Polish Apple Pancakes (Racuchy z Jabłkami)

Stack of apple pancakes on a small plate, lightly dusted with icing sugar.

5 from 1 vote

Polish Apple Pancakes (Racuchy z Jabłkami)

These yeasted Polish apple pancakes or racuchy z jabłkami are thick, fluffy, delicious and bursting full of fragrant and juicy apple chunks. So incredibly moreish too.

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Dinner, Snack

Cuisine Polish

Keyword polish apple pancakes, racuchy z jabłkami

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Proving time 1 10

Total Time 1 45

Servings pancakes

Calories 102kcal

Author Jo Allison

Equipment

Ingredients

250 g plain (all-purpose) flour
30 g caster or granulated sugar
2 teaspoon dried quick yeast (7g sachet) see notes
1 tsp ground cinnamon optional
pinch of salt
1 large egg see notes
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
250 ml soya milk see notes
3-4 eating apples use your favourite eating apples; I like Gala
oil for frying I use cold-pressed rapeseed oil
Icing sugar to serve

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon (if using) and yeast.
***Quick Tip*** I like to use a whisk for mixing but you could also sieve flour into the bowl first, add sugar, salt, cinnamon (if using) and yeast and mix them all together with a spoon or spatula.
250 g plain (all-purpose) flour, 30 g caster or granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, pinch of salt, 2 teaspoon dried quick yeast (7g sachet)
Pour the milk into a small saucepan and heat it up very gently until just warm to touch. It will take less than 30 seconds.
***Quick Tip*** If you have digital thermometer you want your milk to be anything between 38–43ºC/100–110ºF. Alternatively, you can put clean fingers into the milk and if it feels just warm to touch it's the right temperature.
250 ml soya milk
Next, to the bowl with flour mixture add one egg and vanilla extract.
As you start mixing them into the flour, slowly start adding warm milk and whisking it into the mixture. Once all the milk has been added, continue whisking the batter until it's nice and smooth (similar to really thick pancake batter).
***Quick Tip*** You could use hand mixer here instead of the whisk.
1 large egg, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cover the bowl with clean tea towel or plastic shower cap and leave it somewhere warm for about an hour to rest.
Towards the end of proving time, peel, core and cut the apples into small chunks.
***Quick Tip*** The smaller the apple chunks the quicker your pancakes will cook but if you like biting into apple pieces don't cut them too small. Conversely, if you have a picky eater who doesn't like apples, you can grate them instead.
Add them into proved batter and fold them in gently. Let the batter sit for another 10-15 minutes.
3-4 eating apples
Once pancake batter had another quick rest, you can start frying pancakes.
Put little bit of oil in a frying pan and let it get nice and hot. Spoon 1 heaped table/soup spoon of batter per pancake onto a pan and fry until puffed, golden and edges are starting to come away from the pan. Flip your pancakes and fry on the other side.
***Quick Tip*** Once your pan is nice and hot, keep it on low to medium-low to ensure pancakes are cooked both on the outside and on the inside without burning.
When ready, transfer the pancakes onto a plate lined with some paper towel and repeat the process with remaining pancake batter.
To serve, sprinkle with icing sugar and enjoy!

Notes

Nutritional information is per pancakes based on 15 pancakes and does not include oil for frying and icing sugar for serving.
You can make these pancakes with fresh yeast instead of dried. You will need 14g of fresh yeast which you will need to activate first. See MAKING RACUCHY WITH FRESH YEAST above.
Egg can be substituted with 1 tablespoon of neutral oil to make these pancakes vegan.
Traditionally racuchy are made with dairy milk which I substituted for soya. Feel free to use any neutral plant milk instead.
Leftover apple pancakes can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheat in a dry pan, low oven at 160-170°C (320-340°F), air fryer (4-5 minutes at 170°C (340°F) or microwave (don't recommend as they'll go soggy).
I don't recommend freezing.

PRO TIPS:

For best results, always use digital scale to weigh out the ingredients.

Good shallow, non-stick pancake/crepe pan or cast iron griddle/pancake pan makes frying pancakes so much easier.

Make sure to heat up your pan and the oil well before frying pancakes. This will ensure they won't soak up too much fat and remain light and fluffy.

As much as really hot pan is important, when frying your pancakes, keep the heat relatively low to medium-low. You want pancakes to cook through, no raw middle and no burnt outside either.

Keep apple chunks relatively small (I always cut mine too big) as it will help with even cooking.

Only flip your pancakes when you can easily slide the spatula underneath without them falling apart. The bottom should be golden and the edges should be crispy and coming away from the pan.

To keep pancakes warm as you fry, pop them in the oven preheated to 80°C (176°F) until you're ready to serve. Make sure to keep them in single layer or they will go soggy.

Nutrition