
- Yield: 2 - 4
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
Kaiserschmarrn
Ever since I was a little 3 year old, my parents took me skiing in the Alps. Every winter for a week or two straight and a couple of weekends on top. And some of my fondest memories of those times - besides racing down the slopes with almost death defying speeds - are with Kaiserschmarrn. There is no way to translate this into English and even if there was, it wouldn't help you understand what it really is.
Kaiserschmarrn is like a hybrid between pancakes, a fluffy cloud, and sweet donuts. First you create a dough - similar to a pancake batter - but then you fold in whipped eggwhites to give it its fluffy texture. Then it's first cooked in a pan, finished in the oven, ripped apart into pieces and then caramelized with more butter and sugar.
How can this not be great? Especially when you add rum raisins, slithered almonds, powdered sugar, and some sort of fruit compote - traditionally made from plums, but any fruit will do.
It is great as a dessert but just as great as a meal on its own, like I had it multiple times for lunch, overlooking snow covered mountains, eager to go back out and race down on my skis just a couple more times before closing time.
I'm using weights for the ingredients because the batter can be a bit temperamental and weighing out the ingredients ensures that it comes out right every time.
Ingredients
- Batter
- Eggs - 4, large, separated
- Whole Milk - 8.5oz
- Sugar - 1 oz
- Butter - 1.5oz, unsalted, melted
- All-Purpose Flour - 4.5oz, sifted
- Salt - 1/4 tsp
- Vanilla Extract - 1/2 tsp
- Rum Raisins - 1/2 cup
- To finish
- Butter - 2oz, unsalted
- Sugar - 3oz
- Almonds - 1/2 cup, toasted, slithered/sliced
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425° Fahrenheit
- In a medium bowl, beat eggyolks, sugar, vanilla, and melted butter until pale and fluffy
- Stir in the flour and milk alternating, just until all is incorporated
- Beat the eggwhites and the salt to stiff peaks and gently fold into the batter. Make sure to preserve as many air as possible.
- In an oven proof pan, melt some butter over medium heat and pour in the batter. Let cook for about 2 minutes and sprinkle the rum raisins on top
- Put the pan into the oven and finish there for about 10 minutes or until the top is golden and the batter has set.
- Take the pan out and rip the cake into bite size pieces.
- Set over medium high heat, sprinkle extra butter, sugar, and almonds into the pan, and caramelize the pieces for a few minutes.
- Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and some fruit compote of your choice.
This amount will serve 4 as a dessert or 2 as a full meal.