Kaiserschmarrn
March 27th, 2005

This is not for the faint of heart. I have not counted the calories in this recipe, nor do I really want to know. Although, comparing it to some other cakes and desserts we make, it really doesn’t look too bad at all. Realistically, having it once a week probably doesn’t hurt by any means…along these lines, I try to rationalize the urge I sometimes get to make a large portion of Kaiserschmarrn.

Kaiserschmarrn

I’ve always had a thing for this original Austrian dessert and tried innumerable times to make it as good as the ones we for example had at the Wirtshaus in der Au. A traditional Bavarian restaurant, with a very good local cuisine. We also gave Sedlmayer (Westenrieder Strasse 6) a shot, but found their version to be a tad too caramelized. In my own studies I experimented with whipped egg whites, sparkling water (no kidding, some people say the batter gets more fluffy this way), mascarpone (we couldn’t move afterwards) and other. In hindsight of course everything is 20/20, but as I tried using more butter and the icing sugar as part of the cooking I was astounded of how much better the ‘Schmarrn’ tasted. So at this point, for my taste, I have perfected it. Ha. By the way, I usually measure all ingredients by guess and by gosh. This time I took notes and it still worked out :)

Soak the raisins in a warm rum/water bath for approximately 5 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, a pinch of salt, sugar, and vanilla. Gradually stir in the flour. Once well blended, add the raisins. Slowly melt 2-3 tbsp of butter over low heat in a little pan you can later set aside for the finish.

Heat larger pan and add two tbsp of butter. Pour batter into the pan and bake for 5-8 minutes (depending on heat). Check every so often to see if it gets solid at the bottom. Don’t worry about making a mess :), eventually this super sized pan cake will be torn into pieces anyway. Be careful though to not let the bottom burn.

As soon as the bottom side developes brown patches and the mass starts to solidify -not all the way just yet-, try (!) to turn the pan cake and then start breaking it up into larger pieces, they’ll turn to bite-size pieces in the process anyway. This is really the chaotic part, as the top was probably still liquid (I have experimented with putting it in the oven to avoid “the mess”, but found it to be more fun this way and provide better results). Add little pieces of butter here and there to make sure all pieces brown from all sides. At this point I usually add some shaved almonds. Turn the Schmarrn frequently for a few minutes. It should not become dry, however.

This I find is the critical part, which can make or break a good Kaiserschmarrn. Since I didn’t add a lot of sugar in the first place, I now sprinkle a layer of icing sugar on the Schmarrn and turn it until the sugar turns into glaze. I then add the melted butter (from step #2), add some more icing sugar and turn the pieces one more time.

Arrange on plates with a little more icing sugar (more for the looks) and serve immediately, preferably with some homemade Zwetschgenröster (a traditional plum compote). Yummmm.

Kaiserschmarrn

Recipe source: own creation

Required time: takes about 20 minutes

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Ingredients

250 ml milk

4-5 eggs

2 tbs sugar

150g flour

pinch of salt

raisins soaked in rum/water

butter

half vanilla pod, slice lengthways

shaved almonds

icing sugar

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