Cook With Us Week #19- Austrian Pancakes

Growing up in Asia, breakfast usually consisted of recycled meals from dinner except for weekends. I remember I always looked forward to the weekends because I knew I would get pancakes or cereal. Pancakes were my favorite. We never had it served with maple syrup. It was just a sweet pancake mix and I would eat it plain. I like all types of pancakes but the one I favor most was something that I did not have as a child but as grown up in Austria. Kaiserschmarren or Emperor's pancake is a dish of torn fluffy pancakes that have a custard like texture and in Austria it is usually eaten as a dessert but I will be happy to have this dish for my breakfast.

Recipe

from Austrian Desserts and Pastries
Serves 2

• 2 tbsp raisins
• 1 tbsp rum
• 4 eggs, separated
• 30g sugar
• 120g All-purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• 200 ml milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 60g butter
• 2 tbsp sugar
• oil

Unlike American pancake, Kaiserschmarren batter does not contain any leavening agent. The whipped egg whites are what give the lightness and rise in the pancakes. Pour the rum over the raisins. Whisk the egg yolks with the milk and vanilla extract and set aside. In another bowl whisk together the flour and salt. Slowly pour the milk into the flour and mix until combined. Whisk the egg whites with the sugar until stiff peaks.

Add 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the flour batter and fold in the remaining egg whites. This batter will be much thinner than regular pancake mix. Heat oil in a cast iron pan or a frying pan and pour in pancake batter and scatter some raisins.

Cook until the underside is golden brown and flip the pancake. Don't worry if the pancake tears because you will be cutting them into bite sized pieces. Once the batter is cooked, cut the pancake into irregular bite sized pieces.

Remove the torn pieces of Kaiserschmarren from the frying pan and add the butter and sugar. When the butter gets frothy and the sugar starts to melt, add in the pieces of the pancake and cook until the pancake is caramelized.

You don't need any maple syrup with these pancakes. In Austria they are served with a dusting of powdered sugar along with a side of apple sauce or plum compote. The caramelized sugar adds a crunch and the rum raisins add a burst of flavor. I paired this dish with a plum compote which adds some tartness. For me this is breakfast at its best! Thank you @cookwithus for another fun and creative theme.