Chocolate Blini
This versatile pancake can be paired with anything from chocolate sauce to fruit jam or mascarpone cheese.
Makes 20 to 25 silver-dollar-sized pancakes
¼ lb. bittersweet chocolate
8 Tbsp. butter
4 eggs
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. cake flour
2 Tbsp. almond flour
Melt chocolate and butter together in a double boiler, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
Separate two of the eggs and set aside the whites. In a separate bowl, beat 2 whole eggs with 2 egg yolks and sugar until thick, pale, and doubled in volume—about 5 minutes with electric mixer. Stir in melted chocolate, then both flours.
In another large bowl, beat remaining 2 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into yolk-chocolate mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Grease a large, oven-proof pan. Heat the pan over medium heat. Add about 2 tablespoons batter to pan for each blini and cook about 30 seconds, until bubbles start to appear on surface.
Turn blini over, and cook approximately 30 to 40 seconds more.
Chocolate Sauce
Delicious ladled over the blinis, this sauce can also be infused with roasted bananas, for example, or chopped, toasted hazelnuts.
solid chocolate
heavy cream
Measure two parts cream to one part chocolate. Bring cream to a boil and pour over chopped chocolate. Gently stir with a whisk, being careful not to incorporate too much air. To infuse, add the desired ingredient to the cream after it boils. Bring it to a boil again and strain. Continue as above.
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