate I like Callebaut or Valrhona
    • 270 g caster sugar
    • 3 tsp vanilla sugar
    • a pinch of salt
    • 4 eggs
    • 180 g plain flour

    Some favourite toppings

    • vanilla custard
    • clémentine slices
    • loosely whipped cream
    • fresh raspberries
    • icing sugar

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 175°C/fan 160°C. Butter a 22cm tin and line its bottom with baking paper.
    • Melt the butter in a pan set over medium heat, and add the saffron, stirring well.
    • Off the heat, mix in the white chocolate, and stir using a silicon spatula until fully melted.
    • Now whisk in the sugars, salt, and the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
    • Add the flour, and mix until just combined.
    • Pour the batter in the prepared tin, and bake for 30 minutes – the edges should be set, while the middle remains wobbly.
    • Let the cake cool completely in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, before serving.
    • Serve the cake in thin wedges, with a generous spoonful of custard and sliced clémentines, or perhaps with loosely-whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Even sometimes, only a light dusting of icing sugar is enough.