Naleśniki z Serem (Polish Crêpes with Sweet Farmer's Cheese)

Instructions

1. Whisk the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the eggs, milk and sparkling water and whisk until smooth, with no lumps. Stir in the oil and rest the batter for 30 minutes.
2. Heat a 24 cm (9 1/2 in) nonstick skillet over medium heat and brush it lightly with oil. Pour in about 60 ml (1/4 cup) of batter and tilt the pan to coat the base thinly.
3. Cook for 1 minute, until the edges lift and the underside is pale gold, then flip and cook for 30 seconds more. Stack the pancakes on a plate. You should get about 12.
4. For the filling, press the cheese through a sieve or mash it well with a fork. Mix in the powdered sugar, egg yolk, vanilla, lemon zest and raisins until creamy but still thick. Taste and sweeten if you like.
5. Put about 3 tbsp of filling on the lower third of each pancake. Fold in the sides, then roll up from the bottom to make a closed envelope.
6. Melt a little butter in a skillet and fry the filled pancakes in batches, seam side down first, for 2 minutes per side, until golden and warm through. Serve with sour cream and berries or jam.

Tips

• Rest the batter so the flour hydrates, which makes the pancakes thinner and less likely to tear. The batter keeps overnight in the fridge, and the plain pancakes freeze well.
• The raw egg yolk only helps bind the filling, and it is heated through when the pancakes are fried. If you serve the pancakes unfried, leave the yolk out.