You can travel the world without leaving your home simply by making food from around the world. One of the most delicious traditional foods I ate in Austria was the Kaiserschmarrn (schmarrn) or also known as Austrian pancakes. Don’t be fooled, this is no ordinary pancake. It is one of the most delicious pancakes you will ever have.
This is not like your typical heavy pancake. The Kaiserschmarrn is a light and airy Austrian pancake. In my opinion, the best part of the Kaiserschmarrn is the rum-soaked raisins. This would be fantastic with a Melange, a Viennese coffee of frothed milk and steamed coffee similar to a cappuccino. This Kaiserschmarrn rezept will become a family favourite.
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What is a Kaiserchmarrn (Austrian Pancakes)
Kaiserschmarrn is a popularmealordessertinAustria,Bavaria, and many parts of the former Austro-Hungarian empire such as Hungary,Slovenia, and northernCroatia.
Kaiserschmarren is a pancakemade from a slightly sweet batter using simple ingredients of eggs, flour, sugar, milk and salt and pan baked in butter. To prepare Kaiserschmarren, theegg whitesare separated from theyolkand beaten until stiff; the flour and the egg yolks are mixed with the sugar and vanilla. Once everything has been combined it is left to sit for 10 minutes before cooking. The original Kaiserschmarren recipe calls for raisins that are soaked in rum before cooking. Other Kaiserschmarren recipe variations include cherries, plums, and chopped almonds.
While cooking the pancake it is shredded or split with a spatula or two forks into pieces while frying. Once cooked, it is placed and sprinkled with powdered sugar, then served hot with apple or plum sauce or various fruit compotes. Kaiserschmarren is eaten like a dessert, or it can also be eaten for lunch. I had it as a dessert and shared it with three other people.
Kaiserschmarrn Recipe Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons raisins (or more)
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup rum
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- Lemon zest (if you don’t have lemons on hand you can leave it out)
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp milk (I used almond milk)
- 1 cup of all-purpose flour (for a gluten-free version substitute Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour or on Amazon.ca)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Confectioners’ sugar for garnish
- Applesauce or other preserves to garnish (optional)
Kaiserschmarrn Recipe Instructions
- Place the raisins in a small bowl and pour the rumover and let sit overnight.
- In a bowl, beat theegg whitesto form soft peaks then add a pinch of salt toward the end.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks, vanilla, sugar, and optional lemon zest until the mixture is light in color.
- Start to add the flour and milk, mixing in a little at a time. Don’t add it all at once or it will create lumps.
- Fold in the whisked egg whites into the egg yolk batter and let the batter rest for approximately 10 minutes.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large frying pan. (around 10-12 inches)
- Stir the Kaiserschmarren batter gently with a wooden spoon then pour the entire bowl of batter into the hot pan.
- Sprinkle the soaked rum raisins evenly over the top of the Kaiserschmarren batter.
- Cover the frying pan with a lid and let the pancake cook for approximately 10 minutes over medium heat. Check it a couple of times to make sure it isn’t burning.
- Once the pancake is brown on the bottom then flip it over and cook for another 10 minutes or so. Tip: Using the spatula, cut the pancake into several smaller portions, this will make it easier to flip since it is large. The Kaiserschmarren pancake is a shredded pancake so don’t worry if pieces are not uniform.
- Continue to pull the pancake into small bite-sized pieces while it cooks.
- When the pancake is browned, either transfer it to a large plate or serve it from the frying pan.
- Sprinkle the pancake with confectioners’ sugar. I also topped with leftover rum-soaked raisins.
- It is traditional to serve Austrian pancakes with applesauce or preserves. Of course, this is optional.
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