Author: hannahmtaylors

Whilst reviewing, eating, talking about Kaiserschmarrn, the conversations always open up personal stories – your mother’s treasured recipe that regularly fed all eleven hungry mouths, your uncle’s restaurant’s secret ingredient that makes his dish a cut above the rest – these are the stories that lead you to believe that the Kaiserschmarrn sat in front of your drooling mouth, is bursting at the seams with memories, each piece crafted with loving labour.

What creativity do we have to give to this delectable dish? Always talking about it creates an appetite, so much so, that a group of us decided to address our own Kaiserschmarrn mastery. The Kaiserschmarrn Challenge was born.

Take six people (and note, one of whom was a vegan!), and three teams. The aim: to identify what each one of us desired to bring to the Kaiserschmarrn – what was important, what we aspired the dish to be…and to achieve just that. Three dishes were created, with the pairs making combining towards the goal. We would then all sample intensely, and explore each others creations.

Team one. Team vegan. These guys had it tough from the outset, but a brief research (thanks Google) provided the necessary substitutes. The key? Alpro Soya Yoghurt. The outcome: amazing gooey texture, a smooth vanilla taste and caramelized sugar coated pieces. Delicious.

Team two. The team with Austrian blood, and a recipe that had been passed down the generations. The dish lived up to the rumours, it tasted fluffy but had plenty of consistency and alpine-hut-worthy flavour. The key? Tossing in toasted almond flakes along with the raisins for texture contrast, and bitter sweet crunch. The outcome: whatever an ‘authentic’ tasting dish is, this was it, and with a modern almond twist so it lingered longer.

Team three. The team with obscure dreams of sparkles, glitter, and a somehow making cute Kaiserschmarrn. The key? Red food coloring and sprinkles. The outcome: A somewhat Leberkäse-like shade of pink (with a scarily similar texture too) but that managed to combine that perfect note of vanilla, along with seductively sticky sugar and fresh’n’firm consistency. Somehow strange but mesmerizing.

So who was the winner? There is no winner. Yes, you can talk and debate, improve and refine. But at the end of the challenge the Kaiserschmarrn speaks for itself, and triumphs. It stimulates curiosity of it’s creator, paints a picture to reveal the intention at the moment those first ingredients merged. It somehow captures the ingredients of people, places and processes, combines them with a balance of recollection and experimentation, and binds to form a memory on a dish. That tastes so incredibly good.

 

 

A friend of mine had told me that the best Kaiserschmarrn she ever had was at a little ski hut on the Dienten section of Hochkönig. Since then, I needed to try this place out.

After Easter weekend, I was in the area, catching the last few days of ski season at Hochkönig. The snow wasn’t too great, but the Kaiserschmarrn was calling, and so skiing was the only option for me to taste the acclaimed dish.

We must have been one of the only ones in the hut, but it was really nice – cosy and small (a total contrast to the large rooms that many huts on the main ski pistes have), and tucked away behind the forest. It felt like you had stumbled upon a little hidden house!

By this point I was eager and very curious to try this Kaiserschmarrn, wondering whether it would live up to the expectation, and asking myself whether it was worth the slightly slushy detour.

The Kaiserschmarrn came really speedily …and was so good!

As you can see, it is a slightly different approach, mixing the sauce in with the pancake. This creates a very, very moist Kaiserschmarrn with bursts of fruit and juice. It was blackberry instead of plum, which gave it a more strong taste, and a lot of icing sugar ensured it was very sweet. The sugar had slightly crystalised with the heat, and formed delicate crunchy patches – which contrasted really well with the juicy-ness.

The texture was exquisite, the batter delightful, and of course the bright purple colour made the dish look very tasty!

If you are in Hochkönig it is definitely worthwhile to plan your day around this hut!

It is situated right next to the Gabühelbahn – see the website here.

Spring has come! And to celebrate a beautiful sunny day a few of us drove 30mins in the car to Königsee in Berchtesgaden. This place is amazingly close to Salzburg, so if you are here for more than just the weekend, I’d recommend getting out to this majestic lake surrounded with astoundingly high mountains.

We took the round loop (see map here) which took us to some stunning views, was quite easy hike and didn’t take too long either. Perfect for a short afternoon. But of course, we had to taste the Kaiserschmarrn in the huts that were at the bottom of the Jennerbahn ski lift.

The hut looks very picturesque, lovely old wood and decorations – particularly if you go inside and sit in the back room where every inch of the wall is covered in some sort of old fashioned tool.

We enjoyed a table outside in the sun, and watched the skiers, who were clinging onto the winter season, ski down the grassy snow and come for a sunny après ski meal.

Ordering coffee and Kaiserschmarrn, we were happy with the rather big portions, coming in a baking tray dish. The apple sauce was a very generous portion too, making this dish perfect for even 2 hungry hikers to share. The raisins were sporadic, and there were almond flakes included in – something I’d never seen before – and really loved. They added a brittle crunch to the texture (the pancake texture was really beautiful) and the almond taste was complementary to the sweet pancake batter.

Overall, really great Kaiserschmarrn, and great value! Will be sure to stop here for more when in the Berchtesgaden area.

See their website here.

Kuglhof is one the most quaint places to reside for a meal, especially during the quiet hours of Friday lunch time. It is on the outskirts of town (near the Hangar-7), so good location for days which you are transferring to the airport.

It it situated in the middle of fields, the backdrop grandeur of the Untersberg mountains behind, make this feel even more cosy. The decorations are tastefully seasonal, and the menu is quite extensive, presenting traditional dishes in slightly more fancy manor.

On this particular Friday afternoon, this dish was on the daily lunch menu. It was Topfenschmarrn, which is very similar in look and taste to Kaiserschmarrn, but it uses Topfen (Quark) instead. This gives it a more flan-like texture, and in this particular case, didn’t pick up the butter crispiness in the same way. It was served with cherry jam – a lovely change from the usual puree, and the sour and sweet dual flavour that came out of this complimented the plain taste of the pancake. The added fruit and icing sugar was a great touch, giving this dish overall variation and combinations of great flavours.

Although I would opt for the original Kaiserscharrn over Topfenschmarrn, I truly liked Kuglhof’s take on the dish, and would happily embrace a Friday Topfenschmarrn afternoon again!

See the website here.

 

On the weekend, two of my friends came to visit for a short break. Starting in Salzburg on the Friday, they explored the city (stopping for a coffee must Café Tomaselli) and exploring the many beautiful cathedrals. With ski season still in full swing in Austria, we went to Wagrain on the Saturday, and after a long morning of skiing, I introduced them to Kaiserschmarrn. Keen to try the desert, and very hungry, we stopped in a hut half way down a gentle red slope, called Berggasthof Höllenstein.

We mistakenly ordered our savoury dishes at the same time as the Kaiserschmarrn, taking the risk that the dish might be cold by the time we got round to sharing it. Rookie error for any Kaiserschmarrn eater.

The gasthof offered either apple or plum sauce, of which we chose plum. The dish was a good portion, nice sized pieces and generous icing sugar dusting  – however the  pancake itself was quite dry and too solid. The lack of raisins meant there was nothing to break up or add variation to the texture, and often raisins can help add moisture to Kaiserschmarrn. Never-the-less, it was devoured by the three hungry skiers, and the sugar pick up helped to boost energy to combat the rest of the slope.

Satisfied and ready to go, we set off again and enjoyed a great rest of weekend devouring many more Austrian treats at Zirkelwirt , Stadt Café and M32, before they travelled onto Vienna where they sampled the famous Sacher Torte.

http://www.hoellenstein.at

 

Two of my longest friends came to visit me in Salzburg last weekend. It was so good to show them around and re-discover that initial wonder for this beautiful city. Of course, tasting Austrian cuisine was high on the agenda for the weekend…Kaiserschmarrn was a priority.

We headed to Zirkelwirt, a very cosy and quaint, traditional restaurant in old town. I have been here several times before, and the atmosphere, food, and experience has always been great. You could stay just for a drink, just for desert or have a full blown meal, all amidst charming decor (wooden panels, warm lighting and winter style decorations).

The Kaiserschmarrn here comes with apple puree, there was only just enough for the dish for those who like a lot of sauce, but it had a tangy, pungent but palatably sweet flavour. The pancakes themselves were chunky and fluffy. No smaller or crispier pieces, but the dough was soft and the outsides were slightly crispy. The raisins were few and far between, and icing sugar dusting was tasteful! Overall a great Kaiserschmarrn experience to give my friends as a first taste.

I’d definitely recommend Zirkelwirt as a must in Salzburg, not just for Kaiserschmarrn. Check out the website here.

 

 

The week before Christmas, I spent an evening in St. Wolfgang, strolling around the Christkindlmarkt with Glühwein and having a lovely dinner on the boat which drives around the lake.

After several delicious courses to eat, the Kaiserschmarrn was served, just as the boat started on it’s journey round the lake. I particularly liked the small pots the plum jam was served in, and was glad that the portion size of pancake wasn’t too big. The raisins were neatly inclosed in the fluffy pieces, and provided a succulent burst to each block of pancake.

This dish was perfect for the end of the meal, anything more would have been wasted as we had already eaten plenty before.

I would love to come back on this boat in the day time – or on a night where the lake wasn’t submerged in thick cloud, to enjoy Kaiserschmarrn when I was truly hungry for it, and enjoy the wondrous view of the lake outside.

See more about the Wolfgangsee Schiffahrt here.

The ski season has begun, and Obertauern is a very popular ski resort in the region, offering good snow for the early season start.

After an early start, and a long mornings ski, we stopped at Edelweissalm for lunch.

The steaming Kaiserschmarrn was devoured quickly. A generous helping of icing sugar, with lots of raisins tasted delicious. The pancake itself was a bit dry, and lacked the different textures of fluffy big chunks, or small and crispy pieces.

Kaiserschmarrn always tastes better when served in a pan, and after skiing. Maybe next time we will opt for inside, but Edelweissalm was a welcome pit stop.

See website here.

This was possibly the best setting for an afternoon coffee and Kaiserschmarrn yet.

It was a gorgous Sunday, and I went on an Autumn walk to Schloss Hohenwerfen (It is a 40min drive outside of Salzburg). This particular weekend it was closed for Winter season, but was beautiful with the gold and crimson Autumn colours.

After walking up to the castle, I wanted the view of the castle itself, so decided to drive up the mountain nearby. After a slightly precarious drive up the road come track, the woods opened up and Dielalm appeared. It is situated in a suntrap – and in the afternoon just as the sun was beginning to set, it was stunning. It has a small farm, with animals roaming round, lots of play things for the kids, and plenty space on the open terrace looking down the valley.

The Kaiserschmarrn came with apple sauce, which I really enjoyed (although I missed the different textures of plum jam – the apple was pureed and very smooth). The ratio of jam to pancake was quite big, but the moist pancake batter ensured that it didn’t become dry. If you like a slightly more eggy pancake mix, then this dish was great. And no raisins (for all the raisin haters)!

Dielalm is a definite recommendation for a quick espcape to the mountains by car, especially on a sunny day to be enjoyed on the terrace. It is a slight drive from Salzburg, but perfect for a weekend trip. Enjoying a view like that with your coffee and Kaiserschmarrn clears your mind before you delve back into Salzburg for the week!

See website here.