Syrniki

Line a sieve with muslin, tip in the tvorog, set it over a bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Do not skip this. Curd carries whey, and wet curd needs far more flour to hold together at all — and flour is exactly what turns a syrnik dense and floury. Drained curd holds its shape with very little.

If you are working with quark or dry curd cottage cheese, drain it the same way. Ricotta will make fritters too, but it is wetter and milder, needs up to 20g more of the shaping flour worked into the mixture, and gives a softer, cakier result that is not quite the same dish.

Press the drained curd through a sieve with a spatula, or blitz it for a few seconds in a processor, until the grain has gone and it is smooth.

Beat in the egg, sugar, salt and vanilla.

Fold in the 60g of flour for the mixture, stopping as soon as it disappears. The mixture should be soft but hold a shape when you press it in your palm.

Scatter the 40g of shaping flour over a tray.

Divide the mixture into 12, roll each piece into a ball in floured hands, then flatten it into a puck about 6cm across and 2cm thick, coating it in flour as you go.

Keep them thick. Thin syrniki dry out and toughen before the middle has warmed through.

Chill the shaped syrniki for 30 minutes, which firms them enough to survive the turn.

If a test one spreads in the pan, fold a spoonful of the shaping flour into the remaining mixture and shape again.

Heat the oil and butter together in a heavy frying pan over medium-low heat, to around 160C/325F. The oil raises the smoke point; butter on its own scorches long before the syrniki are cooked.

Fry for 4-5 minutes on the first side, until a firm deep-gold crust has formed and the syrnik lifts cleanly.

Turn once and fry for a further 4-5 minutes, until the second side matches and the centre feels set but still yielding.

Hold the heat down. There is sugar in the mixture and it browns fast, so a hot pan gives a dark crust over a cold, wet centre.

Drain on kitchen paper and serve warm, with the soured cream and the jam or honey.