Curd Pancakes with Nuts and Mascarpone Cheese

Delicious and easy to make – curd pancakes can be an amazing weekend treat or scrumptious dinner after a long working day. The duo of curd and nuts is highly beneficial and provides your body with plenty of protein and good fats.

I love everything associated with the word pancakes. I feel like my inner child always wakes up when I’m at a restaurant and see pancakes with maple syrup and fresh berries on the menu. It doesn’t matter if it’s day or night time. I am always in. It’s like my little love affair.

If you’re conscious of your nutrient intake (and aren’t we all!?), you can create a slightly healthier option by adding curd into the pancake recipe. If you are not familiar with this ingredient, let me tell you: you need this in your life as soon as possible! First of all, curd is full of long-lasting protein. This means that you can have it for your dinner and during your sleep it will feed your muscles. Basically, you’ll get fitter while you sleep and as a result, it will help build bigger, more functional and leaner muscles at a quicker rate.

If lean muscles are not your priority, curd has other health benefits. Firstly, it’s full of amino acids, which are necessary for your gut health and nerve system. Secondly, it contains calcium and phosphorus which strengthen your bones, teeth and heart muscles. Last but not least, it is also full of vitamins such as A, B, D, E, K – which are necessary if you want to have a healthy body. So, by adding this one ingredient into your diet, you’ll be able to benefit your entire body. I am telling you – it’s a magical product.

I understand that in the Western World, curd still needs to have its moment in the sun, but in Eastern Europe, this product was and still is one of our store-cupboard essentials. I still remember my Dad eating curd and yogurt as his dinner. He loved it so much! It was like his little treat. To be honest, I’ve never been such fan, but I really appreciate curd in my pancakes, cakes or even as an ingredient for the sauce next to my boiled potatoes (I will share more recipes with you in the future on how you can incorporate curd in your diet). These might sound like crazy options, but trust me, everything works perfectly.

Well, here in the UK, my first challenge was to buy it. But thank God for the Eastern European aisles in the shops. If you’ve never looked at them before, now is your chance to do it. Go for the full fat curd to get a better, bigger, more rounded taste. Of course this means more calories, but you’ll also get more vitamins and calcium to support your body. Low fat curd is also an option, just don’t forget that it means low calories but also lower concentration of minerals and vitamins.

Just give this recipe a go and I promise, it will be your new favourite breakfast choice. 

Recipe:

Ingredients:
300g curd
2 eggs
150g flour
20g sugar
1 lemon
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
50g nuts (I used a mix of cashews, almonds and hazelnuts)
Butter for frying
Pinch of salt

To serve:
Mascarpone cheese
Fresh berries
Honey

1. Using a fork, smash the curd until you have a smooth paste.
2. Whisk the eggs (yolk and whites together) in a separate bowl.
3. Add the curd, flour, sugar, a pinch of salt, zest of one lemon and vanilla extract into the whisked eggs. Mix everything. The dough can be a little bit sticky, but if you feel that it is far too sticky, add one more spoon of flour.
4. Sprinkle some crushed nuts on a surface.
5. Using your hands, make small balls from the dough and then roll them all over the nuts, to create a nice nutty layer around the outside.
6. Preheat a frying pan, add some butter and fry the pancakes on both sides until they are golden.
7. Serve them with the mascarpone cheese, fresh berries and drizzle some honey.