Blini with Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon

For the blini: Separate the eggs. In a bowl, stir together the pastry flour and the buckwheat flour. In a bowl, crumble the yeast over the warm milk and stir to dissolve. Stir the yeast mixture along with the melted butter, egg yolks and salt into the flour mixture. Adjust the amount of milk if the batter is too thick. Cover and let stand for about 20 minutes in a warm place. Refrigerate the egg whites until the batter has risen. Once the batter has risen, beat the egg whites in a bowl until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.

Preheat the oven to 80°C (approximately 175°F). Heat some butter in a skillet. Working in batches, drop the batter by tablespoons into the skillet and saute until golden brown on both sides, 1-2 minutes. Drain on a paper towel, place on a baking sheet and put in the oven to keep warm while you prepare the remaining blini.

For the topping: In a bowl, beat the cream cheese with the cream and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.