Fluffy Syrniki with Semolina and Apple

Name: Fluffy Syrniki with Semolina and Apple: Easy Recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Ukrainian cuisine
Ingredients: Cottage cheese 400 g; Large apple 1; Eggs 1–2; Semolina 1–2 tbsp (12–24 g); Sugar 2 tbsp (27 g); Vanilla to taste; Lemon and orange zest 1 tbsp; Flour for dusting; Olive oil 2–3 tbsp; Powdered sugar to taste; Jam to taste; Sour cream to taste; Fresh fruit to taste

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1 h

Homemade syrniki with semolina are a variation of a well-known dish that many people don’t just like, they adore. Some say this dish should contain nothing but cottage cheese and eggs. That’s possible, but it comes with certain difficulties. Adding semolina lets you make the dish quickly and well, without worrying that the patties will fall apart in the pan.

These are small pancakes fried in oil, made from a special dough with a high proportion of cottage cheese, bound with eggs and flour, and often semolina. Traditionally they are made in Slavic countries, where the way they are cooked often resembles a ritual. Sometimes they are baked instead of fried, but that takes a bit more effort and time.

Various fillings are sometimes added to the cottage cheese. Usually it’s a vegetable or fruit mass, mashed or finely grated: bananas, carrots, plums, even strawberries, or different herbs. The easiest option is syrniki with apple, which are affordable and can be made all year round. Raisins improve both the taste and the look of traditional syrniki, vanilla is simply indispensable for the aroma, and citrus zest is added to tone down the taste and smell of egg yolk.

The name of the dish comes from “syr”, the common name for this fermented dairy product. That said, the term “tvorozhniki” is used more often. In Western countries whole pies or desserts called cheesecake are popular, and they are quite close to the pancakes we are used to. The cheese filling can be spread over a dough base to make an excellent pie or dessert.

For syrniki, it’s very important that the cottage cheese is as dense and “dry” as possible, so you won’t have to add too much flour to the dough. And, of course, it’s better to use a quality product, homemade or from the market, rather than a “cheese product”.

The quality of the cottage cheese largely decides whether your syrniki turn out soft and tasty or more like fritters that taste of dough. To improve the flavor, I added a finely chopped sweet and sour apple, vanilla, and lemon and orange zest to the cottage cheese. In Italy similar pancakes are made from ricotta with spinach.

A simple step-by-step recipe for syrniki with semolina made from homemade cottage cheese, eggs and apple, fried in a pan.

Ingredients

10–12 pcs

Cottage cheese 400 g
Large apple 1
Eggs 1–2
Semolina 1–2 tbsp (12–24 g)
Sugar 2 tbsp (27 g)
Vanilla to taste
Lemon and orange zest 1 tbsp
Flour for dusting
Olive oil 2–3 tbsp

Powdered sugar to taste
Jam to taste
Sour cream to taste
Fresh fruit to taste

Step-by-step recipe

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Cottage cheese mixture

Homemade cottage cheese can be coarse-grained or even come in large lumps.

In that case, mash it very thoroughly with a fork until smooth. Grate the lemon and orange zest: it does a great job of removing the taste and smell of egg yolk. Otherwise your syrniki with semolina will taste like an omelet.
A sour or sweet and sour apple works best, as it brings out the flavor of the dish.

In a deep bowl, mix the cottage cheese with the sugar; you only need a little. Add vanilla: concentrated, vanilla sugar or crystals. Add the eggs. If the cottage cheese is dry, one egg is enough, but you can use two, as they hold the cheese together during frying. Add the zest; 1 tbsp will be enough. Peel the apple and chop it finely. Grating it would release a lot of juice, which is not what you want. Mix everything thoroughly, mashing it with a fork.
Add the semolina, 1 tbsp to start with.
Semolina is coarsely ground wheat with grains of about 0.5 mm. Essentially it’s a “coarse” flour made from durum wheat, similar to Italian semola di grano duro, although the local product often behaves quite differently.
Mash the cottage cheese. If the mixture is still a little moist, add more semolina.
The cottage cheese dough should be as soft as possible.

Shaping the syrniki

Place the dough on a table or board and dust it with flour.
Actually, if the semolina is good quality and not too coarse, you can use it instead. It doesn’t really matter: both flour and “fine” semolina give a lovely golden crust.

Shape the dough into a log 5–6 cm in diameter. Cut it into pieces. Make as many pieces as will fit in the pan at once. We make our syrniki with apple and semolina quite thick, so you get 10–12 of them. Even out the pieces into thick “pucks” and dust them with more flour.

Frying

Heat 2–3 tbsp of olive oil in a pan. It gives the syrniki a very pleasant aroma that you can’t get with sunflower oil, and butter isn’t always a good idea. The pan should be very hot. Place the syrniki in the hot oil.
Fry the cottage cheese syrniki over medium heat with the lid on until the underside is golden. Turn them over and keep frying with the lid on. Lower the heat a little and let the dough cook through inside. The apples should also soften a bit.

Serving

Put the syrniki on a plate, add jam and sour cream, and dust with powdered sugar. I recommend adding fresh fruit: kiwi, banana, tangerine segments.

Calories and macros

180 kcal

100 g

Protein12.2 g28% of kcal
Fat9.3 g47% of kcal
Carbs11 g25% of kcal

Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.

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To Get It Right

Which cottage cheese to use

As dense and “dry” as possible, so you won’t need much semolina or flour. Homemade or market cottage cheese is best, not a “cheese product”: the cottage cheese decides whether syrniki turn out soft or more like fritters that taste of dough.

So they don’t taste of egg

Don’t skip the lemon and orange zest: it removes the taste and smell of yolk, and without it syrniki taste like an omelet. Vanilla is there for the aroma.

Instead of apple

Other fruit or vegetables, mashed or finely grated, also go into the cottage cheese: banana, plums, carrot, even strawberries. Apple is the easiest option, all year round.

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Questions and answers

How do you make syrniki with semolina fluffy?

Use dense cottage cheese so you need only a little semolina and flour and the dough stays soft. Shape the syrniki into thick “pucks” and fry them with the lid on over medium heat until cooked through.

How much semolina for 500 g of cottage cheese?

The recipe uses 1–2 tbsp of semolina (12–24 g) for 400 g of cottage cheese, so about 2 tbsp for 500 g. Start with one spoon and add more only if the mixture is moist.

Which is better for syrniki: flour or semolina?

Semolina goes into the dough: it binds the cottage cheese, so the syrniki don’t fall apart while frying. Flour is for dusting before frying; fine semolina works too and gives the same golden crust.

Why do syrniki with semolina fall apart?

Most often the mixture is too wet: the cottage cheese is moist or the apple was grated and released juice. Chop the apple finely, and add another spoon of semolina or a second egg to a wet mixture.

Can you bake syrniki with semolina in the oven?

Yes, syrniki are sometimes baked instead of fried, but that takes a bit more effort and time. In a pan with the lid on they get a golden crust.

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