Kaiserschmarrn is an Austrian dessert made of shredded up pancakes, topped with rum-soaked raisins, and served with a side of plum preserves. The sugar that coats the pancake caramelizes to make a sweet and delicious Austrian treat!
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Remember how I went to Salzburg by myself? (If you don’t, click here to read about my Austrian adventure). Well, I’d been hearing about kaiserschmarrn— an Austrian dessert made of shredded pancakes– for the entire duration of my stay in Vienna, but I didn’t get the chance to try it.
Once I left my friends and was on my own in Salzburg, enjoying kaiserschmarrn was at the top of my to do list.
When I got into Salzburg, it was about 6:00 pm, so the day was pretty much gone. I had eaten some snacks on the train, so I wasn’t too hungry for dinner but my dessert stomach was growling all the same.
Immediately, I looked up the restaurant for the best kaiserschmarrn in Salzburg, and once I dropped my bags off at my hostel, I started my trek.
Should You Eat Kaiserschmarrn For Dinner?
It was an absolutely beautiful spring night in April, so I asked if I could sit on the patio at the restaurant. There weren’t any open tables available for me, but my waiter noticed that another girl was sitting by herself.
Without waiting for permission, my waiter asked the fellow solo traveller if I could eat a meal with her. The girl agreed, so we sat down to eat dinner together.
I sheepishly explained to the girl that I was ordering dessert for my dinner. A few minutes later, the waiter brought out what seemed like a delicious wiener schnitzel to my companion and to me he brought… enough dessert to feed a family of 5! The serving of kaiserschmarrn was massive!
Needless to say, we both had dessert for dinner that night.
What is Kaiserschmarrn?
It’s no secret that Austrians love their sweets. I mean, the whole country takes a break once a day to eat dessert for crying out loud! But kaiserschmarrn takes the love of sugar to a whole new level.
Kaiserschmarrn is a dessert from Austria, and it is absolutely delightful! It’s made by shredding pancakes in a skillet, and then topping them with rum-soaked raisins, jam, and powdered sugar.
To some Americans, I guess this dish could seem like breakfast. Go to a boujie enough brunch restaurant in Manhattan or something and it probably already is. You can enjoy it in the morning if you want… who am I to judge?!
But you can also serve it up for dessert, because, honestly, a pancake is great ANY time of day.
What Does Kaiserschmarrn Mean?
The word “kaiser” is German for “emperor,” and “schmarrn” means “mess.” The name is no joke!
Kaiserschmarrn sure does look like a mess, but my-oh-my is it a delicious mess. The pancakes are shredded up with a spatula or a knife to make them into small, bite-sized pieces.
What Ingredients are in this Recipe?
Rum
Raisins
Flour
Salt
Sugar
Vanilla extract
Milk
Lemon zest
Eggs
Butter
Powdered sugar
Plum preserves
How Do I Make this Recipe?
In a small bowl, soak the raisins in the rum until the rum is absorbed (about 15 minutes).
Mix the egg yolk with vanilla, milk, lemon zest, and salt. Add flour and two tbsp of granulated sugar and mix well.
Beat egg whites until stiff and fold them into the batter.
Melt butter in pan that is large enough to fit all of the batter at once. The pancake should be fluffy, so make sure that the pan isn’t so large that the batter spreads too thin.
Pour the batter into the pan, top with rum-soaked raisins, and then sprinkle with 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar. Cook until the bottom is brown. Flip the entire pancake over at once.
Continue cooking pancake until the batter is cooked all the way through. Once cooked, leave the pancake in the pan but use a spatula or a knife to shred the pancake into uneven bites.
Top the shredded pancake with powdered sugar and serve with a side of plum preserves. Serve warm in the pan.
If you try this kaiserschmarrn, make sure to share a photo with me! Tag @TheForeignFork on Facebook or Instagram and #TheForeignFork to make sure that I can see 🙂 Come back soon!
Did you like this recipe? You should also try some of these other recipes I picked out just for you!
- Austrian Sacher Torte
- How to Make a Pancake Board
- Potato Pancakes from Belarus
- Egg in a Hole Breakfast Bake
- Pomidor Yumurta
- Lobster BLT Scrambled Eggs
Kaiserschmarrn (Austria)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Rum
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1 cup flour
- Pinch salt
- 2 1/2 tbsp sugar, divided
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup milk
- zest of one lemon
- 3 eggs, separated
- 2 tbsp Butter
- powdered sugar, for topping
- Plum preserves , for dipping
Instructions
- In a small bowl, soak the raisins in the rum until the rum is absorbed (about 15 minutes).
- Mix the egg yolk with vanilla, milk, lemon zest, and salt. Add flour and two tbsp of granulated sugar and mix well.
- Beat egg whites until stiff and fold them into the batter.
- Melt butter in pan that is large enough to fit all of the batter at once. The pancake should be fluffy, so make sure that the pan isn’t so large that the batter spreads too thin.
- Pour the batter into the pan, top with rum-soaked raisins, and then sprinkle with 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar. Cook until the bottom is brown. Flip the entire pancake over at once.
- Continue cooking pancake until the batter is cooked all the way through. Once cooked, leave the pancake in the pan but use a spatula or a knife to shred the pancake into uneven bites.
- Top the shredded pancake with powdered sugar and serve with a side of plum preserves. Serve warm in the pan.
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