Fluffy Austrian Pancake

Preparation

Kaiserschmarrn is a traditional Austrian dessert that sometimes gets served as a main course for lunch. This dish consists of a thick, sweet pancake that is torn into bite-sized pieces while cooking, then dusted with powdered sugar before serving. Traditionally, Kaiserschmarrn is served with stewed damson plums, but it also goes well with apple compote, or, as in our version, with cherry compote. Its name, which translates to "Emperor's Mess," is said to honor Emperor Franz Joseph I, who was particularly fond of this dish.

SOAK THE RAISINS

1. Put the raisins in a HexClad 2 Litre Hybrid Saucepan, add the rum or apple juice and put over a medium heat until almost boiling. Transfer into a small bowl and set aside to soak while preparing the other elements.

COOK THE CHERRY COMPOTE

1. Put the cherries and their juice in the same saucepan used for the raisins, reserving 5 tablespoons of the juice in a little bowl.
2. Add the sugar, vanilla sugar and lemon peel and put over a high heat for it to come to a boil.
3. Whisk the reserved juices with the cornstarch and pour it into the boiling cherries, stirring until thickened. Remove the lemon strip, take off the heat and set aside to cool.

PREPARE THE BATTER

1. Meanwhile, separate the eggs. Put the egg yolks in a large bowl and the egg whites into a medium bowl. Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff.
2. Add the sugar and vanilla sugar to the egg yolks and whisk. Add a few tablespoons of flour, followed by a bit of milk while whisking – alternating until everything is used up. Then add the sparkling water.
3. Fold through the stiff egg whites to get a runny, fluffy batter, adding the raisins in the end.

COOK THE PANCAKE

1. Melt 20g butter in a HexClad 30 cm Hybrid Pan, pour in the batter and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes.
2. After 5 minutes, the pancake will still be very runny on top, but browned on the bottom. Cut the pancake crosswise in 4 and flip each quarter over so that it can cook on the other side. Don’t worry if it looks messy.
3. After 2 ½ minutes, tear the batter into bite-sized pieces using two spatulas and fry for a bit more until all the chunks are cooked.
4. Sprinkle the Kaiserschmarrn generously with icing sugar and serve with cherry compote on the side.