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Syrniki are small Russian cheesecakes made with cottage cheese or farm cheese, sugar, eggs, flour, and salt. Variations include lemon juice, zest, cinnamon, sour cream, or raisins. They are shaped into balls or disks and fried in cooking oil or butter.
Syrniki are a type of small Russian cheesecakes normally made with cottage cheese. Traditionally a breakfast food, these tasty morsels are sweet enough to serve as a dessert. Although the basic ingredients for syrniki are the same, small variations in ingredients, quantities and preparations are plentiful.
A dry Russian cottage cheese, called tvorog, is usually used to make syrniki. Farm cheese, unripened cheese similar in texture to cream cheese or cottage cheese, is usually used if tvorog is not available. If a wet cottage cheese is used, it can be passed through a fine sieve to give the desired texture. Using cheeses that are too wet will result in a runny liquid that won’t form into patties or cook properly.
In addition to cottage cheese, syrniki includes sugar, eggs, flour and salt. If a sweet ricotta is being used, however, the sugar can be omitted. The flour used can be all-purpose, wheat or semolina and is often a combination of semolina and another type. Very little flour is used in syrniki, and some cooks recommend not using any at all. Flour is also used to coat the work surface when forming dough into thick disks.
Some versions may also include lemon juice and zest. Occasionally cinnamon or sour cream is also added. Raisins are also added in some versions. Sirniki are often served with fruit jam. The jam can be included while the cheesecakes are baking or after they are complete.
To make, the cheese, eggs, and sugar are typically mixed together, and then the flour is mixed to create a dough. Mixing can be done by hand or in a food processor. Any additional ingredients are added with the first three.
Once the ingredients are mixed, the dough is often chilled before shaping. Afterwards, the dough can be shaped into balls or thick disks. Alternatively, the batter can be dropped directly into a pan from a spoon and shaped with the back of the spoon. While the mixture shouldn’t be too runny, it shouldn’t be stiff enough to roll like bread or dough. If it is, too much flour has been added.
Syrniki are fried in cooking oil or butter. These cheesecakes are not fried however. Once placed in the pan, the patties are allowed to cook for a few minutes on one side before flipping and cooking on the other side. The finished syrniki are golden in color.
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