My German Heritage Recipes - Kaiserschmarrn

In researching my ancestry, I've found that on my father's side of the family, at least half of my family roots are in Austria.  Then there are the roots in Hungary as well as Germany proper.  "Kaiserschmarrn" is a dish that sounds like it was named after my family - but it is not!  It originated in Austria, around the beginning of the 20th Century.  It was a dish that was first served to Austrian Emperor, Franz Joseph; or so the story goes.  Kaiserschmarrn is loosely translated: Kaiser (emperor), schmarrn (mess).  So, I guess it means it was a mess set before the emperor!  It may be a bit messy in its preparation, but it is a great dish!  And it is one that you'll want to include in any Oktoberfest or at any other time.

It is, basically, a puffy pancake meal.  It is traditionally made with plum preserves, but you can substitute almost any sort of fruit that you like!  And it's not just a breakfast meal - it makes a great dessert!

Farmer Boy Kaiserschmarrn

Ingredients:

• 1/3 Cup of raisins (soaked in Rum or Rum extract)
• 4 large eggs (separated)
• 1 Cup of milk
• 1/4 Cup of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 1 Cup of all-purpose flour (or cake flour)
• 2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter (or more)
• Fruit preserves (1 to 2 Cups)
• Powdered sugar

Directions: Soak the raisins in the rum for at least a half hour.  (You won't be using the liquid - only the raisins.) Separate the eggs, reserving both whites and yolks.  Mix the yolks with the milk, sugar, salt, and the vanilla.  Add this to the flour.  Whip the eggs whites till stiff.  Fold the whites into the mixture, along with the raisins.

Heat a large skillet or pan with the butter in it.  Over a medium heat, ladle the batter onto the surface, about 1/3 of a cup at a time.  It will rise a bit.  Be careful to not burn the bottom of the pancake.  (What you want to do is caramelize the bottom.)  It should only take about 2 minutes or so.  Then flip it over and do the other side. (You may need more butter and a little sugar.) Before you finish the baking of the second side, you cut or break up the pancake into bite-sized pieces.  Continue to bake, turning it over and over, to coat it with the caramelization. (Again, be careful not to let it burn!)

Plate the bits of pancake onto a bed of warmed fruit preserves and top it with more preserves.  Finally, dust with powdered sugar.  Yum!

If you are happy with the end result, you are welcome to say that it was named after me or my family :)

Either way, I hope you'll try this recipe.  Like I've said, you can substitute any fruit preserves that you like.  When the people of Austria got hold of this recipe they used what was available to them at the time.  We, in the United States of America, are pretty spoiled, having such a great variety of fruits available at all times! So, experiment, have fun making it differently each time!  You'll have to determine what size is a serving - maybe the whole thing is what you would consider one serving! Wow! (Diet tomorrow!)  And please let us know how it turns out by leaving your comments here.  Thanks.  The Old Man in the Bib Overalls