Topfenpalatschinken (Curd Cheese Pancakes)

The history of the “Palatschinke” started in Roman times. After having passed Hungarian and Slovakian regions, the “palacinka” finally reached Austria. Viennese cuisine has been using the term “Palatschinke” in cook books since the 19th century. The "Palatschinke" has managed to become one of the most delicious desserts of the Viennese cuisine and it tastes best with a curd cheese filling. Enjoy!

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

75 g (2/3 cups) flour (fine)
125 ml (0,25 pt) milk
1-2 eggs
2 1/2 tbsps oil
1/2 lemon (rind, grated)
1/2 tsps vanilla sugar
salt
oil (or butter for frying) butter (for greasing)

For the curd cheese filling:

3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1/2 lemon (rind, grated)
200 g (7/8 cup) curd cheese (20% fat)
60 g (1/4 cup) butter 4
0 g (1/8 cup) icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar
2 tsp vanilla custard powder
salt
60 g (0,14 lb)raisins (soaked in rum)
50 g (1/4 cup) sugar

For the sauce:

125 ml (0,25 pt) milk
125 ml (0,25) pt) sour cream
2 eggs
30 g (1/8 cup) icing sugar 1 tsp vanilla sugar

Preparation:

For the pancakes, combine the flour with milk, eggs and oil and stir. Add the lemon rind, vanilla sugar and a pinch of salt. Gradually add the rest of the milk and keep stirring until the mixture becomes thin. Put the batter through a sieve, and let stand for 20 minutes. If necessary, thin the mixture with more milk. Heat oil in a pan suitable for making pancakes. Pour out any residual fat (the pancakes should be fried in a thin layer of oil). Pour in some of the batter, making sure it is evenly spread. Fry the pancake golden yellow on both sides. Remove and place on a plate. Cover with foil. Make the rest of the crêpes in this way.
For the filling, beat the butter, icing sugar, vanilla sugar, custard powder, salt and lemon rind until fluffy. Gradually stir in the egg yolks and then the curd cheese. Beat the egg whites with the sugar until stiff and fold together with the raisins into the curd cheese mixture.

Place the pancakes in a row so that they overlap and become one connected piece. Spread over the curd cheese mixture and roll into one long roll. Cut the roll into 10 pieces. Grease an ovenproof dish with butter. Place the pancakes in the dish so that they are stacked on top of each other. Bake in a preheated oven at 160 °C for 15 minutes.

For the sauce, combine all the ingredients and stir until the mixture is smooth. Pour over the pancakes, and bake for another 15 minutes.

Special tip: Enjoy with sweet wine!

In the mood for more? Try our recipe for Chocolate-Walnut Pancakes!