Gluten-free buckwheat blini topped with sour cream and chopped fresh fruit

Gluten-Free Buckwheat Blini with Fresh Fruit

Name: Gluten-Free Buckwheat Blini with Fresh Fruit
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 3 blini
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups Pamela's Gluten-Free Pancake & Baking Mix; 1/4 cup certified gluten-free buckwheat flour; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 large egg; 2 tablespoons oil; 1 3/4 cups milk; 1/2 cup cream sherry, dark and sweet, for the sauce; 1/4 cup honey, for the sauce; 2 nectarines, finely chopped; 1/2 pint blueberries, small preferred; 1 cup pitted cherries, finely chopped; 1/2 cup sour cream or vegan sour cream, for serving; 2 persimmons, finely chopped (alternative topping); 1 cup pomegranate seeds (alternative topping)

on Sep 25 2025

Table of Contents

Blini are small pancakes, three inches across, served as something to put other things on. These use buckwheat flour alongside Pamela's Pancake & Baking Mix, which gives them a faintly earthy, nutty flavor that stands up to a topping.

The fruit version here treats chopped nectarines, blueberries, and cherries as a sweet caviar, with a reduced sherry sauce over the top.

They take about fifteen minutes and they are a genuinely good thing to put out when people arrive.

So good, no one will guess they are gluten-free, the way Pamela's has done it since 1988.

Keep the Batter Thin

Blini batter is looser than pancake batter, and it needs to stay that way.

Whisk until completely smooth with no lumps. Unlike a wheat batter, where overmixing toughens things, a gluten-free batter benefits from being fully combined.

The batter thickens as you work through it, since the flours keep absorbing liquid. Add a little more milk as you go to keep it pouring the same way it did at the start.

Test the first one. Griddle temperature matters more than anything else here, and the first blini tells you whether you are too hot or too cold.

Flip when bubbles have appeared over most of the surface and the edges look cooked.

Buckwheat Is Not Wheat

The name confuses people every time.

Buckwheat is not related to wheat at all. It is a seed, not a grain, and it is naturally gluten-free. It is traditional in blini and it is what gives them their colour and their flavour.

Buy buckwheat flour that is certified gluten-free, since it is often milled alongside wheat.

The mix these are built on Pamela's Gluten-Free Pancake & Baking Mix A complete baking mix with the leavening and salt included. GFCO-certified.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Yield 24

Serving Size 3 blini

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Pamela's Gluten-Free Pancake & Baking Mix
1/4 cup certified gluten-free buckwheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2 tablespoons oil
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup cream sherry, dark and sweet, for the sauce
1/4 cup honey, for the sauce
2 nectarines, finely chopped
1/2 pint blueberries, small preferred
1 cup pitted cherries, finely chopped
1/2 cup sour cream or vegan sour cream, for serving
2 persimmons, finely chopped (alternative topping)
1 cup pomegranate seeds (alternative topping)

Shop Gluten-Free Pancake & Baking Mix, 24 oz.

Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the Pancake & Baking Mix, buckwheat flour, and salt.
In a smaller bowl, whisk the egg, then add the oil and milk and whisk to combine.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until completely smooth with no lumps.
Heat a nonstick pan or griddle to medium and brush lightly with oil. Make small 3-inch pancakes, testing the first one to check the griddle temperature.
Flip when bubbles have appeared over most of the surface and the edges are cooked. Adjust the batter with a little more milk if it thickens as you work.
For the sauce, simmer the cream sherry and honey together until slightly reduced. Let cool.
Toss the chopped nectarines, blueberries, and cherries together.
Serve the blini topped with sour cream, the fruit, and a drizzle of the sherry sauce.

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Gluten-Free Pancake & Baking Mix, 24 oz.

One mix, a whole recipe box

Pancakes are just the beginning. This is the mix behind our most-loved waffles, banana bread, blueberry muffins, drop biscuits, crepes, and coffee cake. If you keep one gluten-free mix in the pantry, this is the one that earns its shelf space.

Also your waffle mix

The waffle recipe is printed right on the bag: separate the eggs, whip the whites, and fold them into the batter for waffles that bake up crisp outside and tender inside. Want extra crunch? Leave them in the iron a little longer.

Why it works

Cultured buttermilk gives a tender crumb, almond meal adds richness, and whole grains bring flavor most gluten-free mixes leave behind. It all started in Pamela's own Northern California kitchen in 1988, and it's still the #1 gluten-free pancake mix.

Brown Rice Flour, White Rice Flour, Cultured Buttermilk, Almond Meal, Tapioca Starch, Sweet Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Baking Powder (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Potato Starch, Sodium Bicarbonate), Baking Soda, Sea Salt, Xanthan Gum.

Contains Milk and Almonds.

Pamela's Products are manufactured in a Gluten-Free Certified Facility and peanut-free facility. Our products are produced on equipment that processes Tree Nuts, Coconut, Eggs, and Soy.

Recipe Tips & Notes

Serving and Make-Ahead

Blini are best warm and freshly made, but they hold better than most pancakes.

Make them up to 2 hours ahead and keep them in a low oven, loosely covered, at around 200 degrees F.

The fruit and the sauce can both be made the day before and refrigerated. Bring the sauce back to room temperature before serving.

Leftover blini keep 2 days refrigerated and reheat in a dry pan in about a minute a side.

Do not mix the batter ahead. The leavening in the mix activates as soon as the wet ingredients go in.

Other Toppings

Use whatever fruit is in season. That is the point of the recipe, and the flavour is always better for it.

Persimmon and pomegranate make a good winter version, which is also the prettier one.

Skip the sauce entirely and serve with fruit and sour cream. It loses very little.

Savoury blini are traditional. Leave the honey out of the batter equation, and top with creme fraiche and smoked salmon or a spoonful of caviar.

Lemon zest in the sour cream, which lifts everything.

What These Contain

This recipe contains milk and tree nuts.

Pamela's Pancake & Baking Mix contains almond meal and cultured buttermilk, so it cannot be made nut-free or dairy-free.

The mix is also made on equipment that processes soy.

Everything from Pamela's is certified by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization and made in a certified gluten-free, peanut-free facility.

Recipe FAQs

Yes. Buckwheat is not related to wheat at all. It is a seed rather than a grain and it contains no gluten. Buy buckwheat flour that is certified gluten-free, since it is often milled alongside wheat.

Small pancakes, about three inches across, traditionally made with buckwheat and served as a base for toppings. They are a party food more than a breakfast, and they work with both sweet and savoury toppings.

The flours keep absorbing liquid as the batter sits. Add a little more milk as you work through the batch to keep it pouring the same way it did at the start.

The blini yes, up to 2 hours, held in a low oven loosely covered. The fruit and sauce can be made the day before. Do not mix the batter ahead, since the leavening activates as soon as the wet ingredients go in.

Yes, and it is traditional. Leave the sweet toppings aside and serve with creme fraiche and smoked salmon, or a spoonful of caviar. The buckwheat flavour suits savoury better than sweet, if anything.