Syrniki

Inspired by a favorite influencer @dzaslavsky to try new foods, I tried Syrniki - Eastern European pancakes made with farmers cheese and served with sour cream and sour cherry jam. A hybrid of a pancake and cheesecake, these are so good I was speechless for a second . The cheese makes these the ultimate high protein breakfast pancakes that I would happily eat any time of day…

220g/8 oz farmer’s cheese/quark (tvorog) - or use drained cottage cheese
30g/¼ cup all purpose flour plain flour
2 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Flour for dredging ( which I did not do but the pancake was still crispy on the outside)

Mix the cheese, four, sugar, egg, vanilla and lemon zest together in a bowl. Mixture will be thick but don’t over mix.
Using a tablespoon or ice cream scoop, form patties. Dredge in flour (or not) and fry in 11/2 tablespoons oil and 1/2 tablespoon of butter for 3-4 minutes on one side and 2-3 minutes on the other. Drain on paper towels.

Serve warm with sour cream and sour cherry jam.

If you have a Russian/ Eastern European market nearby , please buy the cheese and jam there for a truly authentic experience.