Soul food doesn’t get any better than Kaiserschmarrn. It’s a whole main dish dedicated to make you feel good – and maybe a little high on sugar too. Of course you can always share it with friends and family and make it a dessert. Funny enough, Kaiserschmarrn in Austria is never eaten as breakfast (compared to the American pancakes), but it will do for lunch (think: after 3 hours of skiing you sit down in a mountain hike) or dinner.
When you order it in a restaurant the waiter will often tell you that you’ll need to wait 20 minutes for it – which is a good sign. Kaiserschmarrn is only good when made & served fresh and straight from the kitchen. The dough actually is similar to how a souffle is made – it’s delicate and can’t be rushed.
Where does the name Kaiserschmarrn come from?
Kaiserschmarren literally translates to the „emperor’s torn pieces of pancake„. Schmarrn in the kitchen is something like a stir fry, but (fun fact) is also used in the German language to describe something that’s not just right. „So a Schmarrn“ could be translated to „such bullshit“.
Kaiserschmarrn: With or Without Raisins?
This question will divide people as long as we live. So just go with what floats your boat: raisins, rum raisins (!) or none at all.
Best easiest recipe for Kaiserschmarrn
All you need to make this is a mixing bowl and a pan with a lid. This recipe originates from the Anton Karg hut near Kufstein.
Ingredients
- 200g milk (whole milk, we don’t do skimmed/light, etc.)
- 140g flour (wheatflour, all purpose)
- a pinch of salt
- a pinch of vanilla sugar
- 3 fresh eggs
- raisins, dunked in rum if you like
- clarified butter
Sides
- Apple compote (simply throw some cooked pealed apples in the blender to make your own) or
- plum compote or cranberry compote
How to make a perfect Kaiserschmarrn
- Mix milk, flour, vanilla sugar and salt with a whisk. Add the eggs, but only whisk them in LIGHTLY! This step is very important, don’t over mix. In fact: it’s totally fine if you can see the eggs inside the dough.
- Heat up a pan with 2-3 tablespoons of clarified butter. Make sure the butter covers the whole pan.
- Add the dough to the hot pan and make sure it’s evenly distributed. Turn down the heat and be patient as the pancake slowly cooks. Take your time, you don’t want to burn the bottom.
- When you can peak underneath from the side, it’s time to add the raisons and turn the pancake. Don’t worry if the top still a little runny. What counts is to make sure the bottom side is now facing up. Add little flakes of clarified butter on the sides all around to make sure the dough won’t stick.
- Cover with the lid and NO NOT OPEN until the pancake has risen just like a soufflé. It’s the lightly whisked eggs that are responsible for the magic happening now.
- Using two forks or spoons (never a knife) you can now tear the pancake in small pieces (2x2cm) Make room for the sugar in one corner and tilt the pan, so the sugar gets the heat and starts to caramelize (turn the heat up again for this last step!).
- Mix and serve hot & right away.
Turning it Add the sugar in one corner
Further readings
If you’re a food planning a trip to Tirol, you might also want to read this!
