Here is an alternative quickie batter for blins for when time is scarce, as genuine Russian blin batter normally takes hours to prepare.

If you have more time, try making proper Russian blins.

200 g Finnish curd cream (kermaviili), sour cream or crème fraîche
3 eggs
100 ml coarse wheat flour
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
butter or clarified butter

clarified butter
smetana
finely chopped onion
diced Russian-type gherkins
chopped hard-boiled eggs
mushroom salad and/or pickled mushrooms
roe of salmon ("red caviar"), rainbow trout, whitefish, vendace, burbot, etc, or black caviar
gravlax or/and cold-smoked salmon in thin slices
pickled or marinated herring in mustard, dill or sour cream sauce
smoked Baltic herring
smoked reindeer roast, thinly sliced or finely chopped
chopped fresh dill
lemon wedges

Pour the kermaviili or sour cream in a bowl. Separate the egg yolks and whites and stir the yolks in the cream. Add the flour little at a time, stirring vigorously to prevent the forming of lumps. Cover the bowl and let stand for a minimum of 1 hour. The batter will keep refrigerated for a couple of days, only remember to cover and refrigerate the separated egg whites as well.

As you prepare to fry the blins, beat the egg whites until stiff. Season the batter with a pinch of salt and sugar and gently fold in the whipped egg whites. Heat one or several blin pans or a pancake pan on medium-high heat. Add a large knob of butter, letting it melt and cover the rounds of the pancake pan or the bottom(s) of the blin pan(s). Ideally, one should use clarified butter in cooking of blins.

Pour or spoon a thickish layer or batter in each round or blin pan and cook slowly until the blin is nicely browned underneath and firm enough to be flipped over. Lower the heat if the blins brown too quickly during cooking. Cook the other side and serve immediately.

When eating, first pour melted or clarified butter on the blin and cover it with different combinations of the ingredients mentioned above, or with whatever topping you may like. Popular accompaniments for blins are melted or clarified butter, smetana or sour cream, chopped hard-boiled eggs, various salted fish roes, caviars and pickled or smoked fish, like herring and smoked salmon.

Recipe source: family recipe.