Spring Racuchy

50m

Racuchy is a traditional dish from Polish cuisine. They are very similar to pancakes, but are much better in my opinion—we use yeast in this recipe, and you can smell and taste the interesting yeast flavor.

For this recipe, I use the element of wild herbs, this time hazel blossom and birch sap syrup. If you are unable to find this syrup, you can replace it with maple syrup.

Of course, this recipe will not be complete without apples! The best apples are sweet, sour, and slightly hard so that all ingredients combine into the perfect pancakes.

I remember this recipe from when I was a child. We had a lot of apple trees near the house, and my mother picked apples to make racuchy sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Warm, yeast-scented racuchy sounds like a fairy tale, but it really happened. This is what I associate with childhood and this is how my mother, Agata, passed on to me the love of cooking.

Add 100 ml of lukewarm whole milk and 7 g of dry yeast to a tall container with a spout
Add 1 tbsp of sugar
Add 60 g of all-purpose flour and mix until you get a smooth leaven
Cover with a cloth and set aside in a warm and windproof place. Let it rest for 20m until it rises and starts to bubble
Add 100 ml of whole milk to a large bowl
Add the leaven and mix until smooth
Add 2 egg yolks
Add 250 g of all-purpose flour and whisk to get a smooth batter
Crumble and add 10 hazelnut blossoms. Mix to incorporate them
Place in a warm spot to allow the batter to double in size
Peel, core, and thinly slice 2 apples
Warm a pan over medium heat and add vegetable oil to taste
Use a large spoonful of batter to make each pancake, leaving space between them
Place apple slices to taste over the raw batter. Cook the racuchy until they start to rise and turn deep brown on the bottom. Flip them and cook until the apples are golden brown
Place the racuchy on a dish lined with paper towels and cook the remaining batter
Make a tower with the racuchy and pour birch sap syrup to taste. The spring racuchy is ready
Enjoy this delightful treat with a nice cup of tea!