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Soft, fluffy pancake cut into pieces and served with icing sugar and an easy plum sauce

Kaiserschmarrn - An Austrian shredded pancake

Soft, fluffy pancake cut into pieces and served with icing sugar and an easy plum sauce
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Makes: 2 servings
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Ingredients
  

For the pancake

  • 2 eggs, at room temperature (integral to the recipe, I can't suggest substitutes)
  • 3 tbsps caster sugar (see notes)
  • 1 and 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup milk, at room temperature (60 ml)
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (40 gms)
  • 2 tbsps unsalted butter (salted threw off the balance a little but if it's what you have on hand, omit the salt in the batter instead)
  • Icing sugar for serving, approx 1/4 cup

For the plum sauce

  • 225 gms ripe plums (7 to 8 seasonal Indian plums; the darker ones are sweeter)
  • 3 tbsps caster sugar
  • Pinch of cinnamon powder
  • Pinch of clove powder
  • 1 tbsp water, optional

Instructions

  • I recommend making the plum sauce first so it cools and thickens while you make the pancake. You can also make it earlier and keep it refrigerated. If you don't want to make the sauce, that's ok too. Just butter and icing sugar are also a great accompaniment for this pancake!
  • To make the sauce, slice each plum in half, twist and remove the pit, then cut into bite-sized pieces. Add them to a saucepan with the sugar and spices. Set it on low heat and cook, stirring often until the fruit begins to break down and release a lot of liquid. Add the water if there isn't enough liquid. The liquid will bubble and boil, let it continue to cook for 15 to 20 minutes until you can still chunks of fruit but they're soft and jammy. Pour into a bowl and let the sauce cool at room temperature and it will continue to thicken. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 days if not using immediately.
  • Make the pancake only when you're ready to eat, ideally not ahead of time. First, separate the eggs. Add the yolks to a mixing bowl and the whites to the bowl of a stand mixer or another larger mixing bowl to whip up in step 6 (make sure no yolk gets in with the whites or they won't whip well).
  • To the bowl with the yolks, add the sugar and vanilla. Whisk to combine, then whisk in the milk until smooth (a balloon whisk is good for this recipe).
  • Sift in the flour and baking powder and whisk again until you have a smooth batter. Let it rest while you whip the egg whites.
  • Using the stand mixer's whisk attachment or a hand mixer, beat the egg whites on high speed until they form stiff peaks. Fold them in two additions into the bowl with the batter (see photos below), until fully incorporated, taking care not to overwork the batter and deflate it too much.
  • Now heat an 8-inch skillet (I used a cast iron one here, you can use a non-stick pan too) with 1 tbsp of butter on low heat. Once the butter is melted, pour the batter into the skillet, smoothening the top. Let it cook for about 45 seconds to a minute, making sure the heat remains on low. Once the edges start to look a bit set, run a metal spatula all along the edges, lift and check for a golden-brown colour on the other side. I find the center darkens pretty quickly but those were personally my favourite bits!
  • Once the base is browning, you can either flip the pancake in one go, or cut it into 4 pieces and flip each one over. Since it's going to be chopped up anyway, don't worry about this step being pretty. And it's not fully cooked at this stage so expect some batter to spill in the pan as you flip.
  • Let the other side brown too, then turn off the heat and use the spatula to cut the pancake into bite-sized pieces in the skillet itself. Alternately, transfer the pancake to a pan and then cut it up, whichever is easier.
  • Add the remaining 1 tbsp butter to the pan and lightly fry the pieces on low heat, letting them crisp up slightly but not get over-cooked. Kaiserscharrn is meant to be a little creamy in the center but I prefer it cooked through and find it cooks pretty quickly anyway.
  • Immediately divide between two plates, dust with about 2 tbsps icing sugar per serving and keep the plum sauce ready to dip into. Best eaten hot and fresh!

Notes

*Most recipes use a very small amount of sugar in the batter (around 1 tbsp for this amount) and often no vanilla extract. I've deviated a bit because doing it that way made me feel the pancake was unsweetened and eggy, more like an omlette than I wanted. By using a little more sugar in the batter, I needed less icing sugar on top as well and the whole thing was more balanced. And I was generous with the vanilla which gave the pancake a lovely flavour. 
*Adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen