Have you every heard of “Kaiserschmarren”? This is a giant pancake cut into small pieces, dusted with icing sugar and served with compote. It is very famous in Austria and the south of Germany. Since I recently moved from the north of Germany to the south, to Munich, I felt it was time I gave this traditional recipe another go. There is a whole war going on whether to include raisins or not, but I love the plain version, sorry. However, I decided to serve it with rhubarb compote. Normally you would serve it with a plum compote, but it is spring and I like rhubarb, so why not give this a little spin. So think a pancake cut in neat pieces, dusted with icing sugar and some nice fruit compote on the side and you get this Kaiserschmarren. Sounds good?
You may not believe it, but there is an endless supply of recipes and Vienna claims to make the best ever. I tried a few recipes before I settled on this one. It is a rather simple one. You mix the egg yolks with milk and flour and let it sit for 15 minutes so that the gluten can work its magic. Meanwhile you prepare the egg whites beating it separately and voila, once you combine the two, you make one gigantic pancake, which you then cut up in smaller pieces. There are two secrets to making this a really fluffy delight, the first being the waiting time for the gluten to develop and the second that you should always add a bit of water to the mix. This way you will get a softer middle, but crunchier outside. It really is divine. Other than that you need a little patience as you patiently need to wait for the one pancake to fry. Don’t put the heat too high. But it really is not too hard to make, I promise!
Ok, but now let’s get going. You may find it weird to make a gigantic pancake you then cut up again, but believe me, there is a reason why this dish is so popular in the south of Germany and also in Austria, it is sooo good and a nice change to plain old pancakes, let’s make Kaiserschmarren with delicious rhubarb compote instead!
For the rhubarb compote cut off end on each side, you may have to peel it, then cut in pieces. Mix with the sugar and let sit for about half an hour, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a pot and let simmer for a few minutes until rhubarb is soft. Set aside and add further sugar to taste. For the Kaiserschmarren mix the egg yolks with the sugar with a mixer for two minutes, it should become paler and thicker in consistency. Then add vanilla extract, milk, and flour and mix. Let sit for about 15min. Meanwhile look for a heavy sauce pan and melt some butter in it on low. Clean your mixer thoroughly and then beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold in egg whites into the egg yolk mix and pour into the prepared frying pan. Yes, you will have one gigantic pancake. Keep the temperature at medium low. Cook until the back is golden, check in between by lifting an edge a little with a spatula. Once golden, cut the giant pancake into four parts. Turn each part so that the second side can also fry. Start cutting into bite-size pieces. Once everything is cooked through, sprinkle about one to two tablespoons of sugar on top and let the sugar caramelize. Serve with rhubarb compote and dust with icing sugar.Fluffy Kaiserschmarren with Rhubarb Compote
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