Varškės sūrelis

Ingredients

Curd

• 500 gvarškė, dry curd cheese, or dry quark

To sweeten

• 80 gicing sugar
• 1 tspvanilla
• a pinch of salt

To bind

• 50 gbutter, softened
• 2 tbspsour cream or condensed milk

Optional

• 50 graisins
• candied peel
• cocoa powder, for a chocolate curd

Coating

• 250 gdark or milk chocolate
• 1 tbspneutral oil or 20 g butter

Equipment

• a tray lined with baking paper
• a fork or dipping tool

To serve

• cold, from the fridge

Directions

1. Use varškė, the dry crumbly Baltic curd cheese, or a dry quark. It must be dry. Add the sour cream sparingly and only enough to bring it together.
2. Beat it until completely smooth. It should be stiff enough to hold a shape when squeezed, like thick marzipan. Stir in raisins or peel if you want them. Divide the mixture and roll each portion into a small rectangular bar, about 8 cm long.
3. Use damp hands or a piece of cling film, since the mixture is sticky. Press them firmly so there are no air pockets, which would collapse under the chocolate.
4. Set the bars on a lined tray and freeze them for at least an hour, until genuinely firm. A soft curd bar dropped into melted chocolate simply disintegrates, and a frozen one holds together and sets the chocolate on contact.
5. Melt it gently over a bain-marie or in short bursts in a microwave, with a spoonful of oil or a knob of butter. The added fat keeps the coating from setting too hard and brittle, so it snaps rather than shatters.
6. Let it cool slightly, so it is fluid but not hot. Hot chocolate melts the surface of the bar even when frozen, and a slightly cooled coating sets faster and thinner.
7. Set them back on the lined tray. The chocolate sets almost instantly on the cold bar. Dip them a second time if you want a thicker shell. Now refrigerate them for at least an hour. Serve them cold, straight from the fridge. They must be kept refrigerated, since the curd is a fresh dairy product and they soften quickly at room temperature.

Technique

• It is a Soviet-era dairy product and the commercial version is industrial.
• Syrok is the Russian name for essentially the same thing.
• They must be kept refrigerated.

Substitutions

• Dry quark or well-drained ricotta in place of varškė.
• Any good chocolate for coating.

Variations

• With a fruit or jam centre.
• With poppy seed through the curd.
• Coated in white chocolate.

History

A Baltic dairy invention of the Soviet period, now a Lithuanian supermarket and lunchbox staple.

Frequently asked questions

What is Varškės sūrelis?

Varškės sūrelis is a snack from Lithuania: sweet curd bar coated in chocolate, sold chilled. A Baltic dairy invention of the Soviet period, now a Lithuanian supermarket and lunchbox staple.

How long does Varškės sūrelis take to make?

Varškės sūrelis takes 30 min plus 2 hr chilling of preparation and 10 min of cooking. The recipe makes 10 bars. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Varškės sūrelis?

Yes, within limits. Dry quark or well-drained ricotta in place of varškė. Any good chocolate for coating.

What is the most important thing to get right in Varškės sūrelis?

Use varškė, the dry crumbly Baltic curd cheese, or a dry quark. It must be dry. Add the sour cream sparingly and only enough to bring it together.