Growing up in the middle of Alabama did not encourage too much cross-cultural eating. On the weekends, my mother served country ham biscuits, breakfast casserole, and cheesy stone-ground grits (sometimes all at the same time!). Back then I'd never heard of migas or scrapple, congee or crêpes. I'd certainly never heard of a blintz, and boy was this Southern girl missing out!
The blintz (which is only one name for it) originated in central Europe -- around Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia -- however, countless renditions of stuffed and folded "pancakes" have been eaten around the world for centuries. And after you taste them, it's easy to see why. What's not to like: a paper thin blanket of flour and eggs wrapped around a silky vanilla-ricotta filling, which are then baked or fried, and finally dusted with powdered sugar and a drizzle of fresh fruit syrup.
Of course there are countless different fillings that can be used, from sweet to savory and everything in between. I've seen blintz recipes containing cottage cheese, farmer's cheese, mascarpone, cream cheese, and creme fraiche. You can top them with lingonberry jam, mixed berry compote, or nothing at all. Of course, I've taken some liberties with this version that I think you'll enjoy. (I know I did.) Tender "crepes," vanilla bean-spiked ricotta, and a fresh cherry glaze just might make it worth getting out of bed on the weekends.
If you grew up eating blintzes, I'd love to know how yours were made. Do share!
Ricotta Blintzes with Fresh Cherry Sauce
Serves 4-6For the crêpes:
4 large eggs
1 cup (4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup whole or 2% milk
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
For the filling:
1 (15 ounce) container low-fat or whole milk ricotta
1 (4 ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg
2 heaping tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste
Pinch of kosher salt
For the sauce:
1 pound (16 ounces) stemmed, pitted cherries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Pinch of kosher salt
Confectioners' sugar, to serve
To make the crêpes, combine the eggs, flour, milk, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, and salt in a blender and process until the batter is smooth and slightly foamy, 10-15 seconds. Set aside for 30 minutes to an hour, or refrigerate overnight. Strain the batter through a fine mesh sieve into another bowl and whisk in the melted butter.
Lightly coat a medium (8- to 10-inch) nonstick skillet or crêpe pan with unsalted butter and set over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, pour 1/4 cup of batter into the skillet. Swirl the pan to evenly coat the bottom and sides, continuing to rotate until the batter is no longer runny. Set the pan back on the stovetop and cook until the bottom of the crêpe is light golden brown, about one minute. Using a silicone spatula, flip the crêpe and continue to cook until done, about 15-30 seconds more. Continue with the remaining batter. (Makes 8 crêpes.)
For the filling, pre-heat oven to 350°F. Combine the ricotta, cream cheese, egg, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer (or using an electric hand mixer) and cream until well combined.
Spread 2-3 tablespoons of filling down the center of a crêpe. Fold in two opposite ends, then fold in edges to make a neat package. Place seam side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet and continue filling remaining crêpes. Bake blintzes until filling is hot, about 20 minutes. (The blintzes can also be sautéed in butter or deep-fried in oil.)
For the sauce, combine the cherries, water, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for another 5-8 minutes until desired thickness is reached. Pour sauce over crêpes and top each with a generous amount of confectioners' sugar.
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This looks amazing. But where to find fresh cherries this time of year??
My grandmother (who lives in Odessa, the Ukraine), always makes them either with farmer's cheese ('tvorog') and golden raisins, or with red caviar. Both are delectable, with unbelievably silky blinis. I have yet to attempt a wheat-free version (since I recently discovered...ahem, rather, acknowledged) a gluten intolerance, but a grain-free blintz is high on my to-do list.
Could these be prepared up to the point of baking and refrigerated, then baked the next morning? Would love to make these for the Friday morning breakfast club at the office.
@Connie B I don't know about these blini specifically but my grandmother, who uses cottage cheese as her basis, regularly puts together hers and then freezes them, and then throws them directly into the oven when she's ready to eat! We haven't ever noticed a problem - although perhaps that's because they disappear so quickly!
I'm really loving "Breakfast week"!
Keep good ideas coming.
Where do you get fresh cherries this time of year?
My mom would make blintz souffle. Soooo good! I think she used the recipe right off the box of frozen blintzes -
3 eggs
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tablespoons sugar
Arrange frozen blintzs in a casserole dish, wisk the soffle ingredients together and pour over the blintzs. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 for 35 minutes, or until the souffle is set and has a thin golden crust.
This was great with the store bought blintzs - I imagine it would be super tasty with homemade ones.
These look delicious but I wish you had suggested a more seasonal topping. Pitted fresh cherries on March 7th just annoy me.
Agree on the fresh cherry thing, but the frozen type available at Whole Foods would be perfect for this kind of recipe. You might not even need extra sugar.
Hi everyone, sorry about the fresh cherries in March annoyance. Truth is, I've had a few recipe development projects going on, and I ended up with a whole pound of extra (out of season) cherries in my fridge. While normally I would feel guilty, I would've felt even more guilty if they'd gone to waste! I hope you guys understand ;)
Now to the point: this recipe will work perfectly with frozen cherries, or any other fresh or frozen berries for that matter. The sky is the limit, just be sure to adjust the sugar amount to taste. Also, feel free to refrigerate the filled blintzes before baking. Or just make the crepes in advance, as they freeze beautifully!
For those looking for a non-fresh cherry option (yeah, not so available right here either), cranberry sauce is really fantastic on these, just pick up a bag of cranberries, fresh or frozen, and follow the recipe on the bag.
This of course means blintzes are a great option for using up leftover cranberry sauce around Thanksgiving, in fact we've made it an annual tradition the day after Thanksgiving! I fot the original idea and recipe here, a blog I really enjoy:
http://www.macheesmo.com/2009/11/cranberry-cheese-blintzes/
@JMooney, My mom totally did that too, and it's AMAZING. We serve it with fresh berries, applesauce and cinnamon, although I generally prefer to just drown mine in applesauce :)
I worked for a chef who sold food wholesale and she taught me to make blintzes. We served them with a sauce made from frozen raspberries and sugar. If I remember correctly we thawed the raspberries and cooked them with sugar until they cooked down a bit and then strained out the seeds. It was really fresh tasting and delicious.
The one thing I really remember is that she insisted that the batter be left undisturbed overnight so any bubbles could rise and dissipate.
Mmmm...blintzes.
we roll ours (sort of like manicotti), stuffed with quark and apricot (or mirabelle plum if in season) filling, and placed in a well-buttered casserole, sprinkle with sugar and bake until slightly brown and the filling puffs. that souffle version sounds yummy, too!
I love the fact these can be frozen!!! Try them with pizza fillings, just the cheese and the pepperoni, YUM! With fresh spinach is another good one, chicken is good too. Really these things can be filled with just about anything. YUM!!
Our batter is similar to yours, without the addition of sugar and baking powder. For the filling we chop tiny sultanas and fold them into 'lor' which is the Turkish name for Ricotta chese with a drop of valilla paste/extract. We roll our blinis like burritos and then cut them into 1.5 inch slices and grill in a pan brushed with freh butter.
My Mom used to serve these with homemade chunky applesauce.
OMG! These are stunning and sound delicious! Plus your crepes look perfect. I will definitely be trying these and a nice addition to the table for the breaking of the fast on Yom Kippur.
I grew up eating blintzes every Saturday morning! For filling we always used one 8 oz. package of softened cream cheese mixed with 16 oz of dry curd cottage cheese, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 egg yolks, 2 tbsp softened butter and 1/8 to 1/4 c. sugar. We would cook the blintzes on the stove making sure to get the inside warm by putting a lid over the skillet while it was cooking. Powdered sugar and cinnamon were the most popular toppings. I've made these blintzes for several of my friends (some who are very picky) and they are always a hit. I have also discovered that I can freeze uncooked leftovers and fry on the stove after I have defrosted them a bit in the microwave.
You could always used canned cherries. Also, the recipe says 1 cup of flour (4oz.) isn't a cup 8 oz?
These were fantastic! I added some cottage cheese to the filling and used a bit of mascarpone instead of cream cheese. I topped them with homemade peach jam :)
My mom always made a blintz casserole that, knowing her, is much easier to make and still has the blintz vibe. I love blintzes!