Champagne nibbles selection: blinis, Gruyère gougères and mini crab cakes

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the blini batter: sift plain flour and baking powder into a bowl. Whisk in 200 ml whole milk, 1 free-range egg and 20 g melted unsalted butter until smooth. Season with a pinch of sea salt and a little freshly ground black pepper. Leave to rest for 5 minutes while you heat the pan.

2. 2

   Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and add a little unsalted butter or neutral oil. Spoon 12 small blinis (about 2 tbsp batter each) into the pan and cook each batch for about 90 seconds on the first side, then 60–90 seconds on the second side until puffed and pale golden. Keep blinis warm in a low oven (100°C fan/120°C conventional) if needed and repeat until all batter is used.

3. 3

   Make the gougères choux: preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C conventional. In a small saucepan combine 125 ml whole milk, 60 ml water and 60 g unsalted butter with a pinch of sea salt and bring to a rolling boil. Remove from the heat, add 75 g plain flour all at once and stir vigorously for 1–2 minutes until the mix forms a smooth paste and a skin forms on the base of the pan.

4. 4

   Beat the paste in a bowl to cool briefly, then beat in 2 free-range eggs one at a time until glossy and pipeable. Fold in the grated Gruyère cheese and season with freshly ground black pepper.

5. 5

   Pipe or spoon walnut-sized mounds of the choux onto a lined baking tray, leaving space between each. Bake on the middle shelf for 20–25 minutes until well risen and deeply golden. Do not open the oven in the first 15 minutes. When baked, transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly.

6. 6

   Make the crab cake mix: in a bowl combine tinned white crab meat, 50 g plain breadcrumbs, 1 free-range egg, 25 g mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, finely sliced spring onion and chopped flat-leaf parsley. Add the juice of half a lemon, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix gently so you keep lumps of crab intact. Dust a board with a little plain flour and form the mixture into six small cakes.

7. 7

   Chill the crab cakes on a tray for 30 minutes to firm up before cooking.

8. 8

   Fry the crab cakes in a frying pan over medium heat with enough olive oil to shallow-fry; cook 2–3 minutes per side until golden and warmed through. Drain briefly on kitchen paper.

9. 9

   Make the lemon aioli: stir together the remaining mayonnaise, juice of the other half lemon, crushed fresh garlic clove and a pinch of sea salt. Taste and adjust lemon and salt.

10. 10

    Assemble to serve: top each blini with a small spoon of crème fraîche, a little lemon zest and a sprig of fresh dill. Serve warm gougères straight from the rack. Plate mini crab cakes with a smear of lemon aioli and a scatter of chopped flat-leaf parsley. Offer extra lemon wedges.

Tips

• Make the crab cakes ahead and chill — that firming-up step is what keeps them intact when fried.
• For even gougères, pipe the choux with a piping bag or a spoon and knock the tray on the work surface to settle the mounds before baking.
• If the blini batter seems thick after resting, whisk in a splash more milk to keep them light and tender.
• Warm the gougères just before serving in a hot oven (5 minutes at 180°C fan/200°C conventional) to refresh them.
• Use a light hand when folding crab meat into the mix so you retain pleasant lumps of crab rather than a paste.

Substitutions

• tinned white crab meat → cooked, peeled prawns (200 g), chopped

  Stays close

• Gruyère cheese → Comté or mature cheddar (same 100 g)

  Stays close

• mayonnaise → Greek-style yoghurt for a lighter aioli (use 100 g instead of 115 g, slightly tangier)

  Noticeably different

• plain breadcrumbs → panko breadcrumbs (same 50 g) for extra crunch

  Stays close

Nutrition

Per serving · estimated

680

Calories

22 g

Protein

38 g

Carbs

49 g

Fat

4 g

Fibre

4 g

Sugar

650 mg

Sodium

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