Struwen

It's Good Friday today, and I am currently in the process of making Struwen. Struwen are a traditional Good Friday recipe where I live. They are essentially slightly sweet yeast pancakes with raisins.

Originally they were a proper Lenten dish, containing none of the forbidden ingredients such as butter or eggs, but over the years, probably even centuries, they have grown into a quite luxurious treat. ;-)



In my family, my gran always used to make them for the whole family on Good Friday, but as she is getting older, I have started to take on part of the responsibility, using her recipe.And because I think that traditions are worth sharing and spreading, here is the recipe we use:

500g flour
375 ml milk (lukewarm)
40g yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1-2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
30g butter
250g raisins/sultanas
peel of one lemon
frying grease or oil

Preparation:
1. Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm milk.

2. Place flour in a bowl and make a shallow opening for yeast milk.

3. Mix yeast milk with a little flour and let rise for 15 minutes.

4. Add the remaining ingredients and beat well until smooth.

5. Let rise for an hour.

6. Bake in a well heated pan, making small pancakes (approx. 1 tablespoon of batter per cake).

7. Eat warm or cold, with maybe a bit of sugar and cinnamon, and a milky coffee.