Syrniki (Cottage Cheese Pancakes)

The key to great syrniki is preventing them from falling apart while frying, having a nice crust, and being full of soft cottage cheese inside. To achieve this, we need as little moisture as possible. We'll dry the cottage cheese, use very strong flour, and only the egg yolk without the white.

Ingredients

1. Cheese cloth
2. 2 packs of cottage cheese (total ~560 grams)
   I use Polish Mlekpol Full-Fat Curd Cheese as it's easy to find. If unavailable, test the cottage cheese by rolling it into a ball. If it holds its shape, it works.
3. 1 egg
   Ideally with a Lion Mark label to eliminate salmonella risks.
4. Flour: white, wheat, high strength
   The stronger the flour, the sturdier the syrniki. I use Allinson's very strong white bread flour.
5. Fine white sugar
   During frying, it will turn into syrup, improving the crust and strengthening the shape.
   Use granulated sugar, not powdered sugar.
6. Oil for frying
   I use coconut oil to avoid affecting the taste.
7. Silicone-coated paper
   We'll store the syrniki in this.

Cooking

1. Drying the cottage cheese

Cottage cheese contains whey. Sometimes there's too much of it, and during frying, it leaks out and breaks the syrniki apart.

1. Wrap the cottage cheese pack in cheesecloth and squeeze all the liquid into a glass.
2. Place the dried cottage cheese in a bowl.

2. Preparing the mixture

At this stage, we need to get well-mashed cottage cheese saturated with flour, sugar, and egg yolk.

1. Thoroughly mash the cottage cheese until there are no lumps. This will give a smooth texture and prevent the syrniki from falling apart. You can use a sieve or a masher.
2. Add:
   • 1-2 tablespoons of sugar.
   • 2 tablespoons of flour. To bind and dry everything.
   • A pinch of salt. Flavor enhancer.
   • Egg yolk only. The white will ruin everything by adding excess moisture.
3. Mix thoroughly.

3. Shaping the syrniki

Here we'll shape the syrniki and create their future crust, which will help them hold their shape and keep the cottage cheese inside.

1. Sprinkle flour on the work surface.
2. Shape syrniki to your desired size, no more than 2 cm tall.
3. Now use a knife to press flour into both sides and the edges.

4. Let them rest

1. Place on silicone-coated paper and cover the top as well.
2. Leave overnight or at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

The flour (proteins and starch) will absorb moisture, becoming softer, stronger, and more cohesive.

5. Frying and baking

1. Prepare the stove and oven: preheat to 180°C (356°F) without convection and heat a pan on the stove to medium-high (6/9).
2. Fry in oil on both sides until a crust forms.
3. Place in the oven for 5 minutes so they're cooked through.

Done!

How to store?

You can freeze them right on the same silicone-coated paper. This is very important because it repels water, and the syrniki won't freeze to the surface.