5/10/2012

Baked Cheese Blintzes with Fresh Blueberry Sauce

Pin It


Raise your hand if you love Ina Garten.  My hand is raised.  She loves her husband deeply, she loves to entertain family and friends with simplicity and style, and her recipes are wonderful!  One of Ina's favorite meals to host is breakfast/brunch.   With Mother's Day brunch menus on many of your minds, I wanted to share a stress-free recipe for a gathering of people.  

Making pancakes and eggs for a family of five is something I enjoy on a regular basis, but who wants to get up in the morning and start being a short order cook for a crowd of people?  Not Ina and certainly not me.  Here is a recipe of hers that includes all the flavors of a traditional cheese blintz without the fuss of making individual rolled blintzes.  Wanting to stick with a more traditional cheese filling, I used cottage cheese and cream cheese in lieu of the ricotta and mascarpone.  To make sure the filling is extra smooth and creamy, I run it through the food processor. This also cuts back on extra dirty bowls and spoons, making cleanup even faster *bonus*.  You can certainly serve the baked blintz with any fruit topping of your choice, but I highly recommend the fresh blueberry sauce.  I even make a little extra to serve over ice cream or yogurt.


Baked Cheese Blintzes with Fresh Blueberry Sauce
serves 10-12

For the Batter
1 1/4 cup milk
2 Tablespoons sour cream
4 Tablespoons (2-ounces) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 extra-large eggs
1 1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Filling
3 cups (24-ounces) cottage cheese, 4% or 2"% milk fat
8 ounces cream cheese
2 extra-large eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Blueberry Sauce (makes 2 cups)
1 teaspoon orange zest
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
4 half pints fresh blueberries
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the Batter
Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Butter or spray with non-stick baking spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan or dish; set aside.

Place all of the batter ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and blend until smooth.  Pour half the batter (about 1 3/4 cups) into the prepared baking dish.  Bake for 10 minutes, until set.

Meanwhile, rinse and dry the bowl of the food processor.  Place all of the filling ingredients into the bowl and process until completely smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Spread the cheese filling over the baked pancake.  Carefully spoon the remaining pancake batter to cover the cheese.

Return the pan to the oven and continue baking for 35-40 minutes or until the top is lightly golden and puffed and the filling is almost set.  Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 20-30 minutes.  

Meanwhile, combine the orange juice, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  When the mixture is translucent and thickened, stir in the blueberries and simmer for 4-5 minutes, just until a few berries have burst but most are still whole.  Stir in the orange zest and lemon juice; set aside to cool.

Cut the blintzes into squares and serve warm with the blueberry sauce.  Enjoy!

Source: Adapted from Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics


11 comments:

  1. Sounds delicious! I wonder where they got the name blintz for it? Very curious name. Also, how much blueberries goes in the sauce? There is no mention of amounts in the recipe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is a good article here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blintz, about the origin of the name. And the recipe has been edited. Thanks!

      Delete
  2. this looks amazing! I might have to make it this weekend for my mom!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nicole, I'm simply amazed by your talent! Everytime I visit, I linger and admire your photos and recipes. While I haven't made every single recipe you've posted:)... I certainly have tried a few. And those I have tried have been keepers. So today, I thought to stop a bit and let you know how much I appreciate your hard work... in sharing quality dishes for all of us to enjoy. Thank you for all you do!

    p.s. this recipe needs to be made:)... it looks beautiful and yet so practical. Love it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aww, you are so sweet! Thank you! You made my day☺.

      Delete
  4. Wonderful recipe. I love the fact that you can get cheese blintzes without all the fuss. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Just "liked" your facebook page! Hope to win!

    ReplyDelete
  6. perrysburger66June 14, 2012

    I made this recipe. It tasted great but the cheese filling layer and the top cake layer became one. The cheese layer would not support the top cake layer when it was poured on no matter how gently I poured. Should the cheese layer be cooked for another 10 minutes before the cake layer is added?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have never had to bake the cheese layer before adding the remaining pancake batter. You do need to gently "spoon" the batter over the cream cheese layer and not pour. Having said that, if baking the cheese filling a few minutes before adding the remaining batter works for you then use that method. Glad it tasted great!

      Delete
  7. I cannot print your recipes. What is wrong?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I apologise if you are getting a 404-error. That happened when Google changed the publishing site. I have been working to change each published recipe link. This one should be fixed. Thank you!

      Delete

Thanks for visiting my blog! I love hearing from family, friends, and bloggers, so please leave a comment. Happy cooking!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...