These soft Polish crepes or Nalesniki are filled with a smooth, sweet, and delicious quark cheese filling.
These nalesniki, or Polish crepes, are the best! You'll love every bite of the tender, thin crepes and their cheese filling.
I make crepes often, as I have a passion for them. My children love them too, so if I forget to make them for a while, one of the kids will always remind me!
I usually make regular crepes filled with sugar or jam or ham and cheese. But now and then, I try something more unusual, like the Crepes with Rhubarb Compote, Wild Garlic Crepes, or Beetroot Crepes. Today's nalesniki recipe is a bit more special than my usual stuff. Not so much the crepes themselves, but the filling.
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Recipe ingredients
Crepes:
- I used a mixture of milk and sparkling water, and I loved the result; I find that the sparkling water makes the crepes even softer and fluffier than they usually are.
- I never add sugar to the batter. I always fill part of the crepes with ham and cheese and sometimes with another savory filling, so the sugar would not be suitable in this case. And, when eating sweet pancakes, you already have the sugar in the filling.
Filling:
- Quark with about 20% fat. You can use low-fat quark as well, but in this case, I prefer the medium one. It is dessert, after all. 🙂 And if you like quark, try these Fluffy Quark Muffins.
- Two egg yolks. As the egg yolks will remain raw in the filling, it is preferable to use pasteurized eggs just to be on the safe side.
Read below for more suggestions on how to fill the nalesniki pancakes.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make nalesniki?
The batter
Making this Polish nalesniki recipe is easy. Just mix the ingredients, let the batter rest, then pan-fry the crepes. Fill them with sweet or savory fillings and enjoy.
Use a hand-held mixer or blender to whip the ingredients. After mixing, let the batter rest until the foam disappears, about 30 minutes, to avoid holes in the crepes.
Make in advance: You can also make the batter in advance and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. In this case, the batter will thicken, but you can easily thin it by adding a bit more milk and stirring with a regular whisk to avoid forming foam again.
Cook the crepes
Cook the crepes in a good non-stick pan for best results. It lets you use just a small amount of fat, preventing sticking.
I pour a few tablespoons of vegetable oil into a small bowl and lightly brush the pan before each crepe.
And don’t worry if the first crepe breaks - just eat it and move on!
The technique for making crepes
Step #1: Heat the pan over medium-high heat and brush with a little vegetable oil.
Step #2: Use a soup ladle to pour the batter into the pan. With your left hand (if you're right-handed), pour the batter and rotate the pan to spread it evenly.
Step #3: Cook for 1-2 minutes until the bottom is lightly browned and the top is set. Loosen the edges with a rubber spatula, then flip it over. Cook the second side for about 30 seconds.
Step #4: Stack the crepes on a plate and keep them warm in the oven while you cook the rest.
Fillings for nalesniki
Serve the Polish crepes with the quark filling; it is so good. Add a dollop of jam on top to make them even better. Otherwise, whatever filling you like is fine!
Sweet fillings: sugar, jam, compote, Apricot Sauce, Whipped Cottage Cheese with honey and banana slices, any other fresh, canned, or stewed fruit or berries, Nutella, ice cream, and so on. We love them with Apricot Jam (to be seen in the pictures) or Rhubarb Raspberry Jam,
Savory fillings: ham and cheese, only cheese (different sorts), ground meat sauce, chicken with various sauces, stir-fried vegetables, and so on. Try them with ground beef cooked from frozen or ground turkey teriyaki.
How to keep crepes warm?
Keep the crepes warm in the oven at about 100 degrees Celsius/ 210 degrees Fahrenheit.
You can reheat them in the microwave, oven, or pan. For the oven, place the crepes on a baking tray lined with parchment, cover with foil, and heat at 350°F/180°C for 5-10 minutes, checking for warmth. Alternatively, heat them in a pan for a few seconds on each side, being careful not to burn them.
Store
Refrigerator: Stack crepes in foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 days. Reheat them in the pan.
Freezer: Stack but separate them with foil. Freeze for up to 2 months. It is preferable, but not entirely necessary, to defrost them before reheating. Reheat gently in the pan.
The filling keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days. It is not suitable for freezing.
Nalesniki Recipe - Polish Crepes
Ingredients
Crepe batter:
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sparkling water
- 1 cup milk
- 1⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- a pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil more as required
- jam to serve optional, Note 1
Filling:
- 1 lb quark 20% fat
- 2 egg yolks Note 2
- 5-6 tablespoons sugar to taste
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract Note 3
Instructions
Batter:
- Mix batter: Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl. Mix well with an electric mixer, then cover and let rest for about half an hour. Most of the foam that has formed should be gone. In the meantime, make the filling.2 eggs + 1 cup sparkling water + 1 cup milka pinch of salt+ 1⅔ cup all-purpose flour + a pinch of salt
Filling:
- Make the filling: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well until smooth. Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.1 lb quark + 2 egg yolks + 5-6 tablespoons sugar + ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Cook:
- Cook nalesniki: Heat a crepe pan or a nonstick pan on medium-high heat. Pour some vegetable oil into a small bowl. Brush the pan with a little oil.1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Technique: Use a soup ladle to pour some batter into the pan. Take the pan with your left hand (if you are right-handed) and slowly pour the batter into the pan. Slowly rotate the pan to make sure that the batter spreads evenly onto the bottom of the pan. Keep in mind that the crepes should be thin, so don't add too much batter to the pan, just enough to cover its bottom with a thin film of batter.
- Cook the crepe for one or two minutes on the first side until the bottom is lightly browned and the top looks set. Loosen the crepe by going around the edges of the pan using a rubber spatula, then flip it on the other side using the spatula. Fry the second side for only about half a minute.
- Keep them warm: Stack the crepes together on a plate and keep them warm in the oven while you make the rest.
- Fill crepes: Place some of the filling onto the crepes and either roll or fold them.
- Serve warm with a small dollop of jam, if you like.
Notes
- The nutrition is calculated without the jam. I had an apricot jam, but anything you like is fine.
- Use the egg yolks from pasteurized eggs to be on the safe side.
- Sugar: Instead of sugar and vanilla extract, use vanilla sugar, if available.
mjskitchen says
I too have a passion for crepes. They are so versatile and you can fill them with just about anything. I've never had quark, but I understand it's quite delicious. It's impossible to find here, but maybe online? I'll try.
Kim says
Oh, wow! These look astounding. I love the simplicity of crepes and the variety of fillings and ways you can eat them. I don't think we have quark in the U.S. but I wonder if strained yogurt or whipped cream cheese can be substituted. Absolutely delish. -Kim
Adina says
Hi Kim,
Crepes are just a perfect dish for me, I could eat them anytime and with any kind of filling, well except with nutelly, my kids love that but I find it terrible... 🙂 Quark is really good and healthy and you can buy it anywhere in Germany, it's probably even cheaper than yogurt. I was thinking about making it at home and posting a recipe, I used it quite often in my recipes, maybe it would not be bad to offer a recipe for homemade quark for the American readers. Strained yogurt or whipped cream cheese would taste great as well in this combination, I am sure.
mjskitchen says
Sparkling water in a crepe recipe? That's a new one for me. That I've got to try. This dish just looks so irresistibly good that I'm just going to have to give it a try. Your pictures are incredible.
Adina says
Thank you, MJ. Sparkling water makes the crepes really fluffy, you should try it.
Sissi says
Your crêpes bring back childhood memories... but yours look much lighter and thinner! The Polish traditional ones are usually thicker and almost as filling as bigos 😉 Though maybe nowadays some people make healthier, thinner crêpes.
Nice idea to serve them with apricot jam!
Anca says
Add the sugar if you want to, it will not stick to the pan. When I make crepes I never add sugar or flavours (vanilla or something else) as I might make them with savoury filling too. But, when I make pancakes (thick ones), I sometimes add sugar and they are fine.
Adina says
I heard that so many times from my grandma, I was always afraid to actually try it... 🙂 🙂 But it is good to know that it works. But most of the times when I make crepes I fill half of them with ham and cheese, so I prefer to leave the batter plain.
Alina @ Delicious Romania says
I just love reading about your grandma, she had such a strong personality. 🙂 I've also never tried adding sugar to the batter, I guess it becomes caramelized in the pan and might stick to it... or it would make the crepes less soft. Your crepes look perfect, and this combination with quark and jam sounds yummy!
Adina says
She was quite something, my grandma... Not exactly the soft grandmother type, but at least she took care of me... 🙂
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
They look mouthwatering!
Adina says
Thank you, Angie.