Especially during the Christmas season in Berlin, we are often drawn to faraway places: the snow-covered mountains are the perfect winter getaway and make the gray time in December pass more quickly. But even if you’re not planning a vacation to the south, you can still bring a bit of that mountain feeling into your own home: try this recipe for your own Kaiserschmarrn ! Berlin can taste like Austria and Bavaria so quickly.
Ingredients for your Kaiserschmarrn
For the dough:
- 4 eggs (size M)
- 300 ml whole milk (min. 3.5% fat)
- 125 g wheat flour (type 405 or 550)
- 60 g sugar
- 1 sachet vanilla sugar (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
- 1 pinch of salt
- Optional: 75 ml mineral water (sparkling, for extra fluffiness)
- Optional: 40 g raisins (preferably soaked in rum or apple juice for 15-30 minutes beforehand)
For frying & caramelizing:
- 40 g butter (or clarified butter)
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar (powdered sugar)
- Powdered sugar for sprinkling
As a garnish (roaster):
- Classic: plum compote (stewed plums)
- Alternatively: apple sauce or apricot compote
Preparation: How to make it really fluffy
Step 1: Preparing the batter
Carefully separate the eggs into yolks and whites. Place the egg whites in a fat-free bowl. Then mix the egg yolks with the sugar, vanilla sugar and a pinch of salt until the mixture becomes lighter in color and foamy. Add the flour and milk (and optionally the mineral water) alternately to the egg yolk mixture and mix everything quickly to form a smooth, liquid batter.
Then beat the egg whites with a hand mixer to a very firm beaten egg white. Then carefully fold this into the batter in two portions. This is the key to a good – i.e. particularly fluffy – Kaiserschmarrn: It’s best to use a whisk or spatula to avoid squeezing the air out of the batter. Be particularly careful when folding in the beaten egg whites.
If you want to use raisins, now is the time. Carefully fold them into the batter too.
Step 2: On the pan, ready, go
Heat the butter in a pan over a medium heat and pour all the batter into the hot pan. Cook over a medium heat for approx. 3-4 minutes until the underside is golden brown. You can carefully push the spatula to the edge so that any liquid batter can run down – this creates the typical layers.
Once the underside is well browned, divide the batter into two halves with the spatula and turn them over. Place the pan (if it is ovenproof) in the oven preheated to 180 degrees top/bottom heat for approx. 5-8 minutes so that the Kaiserschmarrn is completely cooked on the inside. Alternatively, you can continue to bake in the pan on a low heat and cover with a lid.
Step 3: Caramelize and enjoy!
As soon as the Kaiserschmarrn is done baking, take it out of the oven and use two forks to tear it into irregular, bite-sized pieces.
Then pour the 2 tbsp powdered sugar over the pieces of pancake in the pan. Increase the heat slightly and toss the pieces until the sugar caramelizes and forms a light, shiny crust.
Your perfect Kaiserschmarrn is ready! Sprinkle it with powdered sugar or add a side dish of your choice, such as the traditional plum roast. It will taste like the Alps in no time – bon appétit!