#kaiserschmarrn

My passport says I am Austrian, so I do like to eat some Kaiserschmarrn from time to time. ;)

Basically you start making pancakes but once they’re partially cooked you shred or scramble them in the pan still over the heat until the pieces are fully done. Then serve with your favourite jam/stewed fruit/compote/etc. (I used blackberries, very good!)

KAISERSCHMARRN (1858)

Now, for a Tasting History dessert I have heard so much about but have never tried: the famed Austrian Kaiserschmarrn! I still haven't been to Austria, and until I do, I will probably not try the modern version of this dish. However, in the meantime, why not make myself a very early recipe for Kaisershmarrn from 1858? The dish is something of a cross between a pancake and a soufflé, but broken up and cooked in vanilla sugar. It is often served with a fruit compote (in this case, Austrian prune plum compote) and cream. This specific recipe comes from Katharina Prato's Die Süddeutsche Küche, which has several editions, with the spelling of Kaiserschmarrn changing in each one. The origin of this dish is not confirmed, and there are several origin stories at odds. What is known for sure is that Kaiser Franz Joseph I really did enjoy this dish, and as a result, Kaiserschmarrn became a popular dish throughout the Austrian Empire. It is still served in many restaurants today. If this dessert is good enough for the Austrian emperor, I am sure it will be good enough for me! See Max’s video on how to make this dish here or see the ingredients and process at the end of this post, sourced from his website.

My experience making it:

I halved the Kaiserschmarrn recipe, but made the full recipe for the plum compote. I figure having too much plum compote is not a bad thing, since it can be put on other dishes or desserts in the coming days if necessary. I was super happy I found the exact type of plum called for in the supermarket (Zwetschgen), especially since it seems Max had trouble finding them - perhaps the perks of living in Germany! Unfortunately, despite this, I couldn't seem to find vanilla sugar, so I added some vanilla extract into the batter during that step, as Max suggests.

Before doing anything else, I put the raisins in rum to soak. Then, I started by making the plum compote, since I figured I could re-heat that easily once the Kaiserschmarrn was almost done. To start off, I cut the plums in half and de-pitted them. Then, in a pot, I whisked the sugar and cinnamon into the water, even though the cinnamon didn't seem to want to combine. It eventually looked 'good enough', so I put this mixture on the stove on medium heat and placed the halves of plums face down along the bottom. Once the pot came to a simmer, I put the lid on to simmer for 30 minutes, but noticed it was boiling too intensely with the lid on, so I turned the heat down to low and kept the lid on. Even so, it seemed too much moisture was staying in the pot, and as a result, the plums were cooking down into mush but the liquid was not really thickening. So, to thicken it, I cooked it another ten minutes with the lid off. This finally worked! It had turned into a beautiful, syrupy, dark purple sauce. I set it aside while I worked on making the Kaiserschmarrn itself.

First pre-heating the oven, I then prepared and measured out the ingredients. I separated the egg yolks from the whites, then whisked the yolks together in a large bowl. After sifting the flour, I added half the cream to the yolks, whisked, then slowly whisked in the flour until it had combined into a big clump. I then added the rest of the cream and whisked well until it became a smooth batter. Quickly mixing in the pinch of salt, I turned my attention to a second large bowl, where I had put the egg whites. Using an electric hand-mixer, I whisked the egg whites on high speed until they got super frothy. Pausing frequently to judge whether stiff peaks had formed yet, I stopped mixing as soon as they held their form (I have had problems in the past of going overboard mixing egg whites...). I then slowly folded the foamy egg whites into the main batter in two parts. A wonderful sizzling sound of the frothy egg white bubbles popping began, and the batter developed a lighter, airier texture. Next, I melted the butter in an oven-safe frying pan on medium heat. Once melted, I poured the batter in, drained the raisins from their rum, and sprinkled the raisins over the top evenly. It took longer than 30 seconds for bubbles to begin forming in the Kaisershmarrn, but once they did, I transferred the pan to the oven. Even though it says to bake for only ten minutes, it also says to bake until it browns on top, and mine didn't brown on top until 20 minutes into baking. I was still quite worried at this point, because it was bubbling so much that I thought the inside was probably not cooked yet. Turned out I was wrong! I put on the oven mitts and took it out of the oven, placing it back on the stove on medium heat. Unfortunately, I made the same mistake as the last time I used my oven-safe frying pan; out of habit, I grabbed the hot frying pan handle with my left hand, immediately pulling it back after burning myself, yet again. It wasn't a bad one, since I had reacted quickly, but my husband took over the cooking and forbade me from putting the pan in the oven for future recipes as I tended to my wound under cold water at the sink. I never seem to learn! I instructed my husband to break up the Kaiserschmarrn into bite-size pieces with the spatula, sprinkle the sugar on top, and to mix it all up for a few minutes while the sugar caramelized and Kaiserchmarrn browned a little more. Once it was ready, it cooled slightly while I, back from the sink, warmed up the compote again on the stove. The frying pan now cooler, I still wore an oven mitt in caution while I served the Kaiserschmarrn onto plates and poured the compote into a bowl for serving. The Kaiserschmarrn looked wonderfully golden, and the raisins in it had plumped up nicely to look like really small, juicy grapes! I got out some whipped cream and we sat down to our dessert.

My experience tasting it:

I wanted to try the Kaiserschmarrn on its own first, so I picked up a quick piece before adding any plum compote or whipped cream. It was lovely and measured, not too sweet, but with enough depth from the golden crust and caramelized sugar for it to taste quite nice on its own, if a little pillowy and dry. Next, I tasted the plum compote on its own, and this was a real hit! It was the perfect balance of sour, sweet, and spice, with the cinnamon giving it a faint taste of Christmas without the taste being too powerful. It was fairly sweet, but I imagine it could top ice cream or any other breakfast or dessert item really nicely. Ten out of ten! I scooped some plum compote onto the Kaiserschmarrn, being sure to get some large chunks of plum, despite their mushy state. Digging in, my husband and I immediately adored this dessert - it was homey and decadent, yet looked so unassuming in its broken, mish-mashed state! The plum compote provided exactly the tanginess and moisture the Kaiserschmarrn needed to balance its pillowy state, and the Kaiserschmarrn added the perfect gristly, sugary texture to the mushy plums due to the caramelized sugar and crust. It was miles better than any pancakes I've had, and also better than most fruit pies. Once we added the whipped cream, it was the perfect dessert dish. The cool cream added a refreshing lightness to the otherwise heavy dish, and we both gobbled the Kaiserschmarrn among our chorus of "mmmm"s. Sadly, since I have been forbidden from using the oven-safe pan again (at least for the foreseeable future) since I keep burning myself, I will probably not make this divine Kaiserschmarrn recipe again, but I will happily make the plum compote for the next dessert I make that I think it will go well with, especially since it was really easy and tasty. I have resigned myself to only indulge in Kaiserschmarrn when I find it on a menu at a restaurant and I can be sure I am nowhere near the oven. This should hopefully prevent future injuries! If you end up making this dish, if you liked it, or if you changed anything from the original recipe, do let me know!

Kaiserschmarrn original recipe (1858)

Sourced from Die Süddeutsche Küche by Katharina Prato (1858) and Max Miller’s version in his Tasting History video.

Kaiser-Schmarren Whisk 4 decilitres of sweet cream with 4 egg yolks, 2 decilitres flour, and a little salt, add 4 egg whites, beaten to snow, and raisins. Pour the whole thing into hot beef fat or butter, let it get nicely brown like Mehl-Schmarren, prepare it in the dish and sprinkle it with vanilla sugar. Mehl-Schmarren …Place it in the oven so it rises nicely. Then remove it and place it on a rapid heat. When it’s stiff and browned on the bottom, you turn it over with the pancake spatula, let it brown again on the bottom, then tear it into large pieces with a fork and serve it quickly so it doesn’t dry out. Plum Compote Plums are either halved or left whole and peeled. They are placed in hot water where the skin can easily come off. They are then simmered with a little sugar, water, and cinnamon.

Modern Recipe

Based on Die Süddeutsche Küche by Katharina Prato (1858) and Max Miller’s version in his Tasting History video.

Ingredients:

Plum Compote

4 plums, Austrian prune plums are ideal but any plum will work

1/4 cup (60 ml) water

1/4 cup (50 g) sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Kaiserschmarrn

1/3 cup (50 g) raisins

Water or rum, for soaking the raisins

4 egg yolks

1 2/3 cup (400 ml) cream

1 heaping cup (150 g) flour

A pinch salt

4 egg whites

3 tbsp (45 g) butter or beef fat

3 1/2 tbsp (45 g) vanilla sugar*

*If you don’t have vanilla sugar, add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract to the batter and use plain sugar.

Method:

To make the plum compote: Cut the plums in half and remove the pits.

In a saucepan, whisk together the water, sugar, and cinnamon until the sugar dissolves.

Place the plums in the saucepan, cut side down. The water-sugar mixture won't cover the plums, but that's okay.

Set the pan over medium heat and let it slowly come to a simmer. Once it’s simmering, set the lid on it and let it cook undisturbed for 30 to 45 minutes. It’s done when the plums are nice and soft and the syrup is thickened.

To make the kaiserschmarrn: Place the raisins in a bowl and cover them with water or rum. Let them soak for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).

Whisk the egg yolks to break them up and combine them. Whisk in half of the cream. Sift in the flour and whisk it in as well, then whisk in the rest of the cream until the batter is smooth. Adding the cream in two parts helps to make a smooth batter. Whisk in the salt.

In a separate very clean bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. This should take a few minutes with a stand mixer or about 20 minutes by hand.

Add half of the egg whites to the batter and gently fold them in with a spatula. You don’t want to deflate the egg whites too much as you mix. Once it’s mostly mixed in, add the rest of the egg whites and fold until there are no more streaks of egg white visible.

Melt the butter or beef fat in an oven-safe pan over medium heat. When it’s melted and hot, pour in the batter and let it spread out. Drain the raisins and sprinkle them over the batter.

Cook for about 20 to 30 seconds, or until you can see little bubbles coming to the surface.

Once you can see those bubbles, transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. As it bakes, it will rise just like a souffle, and just like with a souffle, don’t open the oven door while it bakes or it could deflate.

When the kaiserschmarrn browns on top, remove it from the oven and place it back on the stove over medium heat.

Use a spatula to break the kaiserschmarrn into pieces as large or small as you like. Sprinkle the vanilla sugar over it, then continue to cook, stirring the pieces and sugar for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until the sugar caramelizes.

*perks of working remotely