Сладости…russian sweets

Сочни – it is a little pie made out of dough that resembles kind of a soft cookie dough. Inside the pie there is tvorog mixed with sugar, butter and eggs. You can find them in many shops and supermarkets by the bread section or in a кондитерская (konditerskaya) located all over town.

Картошка – It is a little bit like a chocolate salami consistency-wise, but kartoshka don’t actually have chocolate in them, only cocoa powder. The ingredients are cookies, butter, condensed milk and cocoa powder (very soon you will understand that Russians are quite fond of condensed milk). The original kartoshka will look like an actual potato: dark on the outside, light on the inside. They are sold in many supermarkets and you should also easily find them in a кондитерская.

Сырки, these little tvorog cakes have a similar flavor and consistency to cheesecake, but they are made of tvorog, butter and sugar. They come in very small packages in the shape of a mini sneakers, but you probably won’t want to have more than one, as they are quite rich.

Blini (блины, блинчики), the Russian crepe, you can make a meal out of them, or for dessert. Typically they are filled with something salty or sweet: meat, chicken, potatoes, mushrooms, tvorog, jam, sweet condensed milk.

Сырники – these are small dense pancakes made out of tvorog, semolina, eggs and sugar. Sometimes raisins can be added as well. They can easily be done at home, and I highly recommend you to do so. Make sure you eat them cold, though.

Вареники, – is a ravioli with jam inside. The dough is typically made with flour, water and salt, and the jam is normally made out of some kind of berry. Interestingly, it is not considered a dessert, but a dish like any other. I say only try them if they are handmade, otherwise they should be quite plain and boring.

зефир – a type of soft confectionery made by whipping fruit and berry purée (mostly apple purée) with sugar and egg whites and adding a gelling agent like pectin, carrageenan, agar, or gelatine.

пышки – I call them Russian donuts. They are deep fried, very greasy round pieces of dough, very generously soaked in oil. They are found in some special cafés around St. Petersburg and are quite caloric. A Russian would normally have between 2 and 4 of these, and they dip the donut on icing sugar.

Пряники, The Russian gingerbread, it can be found in two different shapes: either a rectangular shape with a print on top made with the help of metallic or wooden pastry molds, or in small round shapes with an icing sugar glaze on top.