My Favorite Kaiserschmarrn – Broken-up Pancakes with Plum Compote

Kaiserschmarrn with Zwetschgenröster aka broken-up pancake from Austria with plum compote, wow, you asked on Instagram unanimously that I publish the recipe, what a surprise! So your wish is my command, let me introduce you to this recipe, which I happen to make about every other week. My husband and me enjoy this for a weekend breakfast, but I also often make it to introduce guests to German/Austrian cuisine. I probably could be woken up at 3 in the morning and I would manage to produce kaiserschmarrn without a problem and from memory. You need to separate eggs? Not a problem. You don’t have a kitchen scale at hand? I will somehow figure it out. Once I even beat the egg whites by hand with a fork, you do need quite a bit of arm muscle, but it worked. Kaiserschmarrn is something everybody loves and can be practically served any time of the day, as a main dish, as dessert, for breakfast, you name it. This is the most traditional version of kaiserschmarrn. My husband and me agree that it is particularly good with plum compote. So let’s get to work and make some classic recipe!

Tips and Tricks for Kaiserschmarrn:

• You can start the night before, just whisk together all ingredients except for the egg whites, cover and chill in the fridge, then continue.
• Kaiserschmarrn will be extra fluffy if you add a dash of water, best is sparkling water. The crust will be extra crunchy, yet the center soft. Once I used beer as I had nothing else at hand and I believe soft drinks such as fanta etc. would probably work as well.
• Be sure to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. To stabilize the egg whites, I add a pinch of salt.
• For perfect schmarrn be sure to brown it at medium low heat. If the heat is too high, the outside will get dark, yet the inside will be wobbly, if the heat is too low, it will become some sort of mush. I have an induction stove from 1-9 with 0.5 steps. I usually start at 7.5 when I melt the butter. I will stay at this temperature for about two minutes before I start reducing it. Once I start caramelizing the sugar, I will be at about 5.5. The heat needs to be lower here for the sugar not to burn.
• As this is a broken-up pancake, relax if you can’t flip it perfectly. Remember, you will break it up anyway, so just enjoy the process.
• Traditionally you will caramelize the sugar in the oven, but I find that requires so much time. Instead I do everything in the frying pan. For this you will sprinkle the side facing up with sugar once you have flipped it the first time (in pieces, I usually divide it in four parts). Once the second side has browned, flip again and sprinkle the second side facing upwards with sugar. You will wait a few minutes before flipping again and the sugar can now caramelize.
• As stated, normally caramelizing the sugar is done in the oven, which means that you have to turn on the oven and wait another 20 minutes before you can enjoy this meal. For that reason I prefer doing everything in the frying pan. As you can see in this close-up, it is possible to caramelize the sugar in the frying pan

Tips and Tricks for the Plum Compote:

• You can prepare the plum compote the night before. Just be sure to warm up shortly before serving.
• For the red color you will need to almost boil the plums at the start until they release their juices. I may be mistaken, but I also feel that a red compote tastes so much better than this brown mush.
• The trick is to add a good dash of water so they can actually boil without burning. You may wish to add further water later on.
• You need to stir constantly to be sure that nothing burns.
• You will reach the right consistency quicker than you may think. I prefer to still have some chuncks left and not simmer them until everything dissolves.
• Depending on the season, you may season the plums with a dash of lemon juice, vanilla extract, and/or a teaspoon of cinnamon.

Print Recipe

Kaiserschmarrn - Broken-up Pancakes with Plum Compote

Serves: For 2 main courses or 4 desserts

Prep Time: 30-40 min

Kaiserschmarrn, this is broken up pancakes and is traditionally served with plum compote. I share all the tricks and tips I learned along the way.

Ingredients

• Plum Compote
• About 500 grams of plums
• 40 grams of regular sugar
• 1 good dash of water
• Optional: cinnamon, vanilla extract and/or some lemon juice
• 
  
• Kaiserschmarrn
• 4 egg yolks
• 30 grams of regular sugar
• 1 teaspoons of vanilla extract, see here how to make your own
• 320 grams of milk
• 30 grams of water (preferably with gas)
• 160 grams of all-purpose flour
• 4 egg whites
• Additional sugar for caramelizing
• Butter for frying
• Icing sugar

Instructions

1

In this Instagram reel you can see how I make it. Also check all my tips in the blog post before you start. For the plum compote destone plums and cut into eatable chunks. Put in a pot, add sugar and water and bring to a boil. For the plums to develop the red color, you have to heat them at a pretty high temperature, otherwise you will get a rather brown mush. You need to stir constantly as otherwise they may burn. If necessary, add more water. Once plums have released their juices, you can reduce the heat a little. Boil on medium heat until soft, plums have dissolved and liquid starts being slightly thicker, this takes about 5-10 minutes. Serve with spices, if desired. You can prepare the night before, keep chilled and only warm up shortly before serving.

2

For the Kaiserschmarrn add egg yolks, sugar, vanilla extract, milk, water, and flour into a large bowl, whisk together. ou can prepare this the night before. Keep chilled and covered in the fridge. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff, be sure you have stiff peaks, you can add a pinch of salt to help the egg whites stabilize. Gently fold egg whites into the egg yolk mix in three steps. Melt some butter in your frying pan, it is important that the frying pan is already warm. Pour into the prepared batter into 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. Immediately sprinkle the top with a tablespoon of sugar. Once the second side has browned, turn again, sprinkle the second side with sugar and wait until the first side has caramelized. Turn again and caramelize the second side. You can skip the caramelization of the sugar if short for time. Break into edible pieces, either with a spatula or two forks (see size in pictures). Serve with warm plum compote and dust generously with icing sugar.