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Tender blini, fruity apple-cherry filling and airy meringue – that’s what this delicious solozhenik is made of. It combines so many different flavors that you practically experience a taste explosion in your mouth. You can make this popular Ukrainian dessert yourself without much effort. Treat your loved ones with it on an ordinary weekend or serve it at a party. You can find a detailed apple-cherry solozhenik recipe with exact quantities and step-by-step instructions here at the very bottom.
What is solozhenik?
Solozhenik is a dessert of Ukrainian cuisine. It consists of blini or thin pancakes, a sweet, often fruity filling and the meringue. There are several solozhenik recipes, which differ in the ingredients, the method of preparation and the appearance of the dish.
What fillings?
Very common are sweet fillings from fruits for solozhenik. You can use any kind of fruit. Especially popular is the Ukrainian dessert with apple or cherry filling. A mixture of different fruits makes solozhenik even more varied and interesting in taste. Sometimes jam is also used as a filling. There is also solozhenik with poppy seeds or nuts.
Blini rolls, pancake cake or soufflé
There are mainly three ways of preparing solozhenik. You can make it with filled blini rolls and the meringue on top, as in my recipe. The Ukrainian dessert in the form of a pancake cake is also very popular. In this case, blini are layered on top of each other, with the filling spread on each pancake first. This creates a blini cake, which is then completely covered with the meringue. And there is also sour cream solozhenik, which is similar to a soufflé. Its preparation is the simplest, because for this you just mix all the ingredients into a liquid batter. The batter is then distributed among small ramekins and baked in the oven.
This solozhenik is
- fruity,
- airy,
- delicate,
- sweet,
- very tasty,
- with apple and cherry filling,
- with many flavors,
- easy to make yourself,
- perfect for dessert during the week or for a special occasion,
- sweet classic of Ukrainian cuisine.
Recipe for apple-cherry solozhenik
The recipe for the solozhenik with apple-cherry filling is not difficult at all. You just need to make the filling, pancakes and meringue for it. Here you can get a rough idea of how the preparation goes, and what you need for it. You can find the exact quantities and step-by-step instructions on how to make the apple-cherry solozhenik yourself here below in the box recipe.
For the apple filling you will need
- apples – cut into small cubes,
- sugar,
- butter
- and cinnamon.
For the cherry filling you need
- frozen sour cherries,
- sugar
- and cornstarch.
For the blini add
- milk,
- butter,
- egg yolks,
- sugar,
- flour,
- pinch of salt.
And for the meringue are needed
- egg whites,
- sugar
- and some food grade citric acid.
How to make apple-cherry solozhenik: here’s how (Check out the detailed recipe at the bottom.)
- For the apple filling, briefly fry apple cubes in butter along with sugar and cinnamon. For the cherry filling, simmer sour cherries with sugar and cornstarch until thickened.
- For the blini, mix all ingredients into a slightly thick batter and fry pancakes. Fill the blini alternately with apple and cherry filling and roll them up. Place the pancake rolls close together in a casserole dish.
- For the meringue, whip egg whites, sugar and citric acid until stiff. Spread the meringue on the blini rolls and bake the solozhenik at 170 °C for about 15 minutes. Finished!
How to make apple-cherry solozhenik: tips and tricks
- The blini batter for solozhenik should not be too thin, but slightly thicker than for classic blini. Otherwise, your blini might crack because the batter does not contain whole eggs, only egg yolks, and thus has less binding.
- You can adjust the amount of sugar for the fillings and blini batter to taste.
- You can omit cinnamon in the apple filling.
- You can make the apple and cherry fillings the day before, let them cool and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight.
- You can also make the solozhenik in the form of a pancake cake. See my notes on this above.
- To bake the Ukrainian dessert, you’ll need an approximately 31 cm x 20 cm casserole dish.
- Be sure not to leave the solozhenik unattended in the oven for too long, as it can quickly burn on the surface.
Did you make the apple-cherry solozhenik using this recipe? I’m looking forward to your result, your star rating and your comment here below on how you succeeded and tasted the Ukrainian dessert.
Fancy getting more recipes from Ukrainian cuisine? Try:
- Khreshchatyk cake – from the treasure chest of Soviet cake recipes
- Potato zrazy with mushrooms – vegan recipe for stuffed kartoflaniki
- Holodnik / svekolnik: recipe for popular Slavic cold beet soup
Apple-cherry solozhenik
Equipment
- 31 cm x 20 cm casserole dish
Ingredients
for the apple filling
- 250 g apples cored
- 20 g sugar
- 20 g butter
- 1 tsp cinnamon
for the cherry filling
- 350 g sour cherries frozen
- 40 g sugar
- 15 g cornstarch
for the blini
- 4 egg yolks
- approx. 190 ml milk lukewarm
- 70 g butter melted and cooled to lukewarm
- 40 g sugar
- 130 g flour
- 1 pinch of salt
for the meringue
- 4 egg whites
- 100 g sugar
- 1 pinch of citric acid food grade
Instructions
Preparation of the apple filling
- Cut apples into small cubes.
- Melt butter in a frying pan. Add apples along with sugar and cinnamon and fry over medium heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes so that apples soften. Let the apple filling cool down.
Preparation of the cherry filling
- Mix sugar with cornstarch.
- Put sour cherries in a pan with the sugar-cornstarch mixture and heat slowly over low heat, stirring, until juices have formed and the cherries are thawed.
- Now bring the cherry mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened, about 1 - 2 minutes. Let the cherry filling cool down.
Preparation of the blini
- Mix egg yolks, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Add melted butter cooled to lukewarm and 100 ml milk and mix.
- Add flour and mix to form a viscous batter.
- Now add the rest of the milk in portions until you get a slightly thick batter, not too thin, but a bit thicker than the classic blini batter. Let the batter rest for 20 minutes.
- Heat a non-stick frying pan. Using a ladle, pour some batter into the hot pan and make brisk circular motions with the pan so that the batter is even and thin, but slightly thicker than classic blini, all over the surface of the pan. Fry the pancake over medium heat until golden brown to golden brown on both sides. Repeat the procedure until all the batter is used up (for me, 8 pancakes each about Ø 20 cm large), stirring the batter in the mixing bowl as you go.
- Fill half of the still warm blini with the apple filling and the other half with the cherry filling, form the blini into rolls and arrange them closely next to each other in a casserole dish. How to fill the blini and form them into rolls: To do this, spread about 2 tablespoons (or depending on the size of your pancakes) of cherry filling on one side of a pancake lengthwise first and roll up the pancake. Repeat the same with the other pancakes and the remaining cherry filling. Then do the same with the second half of the pancakes and the apple filling.
Preparation of the meringue
- Beat egg whites, citric acid and sugar until stiff.
- Spread the meringue on the filled blini in the casserole dish and smooth it down. Alternatively, you can put some of the meringue in a piping bag with a star nozzle and use it to pipe flowers on the surface.
- Bake the solozhenik in a preheated oven at 170 °C top and bottom heat for about 15 minutes, until its surface is lightly browned.
Notes
- The blini batter for solozhenik should not be too thin, but slightly thicker than for classic blini. Otherwise, the blini might crack, as the batter does not contain whole eggs, only egg yolks, and thus has less binding.
- You can adjust the amount of sugar for the fillings and blini batter to taste.
- You can make the apple and cherry fillings the day before, let them cool and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight.
- Do not leave the solozhenik unattended in the oven for too long, as it can quickly burn on the surface.
- Note the detailed tips and tricks for making the apple-cherry solozhenik at the top of the post.