Kaiserschmarrn in Vienna: The Emperor’s Torn Pancake

Few Austrian desserts are asked for by name as often as Kaiserschmarrn. If you’re planning to try Kaiserschmarrn in Vienna, it helps to know what’s coming: not a neat, round pancake, but a thick, fluffy one, torn into rough pieces in the pan, dusted with icing sugar and served with fruit on the side.

You’ll see it spelled two ways, Kaiserschmarrn and Kaiserschmarren. Our menu uses the second. It’s the same dish.

What is Kaiserschmarrn?

The batter is made from eggs, flour, milk and a little sugar. In many kitchens the egg whites are whisked separately and folded in, which makes the pancake rise light and airy.

It’s cooked in butter, turned, and then torn apart in the pan into bite-sized pieces that catch a little colour and caramelise at the edges. A generous dusting of icing sugar finishes it.

Raisins are common, but they’re also a long-running family argument in Austria: some people won’t eat it without them, others pick out every last one.

The name is half the fun. Kaiser means emperor. Schmarrn is an Austrian and Bavarian word for a dish that has been cut or torn into pieces and, in everyday speech, for nonsense. ‘So ein Schmarrn!’ is what a Viennese might say about a silly idea.

The legend of the emperor

Austria tells several stories about how the dish got its imperial name. The best known goes like this: legend has it that the court kitchen prepared a light, fluffy pancake for Empress Elisabeth, who famously watched her figure. She turned it down, and Emperor Franz Joseph happily ate the lot.

In another version, the cook tore up a pancake that had gone wrong, and the emperor liked it anyway.

A third story sends the emperor into the mountains, where a dairyman, a Kaser in Alpine dialect, served him a simple farmhouse dish, the ‘Kaserschmarrn’, which became the Kaiserschmarrn. Each has its fans, and none has ever settled the question.

On our menu, the dish carries the emperor’s name twice over: Viennese Kaiserschmarren ‘Franz Joseph’, a torn pancake served with plum compote.

Zwetschkenröster: why it comes with plums

The classic partner for Kaiserschmarrn is Zwetschkenröster. Zwetschken are the dark, oval plums used all over Austrian cooking. A Röster is fruit cooked down slowly, usually with a little sugar and often a hint of spice, until it’s soft and thick, somewhere between a compote and a jam.

Its slight sharpness is exactly what the sweet, buttery pancake needs. You’ll sometimes see Kaiserschmarrn served with apple sauce instead; here, it comes with Zwetschkenröster.

How to eat Kaiserschmarrn

There are no strict rules, but a few habits help:

• Eat it hot. It’s at its best straight from the pan, while the edges are still crisp.
• Take the fruit as you go. Rather than tipping all the plum compote over the top, add a little to each forkful.
• Leave the knife. It arrives in pieces, so there’s nothing to cut. A fork, and perhaps a spoon for the last bits, is all you need.
• Plan for it. In Austria, sweet dishes like this, known as Mehlspeisen, are traditionally eaten as a main course too, often after a bowl of soup. After a full meal, sharing one is perfectly normal.

More Viennese desserts on our menu

If Kaiserschmarrn isn’t what you’re in the mood for, the dessert section of our menu has the other Viennese classics: Viennese apple strudel with whipped cream or with vanilla ice cream, Sachertorte with whipped cream, Mohr im Hemd (a chocolate pudding) with whipped cream, and ice-cream dumplings with apricot or with plum.

Kaiserschmarrn also makes a fitting end to a very Viennese meal. Start with a bowl of beef broth and a plate of Tafelspitz, then finish with the emperor’s pancake. Or browse our guide to what to eat in Vienna and put together your own.

You’ll find us on Rotenturmstraße, a few minutes’ walk from St Stephen’s Cathedral.