Kaiserschmarrn

Kaiserschmarrn is made from a batter of milk, flour, egg yolks and egg whites beaten to stiff peaks, which keeps the pancake tall and airy. The batter goes into a pan with hot butter, raisins are scattered on top and it cooks until set. Then it is turned, finished on the stove or in the oven and shredded with two forks into irregular pieces that are caramelized with sugar. It arrives at the table dusted with powdered sugar, with Zwetschkenröster, a plum compote, or with apple jam.

Austria’s official register of traditional foods lists Schmarren as an old rural dish, food of peasants, herders and woodcutters, because it was nourishing, cheap and quick to make over an open fire, served straight from the pan for everyone to help themselves. In the 18th century, urban kitchens adopted and refined the recipe.

The origin of the name is surrounded by legends about Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth, “Sisi.” One legend says that on a hunt in the Salzkammergut he tasted a shepherd’s Schmarrn; another that a pancake accidentally torn was refused as unfit for an emperor; others involve the empress in Vienna or Bad Ischl. The ministry itself says little is known for certain, and historians link the word Kaiser to Kaser, the Alpine herdsman, or to Casa, from Casaschmarren, the home Schmarren.

The dish is served in restaurants, cafés and mountain huts across the country, as a dessert or as a sweet meal. Bavaria, in southern Germany, also has it in its tradition, and some Bavarians claim the recipe came to Austria from there; the Austrian register only notes that it is also served in Bavaria and Hungary.