A dish beloved of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, the Kaiser Schmarn (literally translates to: the Emperor’s mess), enjoys great renown amongst the communities of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Years later, Ben Gurion had a variation called Koch-Much, with white cheese, kefir, and applesauce, that Paula made for him every day.
The Kaiserschmarrn comes out the best when prepared in a thick cast iron pan. It can be served as a light breakfast, dinner, or of course, a dessert. Serve with either applesauce, with the easy fruit compote recipe below, or guild the lily and make your own from scratch- plum, lingonberry, or strawberry are all delightful.
Ingredients for Kaiserschmarrn
For the pancakes:
- 1 cup (240ml) milk
- 3 eggs size medium, separated
- .8 ounce (25 grams) butter melted
- A few drops vanilla extract
- 1 cup (140 grams) flour
- 2 tablespoons Sugar
- Pinch Salt
- 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
- 1½ ounces (40 grams) raisins soaked for an hour in 2 tablespoons of rum (optional)
- 2 tablespoons (30 grams) butter for frying and the syrup
To serve:
- ⅓ cup (50 grams) confectioners' sugar (not all of it will be used)
- 1 small jar plum jam premium quality
Instructions
Preparing the batter:
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1. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks, milk, melted butter, vanilla extract and flour until the batter is smooth and without lumps.
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2. Beat the egg whites, salt and sugar until stiff, but not dry. Fold into the egg yolk mixture. Add the raisins and stir gently.
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3. Dissolve some butter in an iron skillet. Pour some batter into the skillet - until about ¾ of an inch (2cm) high - and fry for a minute or two until the bottom is brown. Using a spatula, divide the pancake into quarters and flip all the quarters over. Tear them into strips that are a little more than an inch (3cm) wide. Sprinkle some of the confectioners' sugar on top, turn over, and cook until caramelized. Sprinkle more of the confectioners' sugar on the pancake. Flip it over again and caramelize. Repeat until the rest of the batter is used (which should be enough for 2 to 4 pancakes – depending on the diameter of the skillet).
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4. Serve on plates. Sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar and serve warm with the plum jam.
This recipe is courtesy of Hashulchan.