Torn-cakes

Kaiserschmarrn is simply the most beautiful mess of a pancake you’ll ever make and eat

There are few foods I can think of in my life that have gone from complete unknown to outright obsession faster than kaiserschmarrn.

I first encountered it at Kaisy’s Delights in Rehoboth Beach, Del., five years ago. The name means “imperial mess” in German. The story goes that a frazzled farmer created the dish in a tizzy when Austria’s Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife showed up hungry at his home. As a last-ditch attempt to save face, the farmer shredded his disastrous pancake and topped it with sugar and marmalade.

My family beach trip is not happening this year. I was already hankering for a way to make my own kaiserschmarrn (it can also be spelled kaiserschmarren) to compensate for the loss when I came across baking instructor Nikki Phelps’s Instagram account, where she demonstrated how to make it. The dish is also popular in parts of Germany, especially Bavaria, where Nikki is from, and she says it has been a part of her family tradition for as long as she can remember.

Now it will be a part of mine, too. If you’re used to making regular buttermilk pancakes, this isn’t all that different. Here, the eggs are separated first, so that the whites can be beaten before going into the batter. They’re all the leavening this recipe has, so be sure to get them quite firm. Raisins are dropped into the batter once it has been poured into the skillet. They’re sometimes soaked in rum, which I left out, though feel free to do it yourself. The recipe makes two very large pancakes. Flipping them over is a fun challenge, but one that ultimately does not require perfection since the whole thing is destined to be torn. If you really find the move too unwieldy, divide the batter into 3 or 4 smaller pancakes.