Sochniki – recipe for popular curd cakes from the Soviet era

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Delicate shortbread that melts in your mouth and sweet, juicy tvorog filling – sochniki are a taste experience in themselves. Whether with tea, coffee, for breakfast or as a snack between meals – the popular Russian curd bags are irresistibly delicious. What’s more, they’re quick and easy to bake. Here I’ll show you how it’s done. A detailed sochniki recipe with exact quantities and step-by-step instructions can be found below.

Sochniki – recipe for popular curd cakes from the Soviet era

Sweet highlight from the Soviet era

Sochniki were especially popular during the Soviet era. Whether in a bakery or in a school cafeteria, no one could pass by the sweet pastries without buying it and snacking on it immediately. Both for children and adults sochniki were a hit at that time. But even now the mini cheesecakes are popular in Russia. Many now bake them themselves. By the way, the word “sochnyj” translated from Russian means “juicy”.

Russian sochniki

What do sochniki look like?

Sochniki are semicircular, filled dumplings. They can be formed both slightly open, so that the filling is visible at the edge, and closed. In the case of open dumplings, the edge is often wavy, which makes them look especially pretty. To do this, take a round, wavy cookie cutter and use it to cut out circles from the dough. I used a wavy cookie cutter of about Ø 10 cm and got 21 pieces of sochniki according to the recipe below. Of course, you can also use a simple round cookie cutter.

How do the Russian curd bags taste?

Russian sochniki taste like the best cheesecake in the world – small, but delicious. The combination of a crispy dough and the soft curd filling is incredibly delicious. Sochniki just melt in your mouth immediately – that’s how tender they are. After one bite, you’re guaranteed to devour the whole pastry.

Russian curd bags

Stuffing sochniki with curd or tvorog?

You can make the best sochniki by filling them with Russian tvorog. This way they taste like the original. This is because tvorog differs from curd or cream cheese both in consistency and taste. Since tvorog is not mushy, it is also easier to fill the curd bags with it. You can buy tvorog in some supermarkets, Russian stores or on Amazon. You can also easily make your own tvorog. If you don’t have tvorog at hand, you can fill sochniki with curd or cream cheese. Just make sure that the curd is not too runny.

Serve and store the Russian mini cheesecakes

The sweet curd bags are perfect for dessert with coffee and tea after dinner. Or you can snack on them in between meals as delicious cookies. For those who love sweet breakfast, sochniki are perfect for that. They are also ideal for a party and very convenient to serve. Still warm, right after baking the mini cheesecakes taste especially delicious. The next day you feel they taste even better. Just try it! The sochniki last quite a long time and taste just as delicious for several days as they do after baking. Store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container, such as a tupperware. That way they won’t dry out, and you can enjoy them for up to a week. But you definitely won’t be able to resist the sweet pastries for that long, and you’ll eat them up much faster.

Russian small cheesecakes

These sochniki are

  • tender,
  • crispy,
  • juicy,
  • soft,
  • airy,
  • aromatic,
  • incredibly tasty,
  • easy and quick to bake,
  • long shelf life,
  • just as delicious in the next few days,
  • perfect for dessert during the week or for a party,
  • a classic from the Soviet era.

Bake sochniki: the recipe

The exact quantities and step-by-step instructions, according to which you can bake sochniki yourself, you can find here below in the box recipe.

The sochniki recipe is very simple. You need a few common ingredients (maybe with the exception of tvorog) for it, which you may already have at home.

For the shortcrust you will need

  • butter,
  • eggs,
  • sugar,
  • sour cream,
  • flour,
  • baking powder
  • and vanilla.

For the filling you only need

  • tvorog,
  • sugar
  • and egg white.

With the remaining egg yolk, you then brush the curd bags before baking.

Baking sochniki: this is how it works

  1. For the dough, mix butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Gradually add flour with baking powder and knead into a soft dough. Put the dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  2. For the filling, mash tvorog with egg whites and sugar with a fork.
  3. Roll out the dough, cut out circles, place some filling on one half of each circle and beat the second half on top.
  4. Mix the egg yolk with a little water, brush the curd bags with it and bake at 180 °C for about 30 minutes. Done!

Sweet curd bags

Baking sochniki: with these tips and tricks you will succeed perfectly

  • To give the dough the right consistency, add flour gradually. The amount of flour specified in the recipe may vary. The dough should be very soft and elastic. It should not be mushy, very sticky or too firm.
  • Do not knead the dough too long.
  • You can change the amount of sugar in the dough according to your taste.
  • For example, vanilla sugar, vanilla powder, vanilla extract or vanilla bean can be used.
  • You can also leave the dough in the refrigerator for more than 20 minutes.
  • For the filling it is best to use Russian tvorog if you want to make mini cheesecakes that taste like the original.
  • If you use curd for the filling, use one that is not too runny.
  • Mash the tvorog for the sochniki filling only with a fork and do not use a hand blender for it. Otherwise, the tvorog may become too liquid.
  • You can adjust the amount of sugar for the filling according to your taste.
  • Prepare the tvorog filling immediately before you start to process it. You must not let it stand too long, otherwise it could become liquid.
  • You can seal the curd bags by gluing the edges together after filling the dough.
  • Do not bake sochniki for too long, so that they taste juicy afterwards. After baking, they should have a light golden brown color. You can do a chopstick test to check if the dough is done baking.
  • Store the Russian mini cheesecakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will keep for up to a week.

Sochniki recipe

Video for the sochniki recipe

By the way, on my Youtube channel you can find a short video for the russian sochniki. There you can watch exactly how to form and bake them. If you don’t want to miss any more videos from me, feel free to subscribe to my channel.

Have you baked sochniki according to this recipe? I’m looking forward to your results, your star rating and your comment on the recipe below, how they turned out and how you liked them.

Sochniki

Sochniki

Delicate shortbread that melts in your mouth and sweet, juicy tvorog filling – sochniki are a taste experience in themselves. Whether with tea, coffee, for breakfast or as a snack between meals – the popular Russian curd bags are irresistibly delicious. Moreover, they are easy and quick to bake according to this recipe.
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Russian
Servings 21 sochniki

Equipment

  • approx. Ø 10 cm large cookie cutter

Ingredients
  

for the dough

  • 150 g butter (room temperature)
  • 200 g sour cream
  • 160 g sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • approx. 550 g flour
  • 15 g baking powder
  • vanilla
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • flour for the work surface

for the filling

  • 400 g tvorog
  • 120 g sugar
  • white of 1 egg

for coating

  • yolk of 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp water

for dusting (alternative)

  • powdered sugar

Instructions
 

Preparation of the dough

  • Mix softened butter and sugar.
  • Add eggs, sour cream, vanilla and salt and mix thoroughly.
  • Mix flour and baking powder, add it in batches to the sour cream-egg-butter-sugar mixture and knead it into a soft dough. (Be sure to follow the tips and tricks at the top of the post for this). Put the dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Preparation of the filling

  • Put tvorog in a mixing bowl, add egg whites and sugar and mash it with a fork.

Shaping and baking the sochniki

  • Dust the work surface with flour, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 0.4 cm and cut out circles of about Ø 10 cm with a cookie cutter.
  • First take a circle of dough and pull it very slightly lengthwise to form an oval. Place about 1 heaped teaspoon of tvorog filling (the amount depends on the size of your circles) on one half of the oval and place the second half on top. Immediately place the shaped sotschnik on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat the same with all the dough circles.
  • Mix egg yolk with water and brush the curd bags with it.
  • Bake the sochniki in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 30 minutes. Let them cool down and dust them with powdered sugar if necessary.

Notes

  • To give the dough the right consistency, add flour little by little. The dough should be very soft and elastic. It should not be mushy, very sticky or too firm.
  • Do not knead the dough for too long.
  • Adjust the amount of sugar for the dough and for the filling according to taste.
  • For the filling it is best to use Russian tvorog.
  • Mash the tvorog with a fork and do not use a hand blender for this. Otherwise, the tvorog mixture could become too liquid.
  • Prepare the filling right before proceeding and do not let it stand for a long time, otherwise it could become liquid.
  • Do not bake sochniki too long so that they taste juicy. After baking, they should have a light golden brown color. Do a chopstick test to check if the dough is done baking.
  • Note the detailed tips and tricks for baking sochniki at the top of the post.
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