Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Kaiserschmarrn
A fluffy Austrian pancake lightened with beaten egg whites, torn into pieces and caramelised in butter and sugar, dusted with icing sugar and served with plum compote.
Austrian · medium · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 20 min
~409 cal · 12g protein · 52g carbs · 17g fat · 1g fiber · 26g sugars · 9g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Kaiserschmarrn means, roughly, "the emperor’s mess": Kaiser for emperor, and Schmarrn, a colloquial word for something scrambled or messy. The dish is said to be named for Emperor Franz Joseph I, and one much-told legend has a court cook, having botched a dessert, tearing it into pieces, dusting it with sugar and passing it off as an invention just for the emperor.
However it got its name, it is a light, fluffy pancake made airy by folding beaten egg whites into the batter. It is cooked until set, then deliberately torn into bite-sized pieces and, for the best version, caramelised in a little butter and sugar so the edges turn golden and crisp while the centre stays custardy.
Often the batter is studded with rum-soaked raisins, though that is a point of friendly disagreement in Austria. It is finished with a heavy dusting of icing sugar and served with a fruit compote, most traditionally Zwetschgenröster, a spiced plum compote. It is eaten as a dessert, an afternoon treat, or even a light main.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
4 eggs, separated
125 g all-purpose flour
250 ml milk
3 tbsp granulated sugar
50 g butter (for the batter and the pan)
3 tbsp raisins soaked in rum (optional)
2 tbsp icing sugar, to serve
for 4 plum compote (Zwetschgenröster) or applesauce, to serve
Instructions
1
Whisk the egg yolks with the milk, half the sugar and the melted butter, then whisk in the flour to a smooth batter.
2
Beat the egg whites (or whipped aquafaba) with the rest of the sugar to soft peaks, then fold gently into the batter to keep it airy.
✎ Chef’s note
Beaten egg whites, folded in gently, are what make Kaiserschmarrn fluffy; do not knock the air out.
3
Melt a little butter in a wide pan over medium heat, pour in the batter, and scatter over the rum-soaked raisins if using. Cook until the underside is golden and set.
4
Flip (in sections if easier), cook the other side, then tear the pancake into bite-sized pieces with two forks or spatulas.
5
Push the pieces aside, melt a little more butter with a sprinkle of sugar, and toss the pieces in it until the edges caramelise.
6
Dust heavily with icing sugar and serve at once with plum compote or applesauce.
Austrian classic named for Emperor Franz Joseph I.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Vienna. The coffee house is a listed tradition. Vienna's was added to Austria's national inventory of intangible cultural heritage in 2011, and the description is exact about the furniture: marble-topped tables, Thonet chairs, newspapers on wooden holders, and a room where you consume time and space but pay only for the coffee.
🗺️
Austria. Two Viennese facts worth having straight. The city's coffee house culture was inscribed by UNESCO in 2011, listing the newspapers, the marble tables and the waiter as much as the coffee. And Wiener Schnitzel is legally veal in Austria; a pork one has to be sold under a different name. The story that Radetzky brought the dish back from Milan is a twentieth-century invention.
🌍
Europe. A surprising amount of European cooking is under five hundred years old. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, maize, beans and chocolate all crossed from the Americas after 1492, and none of them was trusted quickly: the potato took most of the eighteenth century to be accepted as food rather than animal fodder across much of the north.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Austria
Wiener SchnitzelVienna’s golden icon: a thin cutlet in a puffed, wavy breadcrumb crust, fried in butter and finished with lemon.
Wiener FrühstückA Viennese breakfast of a crusty Kaisersemmel, soft-boiled egg, butter, jam, and a milky Melange.
FrittatensuppeClear beef broth poured over ribbons of sliced savory pancake, a classic Viennese starter and light lunch.
Browse all Austria recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Whisk.
Storing it: Best fresh and hot. Keep batter covered in the fridge for up to a day, and rewarm cooked ones in a dry pan.
Make it a Austria meal
TafelspitzDinner
Similar dishes from around the world
PoffertjesNetherlands
DorayakiJapan
HotteokSouth Korea
QatayefPalestine
Arepa di PampunaCuraçao
Blueberry Buttermilk PancakesUnited States
Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Kaiserschmarrn?
A fluffy Austrian pancake lightened with beaten egg whites, torn into pieces and caramelised in butter and sugar, dusted with icing sugar and served with plum compote.
Where does Kaiserschmarrn come from?
Kaiserschmarrn is a Austrian dish from Vienna, Austria.
Can Kaiserschmarrn be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Kaiserschmarrn recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Kaiserschmarrn safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Kaiserschmarrn take to make?
About 40 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 4.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.