Kaiserschmarrn
Photo: Kaleissin · Public domain

History

Kaiserschmarrn (the Emperor's mess) is said to have been served to Franz Joseph in 1854 when a humble shepherd-style pancake was offered to the imperial table. The name stuck. The dish became a Konditorei and Alpine-hut staple. Figlmueller's Lugeck and Cafe Landtmann both cook the canonical Vienna version with raisins; Kurkonditorei Oberlaa serves the Mehlspeise version with stewed plums on the side.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 25 minTotal 40 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 100g raisins
  • 3 tbsp dark rum
  • 5 large eggs, separated
  • 60g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt
  • 150g plain flour
  • 350ml whole milk
  • 60g unsalted butter, for the pan
  • 20g caster sugar, for caramelising
  • Icing sugar, to dust
  • 400g stewed plum compote (Zwetschkenroester) or apple sauce, to serve

Method

  1. Soak the raisins in the dark rum for 20 minutes.
  2. Whisk the egg yolks with half the sugar and the vanilla until pale and thick. Whisk in the flour alternately with the milk until smooth.
  3. Whip the egg whites with the salt to soft peaks. Beat in the remaining sugar to firm peaks.
  4. Fold a third of the whites into the yolk batter to loosen, then fold the rest in carefully.
  5. Melt 30g butter in a heavy non-stick pan (28cm wide) over medium heat. Pour in the batter to a 1cm thickness.
  6. Drain the raisins and scatter over the pancake. Cook 3 to 4 minutes until the underside is gold and the top set at the edges but still glossy in the middle.
  7. Flip the pancake in chunks (use two spatulas; the goal is rough pieces, not a clean flip).
  8. Sprinkle the 20g caster sugar over the pieces, dot with the remaining 30g butter, and cook for 4 more minutes, tossing the pieces so the sugar caramelises on every surface.
  9. Tip onto a warm plate, dust heavily with icing sugar, and serve with hot stewed plums or apple sauce.

Tip from the editors. The egg whites are the only leavener; do not over-fold or the pancake stays flat. Tear into rough chunks; clean strips are not Kaiserschmarrn.

Where to eat kaiserschmarrn

Kaiserschmarrn in Munich

Café Frischhut (Schmalznudel) ★ 4.5

€€ EUR 5-12BrunchBavarian fried-doughnut breakfastAltstadt Lehel

Café Frischhut off Munich's Viktualienmarkt has fried the Bavarian Schmalznudel doughnut since 1973; this is the morning sweet-counter for breakfast.

OrderSchmalznudel sugar-dusted Bavarian fried doughnut with filter coffee

TipClosed Sundays; queue is shortest at 09:00 weekday mornings; cash usually preferred.

Directions

Spatenhaus an der Oper ★ 4.3

€€€ BavarianAltstadt Lehel

Spatenhaus an der Oper, opposite the Bavarian State Opera in Munich's Altstadt, pours Spaten beer and cooks classic Bavarian; the suckling pig.

OrderThe Wiener Schnitzel with cucumber salad; the suckling pig with braised red cabbage if you want one big plate.

TipBook the upstairs room for opera pre-shows; the ground floor is the casual side.

Directions Book

Andechser am Dom ★ 4.0

€€ BavarianAltstadt Lehel

Andechser am Dom pours the Andechs Monastery's beers a minute from Munich's Frauenkirche; the casual Bavarian room locals send out-of-towners.

OrderSchweinshaxe with potato dumplings and a half-litre of Andechser Doppelbock.

TipDaily 10:00-01:00; the Weinstrasse-side terrace catches sun till evening in summer.

Directions

Rischart ★ 4.0

€ BakeryBavarian pastries, Prinzregententorte, sandwichesAltstadt LehelWalk-in only

Rischart has anchored Munich's Marienplatz with bakery and café since 1932; Prinzregententorte and Münchner Kindl are the house specials, with a long.

Worth the queuePrinzregententorte

Directions

All Munich signature dishes →

Kaiserschmarrn in Vienna

Lugeck Figlmueller ★ 4.4

€€€ VienneseInnere Stadt

Lugeck on Lugeck square in Vienna's first district is the Figlmueller family's wider-menu room: the original veal Schnitzel, Tafelspitz, Backhendl and steaks.

OrderWiener Schnitzel vom Kalb; the veal version is what the dish was originally meant.

TipLess of a crush than the two pork outlets around the corner; book the Schnitzel Academy upstairs to learn the technique.

Directions Book

Figlmueller Wollzeile ★ 4.5

€€ VienneseInnere Stadt

Figlmueller has hammered Vienna's most famous Schnitzel on Wollzeile since 1905, a plate-overhanging pork cutlet fried in three fats and served.

OrderThe Original Figlmueller Schnitzel; one is plenty for two appetites.

TipBook ahead; the room runs at capacity from 11:00 every day, kitchen closes at 21:30.

Directions Book

Cafe Landtmann ★ 4.4

€ CaféInnere StadtWork-friendlyWifi

Cafe Landtmann on Universitaetsring in Vienna has poured at the Burgtheater corner since 1873, Sigmund Freud's preferred coffeehouse with a long carte.

DrinkGrosser Brauner

TipOpen daily 07:30 to midnight; the front-room bench seats face the Burgtheater across the Ring.

Directions

Plachutta Wollzeile ★ 4.6

€€€ VienneseInnere Stadt

Plachutta on Wollzeile in Vienna is the canonical Tafelspitz address, the boiled-beef pot served in copper pans with rösti, apple horseradish.

OrderTafelspitz vom Schulterscherzel; the cut Franz Joseph is said to have favoured.

TipOpen daily 11:30-23:30; the kitchen runs lunch through dinner without a break.

Directions Book

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