Blini with caviar and sour cream (Bliny s ikroy)

1. Warm half the milk to lukewarm, dissolve the yeast and sugar in it, stir in the wheat and buckwheat flours, cover and leave in a warm place for 1 hour until bubbly.

2. Stir in the egg yolks, salt, 2 tablespoons of melted butter and the rest of the lukewarm milk to make a batter as thick as cream; leave to rise for another 30 minutes.

3. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold them gently into the batter – this makes the blini light and spongy.

4. Lightly butter a small frying pan (or blini pan) and fry 8-10 cm pancakes by the tablespoon over medium heat until the tops are bubbly and the undersides golden, then flip and cook for another minute.

5. Brush the finished blini with a little melted butter and keep them warm stacked under a tea towel.

6. Serve warm: top each with a spoonful of sour cream, a teaspoon of roe and a sprig of dill. Instead of real sturgeon caviar we use salmon or trout roe.

Tip: The round, golden blin is the symbol of the Russian Maslenitsa (Butter Week) and represents the sun; buckwheat flour gives it its characteristic, slightly nutty taste.