Honey, Orange & Cheese Blintzes

Pancake Day is a time for celebration when the whole family can come together in the kitchen to create an easy batter and test their pancake flipping skills, before dressing the results – perfect or otherwise (it really doesn’t matter). Here’s a tried and tested recipe to try with the new Artisan K400 Blender in 'honey' – the KitchenAid Colour Of The Year – to create the perfect batter with the turn of a switch.

1. Make the batter. Place all batter ingredients into the Artisan K400 blender (dry first, then wet). Turn to speed 4 and blend for 10 seconds. Keep the cap on and place the blender jar in the refrigerator to rest the batter for at least 20 minutes before using.

2. Make the crepe wrappers. Heat a 10-inch, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Use a pastry brush to lightly coat the surface. Pour in about four tablespoons of batter into the hot pan and immediately swirl batter around to coat bottom of pan in a thin, even layer of batter. Cook until the surface looks dry - about a minute. Flip the crepe over and cook briefly to set the other side (no more than 5 seconds). Remove to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter.

3. Make the cheese filling. Fit the Artisan Stand Mixer with the whisk attachment. Add cheeses, egg yolk, vanilla and salt. Turn mixer speed to 4 and blend mixture for 30 seconds.

4. Prepare the blintzes. Lay a crepe in front of you. About 1” from the bottom of the crepe, and with about 1” of space on each side, add 2 tablespoons of cheese filling. Fold bottom edge up over filling and flatten slightly. Fold in both sides (to box in the cheese filling), then fold up crepe into a small filled rectangle, ending with the seam on the bottom. Set blintz aside onto your sheet pan, and continue filling the remaining crepes. (NOTE: This step can be done a day ahead and prepared blintzes can be kept on the sheet pan in the refrigerator, covered with plastic).

5. When ready to eat, melt a bit of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Gently place 2-3 blintzes in pan, cover and cook for 2- 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Use a spatula to gently turn the blintzes (be careful to slide the spatula in the same direction of the bottom seam to prevent opening the bottom of the blintz when turning), cover again, and cook for another 2 minutes. Serve warm with sour cream and orange marmalade.

Whether you’re an experienced cook or a newbie to food prep, the precision and perforamnce of the Artisan K400 Blender guarantees the best results every time, powering through the toughest ingredients to help you prepare soups, sauces and silky smoothies and pancake batter, waffles, muffin mix and more.