Eastern Home Kitchen

Ukrainian Recipes

Syrnyky — Ukrainian Cheese Pancakes

Small, tender pancakes made from farmer cheese rather than batter, fried three minutes a side and eaten hot with sour cream or jam.

Golden syrnyky stacked on a plate, dusted with sugar and served with sour cream

https://easternhomekitchen.com/recipes/syrnyky/

Prep
10 mins
Cook
15 mins
Total
25 mins
Yield
10 syrnyky
Cuisine
Ukrainian

Syrnyky are breakfast in most of Eastern Europe: a tub of tvorog, an egg, enough flour to hold it together, and a pan. They are barely a recipe and entirely dependent on the cheese.

Use dry, pressed farmer cheese. Wet curd cheese means adding more and more flour to get a workable mixture, and by then you have made something closer to a scone.

Ingredients

Makes 5 servings

  • 500 g2 ¼ cups farmer cheese, tvorog or dry curd cheese, around 15% fat
  • 100 g½ cup granulated sugar
  • 100 g¾ cup plain flour, plus more for shaping
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 3 tbsp sunflower oil, for frying

Instructions

  1. Set out the cheese, sugar, flour, egg and vanilla.

    Farmer cheese, sugar, flour, an egg and vanilla sugar on a board

  2. Mash the cheese with the sugar with a fork until no lumps are left — this is the step that decides the texture, so keep going longer than feels necessary. Add the salt, vanilla sugar, egg and flour and mix to a soft, slightly sticky dough.

    Farmer cheese mashed with sugar, egg and flour into a soft dough

  3. Scatter flour on the worktop. Scoop the mixture with a spoon, roll each portion into a ball, flatten it to about 2 cm and turn it in the flour. Fry in hot oil, 3 minutes a side, until a deep even gold.

  4. Serve them straight from the pan, with sour cream, jam or honey.

    Syrnyky in the pan, golden on both sides

Notes & tips

  • If the cheese is wet, drain it in a sieve lined with muslin for an hour first. Adding more flour instead makes them dense.
  • Keep them thick — around 2 cm. Thin syrnyky dry out before the middle sets.
  • Medium heat, not high. The sugar in the mixture burns before the centre is cooked if the pan is too hot.

Substitutions

  • Farmer cheese — Well-drained full-fat ricotta, or dry cottage cheese pressed through a sieve.
  • Plain flour — Semolina gives a slightly grainier, more traditional texture. Let the mixture sit 10 minutes so it hydrates.
  • Sugar — Halve it and add raisins, or leave it out entirely for savoury syrnyky with dill and sour cream.

Storage & freezing

In the fridge
3 days in a covered container.
In the freezer
Freeze cooked and cooled for 2 months, separated by baking paper.
Reheating
5 minutes in a 180°C oven, or a dry pan over low heat.

Frequently asked questions

What cheese can I use if I can't find tvorog?

Drained full-fat ricotta is the closest widely available substitute. Dry cottage cheese also works if you press it through a sieve to break up the curds. Avoid anything wet — cream cheese and quark both make a mixture that will not hold.

Why did my syrnyky fall apart in the pan?

Either the cheese was too wet or they were flipped too early. Let the first side set to a firm crust — three full minutes — before you touch them.

Can I bake syrnyky instead of frying?

Yes. 190°C for about 20 minutes on lined baking paper, turning once. They are lighter and less crisp, and a brush of oil helps them colour.