I meet such wonderful people in my cooking classes. Saturday night I had a family celebrating an upcoming wedding. Ingrid, the mom/grandma was from Austria. It was fun to hear them switch from German to English and back again, including the 30-something daughters and 7 year old Vienna. All the women cooking together and helping the young girl was just perfect. And we were making Italian food!
One of the somewhat fusion dishes that I developed long ago for this class is Chocolate Tiramisu Crepes. While frying the crepes they told me of this Austrian dish mom always made. It’s simple and easy and so delicious. I had never heard of it. It seems every culture has some sort of crepe or pancake. This one is called Kaiserschmarrn. “Kaiser” meaning emperor and “schmarrn” meaning mishmash.
You pour the batter into the pan and when the first side is cooked you turn it over and chop it up with the spatula, add a few raisins and add some more butter and sugar to caramelize the whole shebang. Turn it out onto the plate. Served with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar and a fruit compote. Often served for a luncheon dish in Austria, I find it a perfect quick summer dessert with all the fresh fruit coming into season right now.
Plums seem to be the traditional addition, or some sort of fruit compote anyway. I found good looking peaches at the market, so that’s what I used, sauteed in a little butter and doused with a little brandy at the end. What a fine mess!
Print Recipe Here
Kaiserschmarrn
serves 4
prep time: 20 minutes
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons raisins
Separate the eggs and whip the whites into stiff peaks. In another bowl whisk the egg yolks, 1 tablespoons sugar, vanilla and milk. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Lightly fold in the whites. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a non-stick pan on medium high heat. Pour the batter into the pan. When it is golden on the bottom, turn over, cut it into sections. Add 2 tablespoons raisins, I used golden, but it doesn’t matter. Add the rest of the butter and the other tablespoon of sugar. Mix the broken pieces of crepe with the sugar and butter to caramelize the edges. Serve warm with fruit compote.
Fruit Compote
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup sliced fruit: peaches, plums, or cherries
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon brandy, optional
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the fruit and sugar. Cook until tender. Take off the heat and add the brandy. Serve warm with the Kaiserschmarrn.
Serves 4
