Syrniki Recipe- Prepare Delicious Russian Cheesecake Pancakes in 30 Minutes

As you may or may not know, one of the food hog’s main goals is to bring you relatively unknown recipes from different cuisines and make you fall in love with them and this post is no exception. If you like pancakes and cheesecake, keep reading because, in this article, we have a real treat for you. By the end of this post, we’ll show you what syrniki is, where does it originate from, what are some popular variations, how to serve it, and of course- the traditional syrniki recipe (which takes no more than 30 mins). 

But first things first…

What Is Syrniki?

The best way to describe syrniki is as a sweet cheesy pancake made from farmer’s cheese (somewhat similar to ricotta cheese). Syrniki is always very soft and slightly sweet on the inside. In fact, saying that syrniki are a delicious variety of cheesecake pancakes is a somewhat accurate description. 

In addition to farmer’s cheese, you’ll also need some flour mixed with sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Once you combine the ingredients, the mixture is shaped into small cakes that are either fried in hot butter (or vegetable oil) or baked in a pan until the cakes get a golden brown color on both sides. Depending on your preference, you can also add things like dried apricots, raisins, fresh pears, or apples into the batter but more about this below. 

Origin

Even though many people say that the syrniki recipe is a Russian recipe, saying that would be an understatement because syrniki are equally popular in many other Slavic countries, and as you probably already know the history and cultures of Eastern European countries are tightly intertwined with Russia. The word syrniki derives from the Slavic word syr used to describe a (a local variation of) quark. The dish name pronounces as syr-nee-kee (“y” in “syr” sounds like “i“ in “bill”). 

Some languages like Ukrainian still use the traditional Slavic word syr to describe the cheese used for making syrniki while Russians use the word “tvorog”. And since we’ve already started speaking about syr, let us share a few words about the main ingredient of the syrniki recipe…

Farmer’s Cheese

In most supermarkets in North America, the cheese needed for this recipe is labeled as “farmer’s cheese”. In addition to supermarkets, you can also find this cheese in any Russian or Eastern European store in your area (if there are any, this should always be your first choice) under the names syr. Tvorog, or twarog. There’s also one kind of cheese that’s very good for this recipe available on Amazon.

However, if none of these options are available, the next closest substitute you can use is ricotta cheese. If you use ricotta cheese, don’t forget to drain it in a colander overnight to get the extra liquid out before preparing syrniki. If you don’t do this, your cakes might fall apart when you try to form them.

Are you a fan of pancakes? Then you may also like our palacinke recipe (the Balkan pancake).

Variations Of Syrniki

Syrniki are popular in many different countries and there are slight variations of the syrniki recipe in different regions. For example, in Ukraine, these cakes are called syrnyky (сирники), in Russia and Belarus- syrniki (сырники), and in Latvia- sirņiki. As you can see, the differences in the names are minor (almost unrecognizable to foreign speakers) and it’s the same with the differences in the regional variations of the recipe.

The preparation is almost identical everywhere and the main differences lie in the fruits and vegetables added in the batter and the toppings added upon serving. Some people like to use raisins, others use dried apricots or other dried fruits, some people prefer fresh fruits like pears, apples, others like nuts, and I’ve even seen people making syrniki with potatoes (something similar to Norwegian lefse) and green onions too.

In addition to this, a few more variations are gaining popularity. For example, if you replace regular flour with almond or coconut flour and sugar with stevia, you can make keto or gluten-free syrniki…

Enjoying this post? Then you might also want to check out our harcha recipe as well as our baghrir recipe. Both are Moroccan versions of pancakes that somewhat resemble syrniki.

Preparation Tips

• The most important thing about the syrniki recipe is to dry out your syr (or tvorog) and then give it a creamy consistency (preferably with a blender).
• When preparing the batter (or dough whatever you like to call it), it’s important to use cold syr (keep it in the fridge for a few hours); this will make shaping the syrniki a lot easier.
• If the batter looks much thicker than the one for American pancakes- don’t worry, that’s how it’s supposed to be. In fact, the mixture used for making syrniki is so dense, it can hardly be even called batter.
• It’s also important to only use egg yolks. The white tends to make the batter (dough) too liquid.
• Don’t add sugar to the batter. This can give extra moisture to the batter which can make the cakes more difficult for shaping. Instead, add sugar later in the process.
• Consider making one half of the butter with fruits/nut/dried fruits and one half without. It’s perfect if you’re preparing the dish for a crowd of picky eaters.
• When forming the cakes, it’s easiest to scoop the “dough” with a ¼ cup ice cream scoop (the one with a squeeze-release handle). Alternatively, if you use your hands, make sure they’re wet (with cold water); you don’t want the batter sticking to your hands.
• Most recipes advise frying the syrniki but often, when frying syrniki at high temperature, the cakes quickly burn on the surface but stay relatively raw inside. An alternative way of preparation is baking syrniki on a hot pan covered with a lid on low-medium heat for 6-7 minutes.
• If you’re wondering what kind of pan to use, a classic griddle or a non-stick pan are the most common choices.
• After you form the syrniki, you need to dredge them in flour before cooking them to make sure that the cakes don’t stick to the pan.
• You can cook a few cakes at a time but make sure your pan doesn’t get too crowded.

Enjoying this post? Then you may also like our guide to Dagestan food.

Serving

Most commonly, syrniki are topped with sour cream and/or fruit syrup (or marmalade). Alternatively, maple syrup or different kinds of homemade syrup (i.e. mulberry syrup) can also be used. The most common toppings are powdered sugar, fresh berries, and nuts but some people also like to drizzle the cakes with Nutella, cream, or more syrup. Typically, syrniki is eaten as a breakfast (sometimes together with another breakfast snack like piragi) or as a snack and is often served alongside a cup of coffee, tea, or kompot. 

A Few Things You May Need

Did you ever try syrniki? How did you like our syrniki recipe? Did you try to make it at home? If so, don’t forget to leave us a rating and if you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to share them in the comments below.

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