Blinis

Method

1. Place the yeast in the lukewarm water and mix with a fork; leave for 10 minutes until the yeast froths up.

2. Put the plain flour into a large, warm bowl with half the buckwheat flour. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture. Add 300ml of lukewarm milk and beat to a smooth batter. Leave for 3 hours, covered, in a warm place.

3. After 3 hours, stir in the rest of the buckwheat flour, and leave again for 2 hours.

4. Beat the egg yolks, sugar, salt, sour cream and 3 scant tbsp of melted butter. Add to the batter, mixing well.

5. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the batter. Leave for 30 minutes.

6. Heat the rest of the melted butter in a frypan. Pour 2 tablespoons of batter for each blini, being careful to now overcrowd the pan, otherwise the batters will pour into each other. When bubbles begin to appear on the upper side of the blini, carefully flip them over, and cook until lightly golden, around 2 minutes.

7. Serve each blini with a teaspoon of sour cream, a slither of smoked salmon and half a teaspoon of salmon roe on top. Top with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper.