Austria

The dish

Kaiserschmarrn is a thick pancake that gets torn into pieces in the pan and covered in powdered sugar. It’s usually served with stewed plums, so that’s what I did.

What we thought

The torn pancakes have a taste and texture like an angel food cake and a German pancake had a baby. The sour plum sauce perfectly counters the sweetness of the pancakes. 4.5/5.

Ingredients and directions

Stewed Plums (Zwetschgenröster)

Ingredients

• 2 cups pitted, quartered plums (fresh or frozen)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp water

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium-low heat 12-15 min, stirring occasionally, until plums break down into a jammy compote.
2. Remove cinnamon stick. Set aside. Serve warm or at room temp.

Kaiserschmarrn

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs, separated
• 4 tbsp sugar, divided in half
• 3 tbsp sour cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp almond extract (optional)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp raisins with enough apple juice or rum to cover them (optional)
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar (optional)

Directions

1. Soak raisins in apple juice/rum while you prep the batter. I personally hate raisins so I skipped this strep completely. Raisins are traditional though.
2. Whisk egg yolks with half the sugar, milk, sour cream, vanilla, and salt until smooth. I like the taste of almonds a lot so I add the almond extract here. Sift in flour and whisk until combined.
3. Whip egg whites with the remaining sugar to soft peaks.
4. Gently fold the whipped whites into the batter. Do not overmix as you want this batter light and fluffy - similar to how angel food cake looks.
5. Drain the raisins. Press out any extra liquid in the raisins between two paper towels.
6. Heat butter in a large non-stick or cast iron pan over medium heat. Pour the batter into the pan when the butter is hot and sizzling. Sprinkle the raisins over the batter.
7. Cook over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until the bottom is golden and set.
8. Flip the pancake and cook it for another 3-4 minutes to get it the bottom set.

9 Using two forks, tear/shred the pancake into bite-sized irregular pieces right in the pan. Cook for another few minutes until the pancake is not runny but is still light and fluffy.

10. While in the hot pan, sprinkle with the powdered sugar.
11. Plate and dust with more powdered sugar. Server with the warm stewed plums.