The making of... Polish Sweet Cream Cheese Pancakes

I am very excited to share this recipe with you hoping it will inspire you to try Polish cuisine. "Nalesniki z serem" is a very popular dish in Poland, definitely one of my favourites. Nice, fluffy pancakes wrapped around with rich sweet cheese filling is what I Iove treating myself with on lazy morning... Smells divinely. Tastes equally good. It is a great breakfast option or an alternative to a sophisticated dessert. If you like New York Cheesecake, you will quickly become a fan of Polish pancakes. Simple enough recipe with all ingredients you easily find in your fridge. So, why wait for a Pancake Day? Let's get them done now!

Ingredients:

For the pancake mixture:

• 200g plain flour
  
  300ml milk
• 1 table spoon sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tea spoon bicarbonate of soda

For the filling:

• 100g curd cheese (you can get it in Polish shop for £0.99) 
• 1 table spoon sugar
• 1 egg
• 15g vanilla sugar
• 
  

To serve (optional):

whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream

fresh or canned fruits (I like pineapple or peaches but you can also serve them sprinkled with icing sugar, fresh raspberries, blueberries or strawberries)

dark chocolate

Tip: if you happen not to have curd cheese, a Philadelphia will do.

Preparation method:

Put all ingredients into a bowl then begin whisking until all lumps disappear. Add milk and flour until it is smooth, with consistency of thick cream. Start making pancakes as you would normally do using butter or a bit of oil. Stack them as you make them. Spread each of them with cottage cheese filling, fold in half, then in half again to form triangles, or else simply roll them up. Basically, they are ready to eat but what I like is an upgraded version of them: get the pan really hot, coat it with butter, then place 4 pancakes each time and fry on each side for 2-3 minutes until tinged gold. Serve hot with whipped cream/vanilla ice-cream and fruits of your choice. 

As we say in Poland: Smacznego! 

Unlike Brits, Poles have pancakes when they like them. Making them is not restricted to any particular day of the year. You can also find them in Polish restaurants menu. I am planning to come back soon with a savory version which I hope you will also like. What I like about pancakes is that you can serve them in tones of different ways, always achieviening success. You can spread them with sweet cream cheese filling, strawberry jam, apple mousse, wild mushroom filling, bacon and grated cheese... The list is endless. I hope you managed to try them and you fell in love.