Category: Pancakes

Yeast Racuszki with Apples

This recipe was with several others posted as Racuszki – a Kind of Pancake.

I now know it is better to not have too many recipes together.

This recipe is from my late Aunt in Poland who lived in mazury the Polish lakes district. She made these when I visited her.

Ciocia Pola (Apolonia) Aunt Pola, my mother’s sister lived on a small farm and the eggs and milk were from the farm and the butter was her own and also the apples from the garden. She made  racuszki – using a thick yeast risen batter and roughly chopped apples – a cross between a pancake and a fritter. They were delicious.

I have made them here many times using her recipe. Whilst researching and checking other  variations I saw that several recipes used grated apples – these came out stodgy  with little taste of the apple – you need to keep the pieces fairly large.

Ingredients

  • 125 ml of milk (full is best or semi-skimmed)
  • 25g caster sugar and 1 teaspoon
  • 10g  fresh yeast or 5g  dried yeast
  • 25g  butter
  • 1 egg
  • 125g plain flour
  • Large pinch of salt
  • 2 Bramley apples
  • *
  • Icing sugar, caster sugar or cinnamon sugar to dust.

Method

Warm half the milk and add a teaspoon of caster sugar and the yeast and mix it all together and leave it to froth up.

Melt the butter and leave it to cool.

Whisk the egg with the rest of the sugar until it is thick and creamy.

Put the flour and salt into a large bowl.

Use a wooden spoon (one with a hole works really well) and beat in to the yeast mixture, the egg & sugar mixture and then the melted butter.

Slowly add the rest of the milk, mixing until the mixture has the consistency of double cream.

Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave this to rise.

Peel, core and quarter the apples and cut them into small chunks or slices cut in half.

Add the apples to the risen batter and mix them well in to coat them.

  • Use a griddle or thick cast iron frying pan and use oil to grease it lightly and heat it up.
  • You need to try and keep a low to medium heat so as not to burn the pancakes.
  • Place large tablespoons of apple and batter onto the pan and cook them so that they are golden brown on both sides.
  • Remove them from the pan and dust them with icing sugar, caster sugar or cinnamon sugar.

Kefir Pancakes

  • I got this idea from a recently bought Polish magazine.
  • In my first attempt I used the proportions in this recipe.
  • The results were not good as the batter was too liquid and most of the pancakes stuck to the pan.
  • I adjusted the proportions of the kefir and water and they turned out super.
  • The method of mixing up the batter is quite different from the way I usually make pancakes – see my perfect pancake – but the results are good.
  • You can fill the pancakes with the fillings you like.
  • I used sweet twarȯg(or well drained yoghurt cheese) for the filling and served it with yoghurt sweetened with icing sugar and
  • A fruit sauce made from dark fruits jam, lemon juice and a little water – heated together and left to cool.

INGREDIENTS

  • 250 – 275 plain flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
  • 250ml kefir
  • 250ml water
  • *
  • Butter/oil for frying

METHOD

  • In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar until creamy and fluffy.
  • Add the kefir, water and the pinch of salt.
  • Whisk again.
  • *
  • Add the flour bit by bit and whisk.
  • You want a thick-ish batter.
  • Do not add all the flour at first – start with around 250g and add more if needed.
  • It will depend on the flour how much you will need.
  • *
  • Leave for a few minutes whilst you prepare the filling and the pan.
  • I always use my special pancake pan and ladle.
  • I found you needed about a ladle and a half for these.
  • They are a little thicker and softer than my usual pancakes.
  • Prepare the pan with a little butter and oil.
  • Heat but not too hot or they will burn.
  • Make the pancakes one by one – turning them over to cook on both sides.
  • You can serve them straight away or stack them between greaseproof paper for later.
  • NOTE – you can re-heat them later if you make too many for the day.
  • *
  • I used sweet twarȯg(or well drained yoghurt cheese) for the filling and served it with yoghurt sweetened with icing sugar and dregged with icing sugar as well as 
  • A fruit sauce made from a dark fruits jam, lemon juice and a little water – heated together and left to cool.

 

Serniczki

  • I remember these being made by Ciocia (aunty) Wanda in Białystok many years ago.
  • They are a little like pancakes(American style).
  • Ser is the Polish for cheese and in this case it means the white twaróg/strained yoghurt cheese.
  • I could not find the recipe which I am sure I jotted down.
  • In some ways it is similar to one I got in Holland and wrote up in Racuszck – a kind of pancake.
  • But I know hers just  used mostly cheese.
  • I looked around for a recipe and found this one.
  • They came out well.
  • I served them with cranberry & apple jam sauce.
  • But you could try them serve with icing sugar, honey or fresh fruit.
  •  

  • INGREDIENTS

  • 250g twaróg or yoghurt cheese(well drained) – room temperature
  • Around 2-3 tablespoons of plain flour
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon of vanilla sugar
  • *
  • Butter to gently fry.

METHOD

  • In a bowl mix the twaróg, egg and vanilla sugar well together.
  • Slowly add the flour until you have a batter which is of a thick dropping consistency.
  • Melt the butter gently in a frying pan.
  • Put large tablespoons of the mixture into the pan.
  • Leaving enough room so they do on touch each other.
  • Turn them over when they are cooked golden on one side.
  • Serve with jam sauce or sugar or honey.

 

Served on Royal Doulton Tapestry plate.

Racuszki made with Yeast

  • One of my Polish friends came over and whilst we were chatting we found that we both had a copy of the Kuchnia Polska, that I call my bible.
  • She had wanted to show me how to made Racuczki (fritters/pancakes) made using yeast.
  • We followed the instructions from the book.
  • We had ours with a bought apple and rose petal jam.

INGREDIENTS

  • 250g  of  plain flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 250 ml of milk
  • 15g of fresh yeast
  • 50g of granulated sugar
  • *
  • Sunflower oil for frying.
  • *
  • Jam or fruit syrup to serve.

METHOD

  • Warm the milk to hand heat and add the yeast and  ½ teaspoon of the sugar.
  • Leave to start to bubble.
  • Mix the eggs with the rest of the sugar.
  • Mix together the yeast mixture and the egg mixture with the flour.
  • You are aiming for a thick cream mix – adjust with more milk or flour as necessary.
  • Cover and leave until the mixture rises.
  • *
  • Heat sunflower oil in a frying pan.
  • Add large tablespoonfuls of the mixture to fry.
  • Using 2 spoons is a help.
  • Fry till golden on both sides.
  • *
  • We had ours with apple and rose petal jam.

Celeriac & Potato Placki

  • I saw this recipe in a magazine and thought they would be good.
  • I had a couple of goes at these as the original recipe did not work as the placki just kept falling apart.
  • The potatoes MUST be grated on a fine grater.
  • Some – but not all – of the potato liquid needs to be removed.
  • I added onions to the original recipe.
  • They have a slightly sweet taste because of the celeriac.

INGREDIENTS

  • Around 300 – 500g of peeled celeriac
  • Equal weight of peeled potatoes
  • 2 small onions – chopped very fine or blended.
  • 2 eggs – beaten
  • 3 tablespoons of plain flour
  • Salt & pepper
  • Sunflower oil for frying.

METHOD

  • Grate the celeriac on a coarse grater and place into a bowl.
  • Grate the potato using a fine grater.
  • Use a  cheese cloth to remove some of the potato liquid BUT
  • Keep this liquid as you might need some of it.
  • Mix the grated celeriac and the grated potato.
  • Add the onions and mix well.
  • Add the beaten eggs and 3 tablespoons of flour.
  • If the mixture is very “sloppy” add a little more flour.
  • If the mixture is very dry – add a little of the potato water.
  • You are aiming for a thick mixture.
  • Season with the salt and pepper.
  • *
  • Heat the oil in a frying pan.
  • Fry large tablespoonfuls of mixture at a time.
  • Cook each side on a medium heat.
  • Do not turn the placki too soon – they tend to fall apart.
  • Take care not to burn them.
  • Keep warm in a low oven if you want to serve them all together.
  • *
  • Serve with fried eggs or with a cold twaróg salad (see later post).

Fresh Cabbage Fritters

  • I have lots of recipes for vegetable fritters/pancakes including one for sauekraut.
  • This one uses a whole cabbage head – this is good if it is a small cabbage.
  • Otherwise I think ½ a head is better.
  • You could use a sweetheart cabbage.
  • Next time I would chop the cabbage into smaller pieces.

INGREDIENTS

  • Whole small white cabbage
  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • Butter for frying
  • 100g plain flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 teaspoon chilli flakes – optional
  • *
  • Sunflower oil for frying.

METHOD

  • Chop the white cabbage into small pieces.
  • Cook in salted water for around 20 minutes.
  • Drain and pat dry.
  • Leave to cool.
  • You may want to chop the pieces even smaller.
  • Dice the onion and chop the garlic.
  • Fry in butter till golden.
  • Leave till cool.
  • Mix the cabbage and onion mix together.
  • Mix together with the flour, salt and flour.
  • Beaten the eggs and mix everything together.
  • Stir in the chilli flakes.
  • *
  • Make little patties.
  • Fry in sunflower oil for around 4 minutes on each side.
  • Taking care not to burn them.

They taste good with a fried egg or two.

Courgette Fritters & Extras

  • I posted the original courgette fritter recipe in 2017.
  • Although courgette fritters are not from an old Polish recipe they do have some similarity  to Polish potato pancakes and to carrot pancakes.
  • Courgette in Polish is cukinia – so this is another vegetable that owes its name to Italian  – zucchini.
  • I often make variations on this recipe by adding other vegetables such a baby leaf spinach or sweetcorn (also see sweetcorn fritters).
  • Chopped chilli is also a good addition.
  • The amounts of the ingredients are all approximate.

Ingredients

  • 2 to 3 courgettes
  • 1 egg (can be 2 if using more vegetables)
  • 2 -3 tablespoons of soured cream, yoghurt, crème fraise or yoghurt cheese
  • 2 tablespoons of plain flour
  • Grated rind of 1 lemon(optional)
  • Salt
  • Sunflower oil for frying.
  • *
  • Baby leaf spinach, sweetcorn and chilli or any quickly cooked vegetable.
  • Chopped garlic – optional

Method

  • Grate the courgettes using a coarse grater.
  • Sprinkle the courgettes with salt.
  • Place the salted courgettes onto a clean tea towel and place this in a colander for around 30 minutes.
  • Wrap the tea towel up and squeeze out the liquid from the courgettes.
  • Note
  • The green stains on the tea towel will come out in a hot wash but  do not use fabric softener for tea towels used for this and similar purposes.

Place the dried grated courgettes in a bowl and add the grated lemon rind.

Keep them on a heat proof plate  in a low heat oven whilst you make the rest.

  • You can place a sheet of kitchen roll on top of the first layer to stop them sticking.
  • Serve them with grilled meats and salad.

  • Served here with grilled bacon and fried eggs.

Pancake Rolls

  • I have been thinking about making savoury pancakes for a while.
  • I came across a new word (to me) – ruloniki. 
  • Sweet pancakes are served – fan folded whereas savoury ones are rolled up.
  • Either the pancake is just rolled up or – 
  • Two sides are first folded in slightly and then the pancake is rolled up.
  • I made these with a mushroom filling – based on my mushroom sauce – adding more potato flour to make the sauce thicker.
  • First make a batch of pancakes and keep them warm or heat them up later when needed.

INGREDIENTS for mushroom sauce

  • 450g of mushrooms sliced
  • Butter for frying
  • 1 mushroom stock cube
  • 500ml hot water
  • 2-3 tablespoons of potato flour or cornflour
  • 3 tablespoons of milk
  • 60ml of soured cream

METHOD for mushroom sauce

  • Dissolve the stock cube in the hot water.
  • Slice the mushroom caps into fine slices and fry them gently in some butter till they are soft.
  • Add the mushrooms to the mushroom stock,
  • Simmer gently for about 5 to 10 minutes.
  • In a little dish mix the potato flour or cornflour with the milk.
  • Add the potato or cornflour mixture to the cooked mushrooms and stir gently over the heat until the sauce thickens.
  • Remove from the heat and add the soured cream and mix.
  • *
  • Spread some sauce over a pancake.
  • Two sides are first folded in slightly and then the pancake is rolled up.
  • *
  • You can serve these individually or say 3 at a time.
  • *
  • Keep them warm in a low oven whilst you are making them. 

A vintage Pyrex plate is used here.

Sour Cherry Sauce – 2

  • This sauce is good for desserts.
  • It can be served hot or cold.
  • Use it with pancakes – hot
  • or cold to pour over baked cheesecake when serving
  • or add to Greek style yoghurt

Ingredients

  • Jar or part jar of sour cherries
  • 4 cloves
  • Small stick of cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon of potato or cornflour
  • *
  • Optional – a little sugar to taste

Method

  • Put the cherries and the juice into a saucepan.
  • Add the cloves and cinnamon.
  • Simmer gently for around 10 minutes.
  • Leave to cool.
  • Remove the spices.
  • Mix the potato or cornflour with a little of the juice.
  • Stir this into the cherries.
  • Bring up to the boil, stirring often.
  • The sauce will thicken.
  • Leave on a low heat if serving hot or
  • Leave to cool.

Pancakes with Bacon

  • These are the thick American style pancakes not the thin crepes.
  • A good way of serving the bacon.

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs – beaten
  • 180 – 200ml of milk
  • 180g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 6 rashers of streaky smoked bacon
  • *
  • Sunflower oil for frying
  • *
  • Fried eggs, maple syrup or sugar, butter – to serve

Method

  • Chop the bacon into small squares.
  • Fry till crisp & strain of any fat.
  • Keep to one side & warm.
  • *
  • Mix the flour and the baking powder together.
  • Make a well in the centre of the flour.
  • Mix in the eggs.
  • Mix in enough milk to make a thick batter.
  • *
  • Fry large tablespoons of the batter on a hot griddle or frying pan.
  • Add some bacon bits to the top.
  • Turn over the pancakes and fry on the other side.
  • *
  • Serve as savoury with scrambled or fried eggs or more sweet with butter and maple syrup.
  • This Pyrex design from the 1970s is called Carnaby.