aunt rae’s cheese blintzes

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Aunt Rae was the best baker in the family. She was actually my double great-aunt, as she liked to say—she was Grandpa’s sister, and was married to Grandma’s brother. I adored her. Aunt Rae was the only person in our family who had a cat (or any pet) besides us.

We thought her recipies had gone with her to the next world until years later when I discovered a box stuffed with random pieces of scrap paper containing her pencil scribblings, written in every direction, with cross-outs and arrows. Many were faded but, with care, my brother and I were able to sort out, decipher, and recover these precious family heirlooms. And that included Aunt Rae’s blintzes.

So, What’s a Blintz?

Just in case you’ve never met a blintz . . . a blintz is a crepe filled with sweet cheese, seasoned mashed potato, or cooked fruit. Sometimes you’ll find a combination of fruit and cheese. The crepe is rolled around the filling, tucked in at the ends to keep the insides in, and then gently pan fried in butter on both sides until golden. Most often, they’re served with a dollop of sour cream.

I see many blintz recipes online that call for ricotta cheese. They leave me scratching my head, because, while I love ricotta, I can assure you that the generation that brought us blintzes from the old country never heard of ricotta. The closest they came to understanding Italian food was luckschen . . . egg noodles!

Blintzes were made with farmer cheese, cream cheese, sugar, and eggs.

But, if you live in an area where farmer cheese is unavailable, you may have to improvise. The texture won’t be quite the same, but all we can do is the best we can do. Lucky for me, I only have to drive three hours each way to get some farmer cheese. (And no, I’m not completely insane—I just make a point of picking some up when I’m in that part of the state for more pressing reasons.) If you substitute ricotta or cottage cheese, you’ll need to strain out the extra moisture in a strainer, overnight in the fridge.

Aunt Rae added a touch of vanilla and a touch of lemon peel to her filling. (She confided that this was her secret.)

Very avant-garde for a Jewish immigrant from the Ukraine!

Her blintzes were sweet, but not so sweet as some others. It was the lemon that helped balance the sweetness, and it added a bright note that made them shine above all others.

A great blintz filling needs a great crepe to envelope it. Aunt Rae’s were perfect—tender, delicate, and just enough egg to provide richness without making them omelet-like.    

Aunt Rae made the crepes for her blintzes on a regular frying pan, but I use this electric crepe pan from Nutrichef. It was an impulse purchase that I’ve never regretted. And I love the fact that, if you take almost any leftovers you have lounging in the fridge, roll them in a crepe, and add a sauce, you’ve suddenly got a company-worthy dinner.  

That said, I think a 12-inch crepe is too big for blintzes. I use a 1/3 cup measure to pour the batter into the center of the crepe pan and use the spreader to swirl it around, leaving about 2 inches between the edges of the crepes and the edge of the pan, all around.

Now, this is from me, not Aunt Rae . . . You know I have a penchant for painting the lily . . . Try adding a touch of rosewater or orange blossom water to the filling, and a bit of cardamom to the crepe batter. It’s amazing and really makes these stand out from the blintz crowd.

Makes 8

Crepe batter is best when made with a stand mixer, an electric hand mixer, or even a blender. Here’s a heads up before you get started—you must make the batter at least two hours in advance (overnight is fine). This way, the flour can absorb the liquid properly and any bubbles in the batter will settle out.

For the Crepes

Ingredients:

3 large eggs

1 ½ cups whole milk

2 tablespoons melted butter

½ teaspoon vanilla paste

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt 

Method:

• In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Add the milk, vanilla, and butter, and beat again to incorporate them.

• Add in the flour, salt, and sugar, and beat the batter until all is well combined and no lumps remain.

• Let the batter rest in the fridge for at least two hours, or overnight. Don’t skip this step! Stir once more before cooking.

• If you’re using an electric crepe pan, your pan may not need butter or oil. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for making crepes.

• If you’re using a regular, non-stick skillet, warm the pan over medium heat. Melt about 1 teaspoon of butter; when it starts to foam, ladle ¼  cup of batter in the center of the pan. Then, immediately lift the pan from the burner and swirl it so the batter coats the bottom of the pan. Replace the pan on the burner and cook the crepe until the batter is just set and the underside is lightly golden, about 1 minute.

• Using a spatula or your fingers, loosen the sides of the crepe and slide it on to a plate. Unlike for many other crepe preparations, do not flip the crepe to cook on the other side.

• Set the crepe on a flat plate and cover it with a tea towel to keep it warm and soft.

• Add each successive crepe to the one before it, building a stack. Make sure to cover the stack with the tea towel each time, to keep them from drying out.

• Repeat until you’ve used up all the batter.

For the Filling

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups farmer cheese*

3 ounces full fat Philadelphia cream cheese

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)

½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

dash kosher salt

butter for frying the blintzes

* If you can’t find farmer cheese, substitute ricotta or cottage cheese. If you do, scoop the cheese into a strainer, set it over a bowl, and place it in the fridge overnight to remove some of the moisture.

Method:

• Beat all ingredients together.

• To assemble the blintzes, lay one crepe out, cooked side up. Follow the guide below, using about an eighth of the filling for each one.  

  Optional: You can add other flavors—to the batter, the filling, or both if you like. Orange blossom water and rose water work exceptionally well. If you do this, try adding ¼—½ teaspoon cardamom to the crepe batter as well. Sublime!

• Basically, you’re folding an envelope. As you make each one, set it on a plate, seam side down.

• When your blintzes are all rolled, it’s time to fry them up into golden deliciousness. Warm a skillet, then add a chunk of butter. When the butter begins to sizzle, add your blintzes to the pan, seam side down. Don’t expect them to all fit in the pan at one time. You can keep the finished blintzes warm in a 200° oven until they’ve all been fried and you’re ready to serve them.

• Fry them on both sides until golden brown. Serve them hot with sour cream, and fresh berries or a fruit sauce if desired.

Did you make it? Was it fabulous?