Cheese Blintzes with Cherry Sauce (Blinchiki)

Cheese Blintzes with Cherry Sauce (Blinchiki)
Yield
8servings
Yield
8servings
Cheese Blintzes with Cherry Sauce (Blinchiki)
Yield
8servings
Yield
8servings
Ingredients
For the Crêpes:
  • 1cup flour
  • 1cup milk
  • 6tablespoons water
  • 2large egg
  • 3tablespoons buttermelted, plus more for cooking crêpes
  • 2tablespoons sugar
  • 1teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4teaspoon coarse salt
For the Filling:
  • 16ounces farmer’s cheeseor softened cream cheese about 2 cups
  • 1/4cup cream
  • 3tablespoons sugar
  • 2tablespoons buttermelted and cooled
  • 1teaspoon vanilla
For the Cherry Sauce:
  • 1/4cup sugar
  • 2 1/2teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1/4teaspoon coarse salt
  • 24ounces cherriesMorello
  • 1/4cup dry red wine
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • almond extract
  • 2tablespoons butterfor cooking the filled blintzes
  • a/n confectioners sugarfor dusting
Yield:
Instructions
For the Crêpes:
  1. Place all the ingredients for the crepe batter in a blender and combine, or whisk all the ingredients together.
  2. Refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 2 days.
For the Filling:
  1. Combine all the filling ingredients together in a bowl.
  2. Cover and refrigerate.
For the Sauce:
  1. Stir the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium saucepan.
  2. Whisk in the reserved cherry juice and wine.
  3. Add the cinnamon stick and cook over medium-high heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture simmers and thickens, 3 to 5 minutes.
  4. Discard the cinnamon stick.
  5. Stir in the cherries and a drop of almond extract and return to a brief simmer; cover to keep warm and set aside.
Making the Crêpes:
  1. Using a pastry brush, brush the bottom and sides of a 6 to 8-inch nonstick skillet (or crêpe pan) very lightly with melted butter.
  2. Gently stir the batter to recombine.
  3. When the butter stops sizzling, remove the pan from the heat, tilt the pan slightly and pour 2 1/2 tablespoons of the batter (fill a 1/4 cup measuring cup a little past 1/2 full) into the pan.
  4. As you pour the batter, rotate the pan to swirl the batter evenly over the face of the pan before returning it to the heat.
  5. Cook the crêpe until the first side is spotty golden brown, 30 to 60 seconds.
  6. Use a thin spatula to flip the crêpe and continue to cook until the second side is just set, but not brown, about 15 seconds longer.
  7. Transfer the crêpe to a parchment paper-lined plate and let cool.
  8. Repeat with the remaining batter, brushing the pan with butter as needed. (Stack the crêpes on top of each other as you make them.)
  9. Working with 1 crêpe at a time, spoon 1 generous tablespoon of the cheese filling over the browned side and fold the two sides in followed by the top and bottom.
To Finish:
  1. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat.
  2. Add half of the blintzes and cook until the first side is golden brown, about 1 minute.
  3. Gently flip the blintzes over and continue to cook until the second size is golden brown, about 1 minute longer.
  4. Transfer the browned blintzes to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
  5. Repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and unbrowned blintzes.
  6. Reheat the cherry sauce over medium heat if necessary.
  7. Dust the warm blintzes confectioner's sugar, spoon some of the cherry over the top, and serve, passing the remaining sauce separately.