Kaiserschmarrn - Austrian Torn Pancake

 

    Welcome, welcome! It is time to join in with Junes Eat the World trip to Austria. This recipe is delicious, but let's talk about Austria a bit first. Austria is a small, landlocked, country in Europe sharing borders with Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, and Switzerland. That is a lot of countries! It's a high-altitude country with 62% of it being in the Alps and is home to Europe's tallest waterfall. This means skiing is prevalent, and they have hosted the Winter Olympics twice. 

     Did you know the first woman to win the Nobel Prize was Austrian? They also boast one of the largest gardens in the world and one of the oldest libraries. 

     With such an interesting country it's no wonder the food is excellent as well. Austria is known for wiener schnitzel, apple strudels, Sachertorte, linzer torte, and of course sausages. Another well-known dish is kaiserschmarrn, the one I am sharing with you today. It was of those dishes that looks familiar and yet intriguing at the same time. I had assumed it would taste like pancakes, something I'm not a fan of, but the technique involved meant they had som be something just a little bit different. And boy was I right, about them not being pancakes, thankfully. The high egg and milk, to low flour, ratio meant that these came out almost like a custard once you bit into them. They are soft, and light, and delicious, and decadent. Perfect for brunch or a morning treat. 

     A couple notes about the recipe to start with. this recipe separates the egg yolk and whites and the whites are beaten to incorporate air into the final product. If the whites are too soft they won't add enough lift, but if they are too stiff they will be hard to mix in. You want a nice middle group with soft peaks, you want peaks, but just barely whipped to that stage and no further. 

     Check out all the wonderful Austrian dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share with #eattheworld. Find out how to join Eat the World here and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us!

• Sugarlovespices: Mini Sacher Torte, Viennese classic chocolate cake 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Kasespatzle 
• Palatable Pastime: Frankfurter Würstchen (Austrian Hot Dog) 
• Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Viennese Kaiser Rolls 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Keto Wiener Beef Schnitzel
• Cultureatz: Styrian Potato Field Salad

Kaiserchmarrn Recipe

Recipe adapted from: Swiss Family Fun

3 eggs, separated

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch of salt

3/4 c. milk 

1/2 c. flour

Butter for frying

Jam or apple sauce for serving

Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Place the egg whites in your mixer bowl and beat until starting to look foamy. While the mixer is running, slowly add the sugar, and continue mixing until the egg whites are medium peaks. 

Meanwhile whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla extract, salt, milk, and flour. Whisk to combine and continue whisking until the lumps are out. 

Once the egg whites are ready add a third of them to the egg yolk and milk mixture and fold to combine. It's ok if at this point you lose a lot of the air. Add the remaining egg white mixture and fold to combine. Continue folding until there are no pockets of egg white and the mixture is fully incorporated. 

Place a tablespoon of butter in the pan and spread it around to coat. Add the pancake mixture and spread to the sides. Leave to cook for about 3-4 minutes and then flip. This probably won't go smoothly and the pancake won't flip in one chunk. That's ok, just flip the remaining individual pieces and cook for about a minute. or until starting to set. 

start breaking up the pancake into smaller pieces and move those around to cook, and crisp a little around the edges. Once they are cooked all the way through, this should only take a minute or two, remove the pieces from the pan and into bowls or a serving dish. 

Top with powdered sugar and serve with fruit compote or jam. 

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Previous Eat the World contributions from Europe

• Wales - Welsh Onion Cake
• Slovakia - Maso v Chrenovej Omacke
• Greece - Artichoke Stew
• Luxembourg - Bouneschlupp Green Bean Soup
• Hungary - Rakott Krumpli
• Netherlands - Mosterdsoep
• Bulgaria - Sausage Stew
• Portugal - Tremocos Beans
• Ukraine - Pickled Tomatoes 
• Finland - Vispipuuro
• England - Lancashire Hotpot
• Poland - Zupa Orgorkowa
• France - Choucroute Garnie
• Sweden - Farskpotatis