Kaiserschmarrn Recipe | Shredded Pancake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is it called Kaiserschmarrn? ›

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.

I can barely flip a pancake without it falling apart on me.

Your batter could be too loose—add a little flour.

Pancakes and waffles typically both contain baking soda, which causes them to rise. As soon as the baking soda is combined with the wet ingredients (which contain an acidic ingredient, like often buttermilk), it starts producing carbon dioxide gas bubbles that cause the batter to rise.

United States and Canada. American and Canadian pancakes (sometimes called hotcakes, griddlecakes, or flapjacks) are usually served at breakfast, in a stack of two or three, topped with maple syrup or table syrup, and butter.

In the UK, the word pancakes refers to the same thing, but the word flapjacks refers to something entirely different: a baked good made from oats, resembling what elsewhere may be called a granola bar or oat bar. The word flapjack is traced back to the late 1500s.

Baking powder does most of the heavy lifting in the rise department and while baking soda aids in leavening, it also helps neutralize the acid." Take buttermilk pancakes, for instance. Fryer says the "swift reaction between the buttermilk and the baking powder and baking soda makes lofty, fluffy pancakes."

Overmixing pancake batter can cause your flapjacks to deflate, for two main reasons. The stirring or whisking motion may cause the batter's air bubbles to pop, and can also cause too much gluten to develop. Air and small amounts of gluten are both essential in developing the ideal pancake texture.

Eggs are a crucial ingredient. They provide the cakes with the structure to hold light bubbles. Eggs also give the batter additional, richer flavor from the yolk fat. If you add too many eggs, you'll have “pancakes” that look more like custard or crepes.

What is the scientific secret of fluffy pancakes? ›

Use buttermilk and self-raising flour—the acid/base reaction

The lactic acid reacts with the bicarbonate in the self-raising flour to produce carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas. Bubbles of gas are caught in the batter as it cooks and this is what makes the pancake fluffy. This also explains why you should make your batter fresh.

Kaiserschmarrn (German pronunciation: [ˈkaɪ̯zɐˌʃmaʁn]) or Kaiserschmarren ( German: [ˈkaɪ̯zɐˌʃmaʁən]) ('Emperor's Mess') is a lightly sweetened pancake that takes its name from the Austrian emperor (Kaiser) Franz Joseph I, who was fond of this fluffy shredded pancake.

While these pancakes are derived from the German pancake dish, it is said that the name Dutch baby was coined by one of Victor Manca's daughters, where "Dutch" perhaps was her corruption of the German autonym deutsch. Manca's Cafe claimed that it owned the trademark for Dutch babies in 1942.

One of the many legends about the origin of Kaiserschmarren says that Emperor Franz Joseph I liked to have Palatschinken (pancakes) for dessert. If the cook made them too thick or torn, they were served to the staff as "Kaiserschmarrn", because they were not good enough for the Emperor.

For instance, folks from the South and Southeast call them flapjacks, while people from the West, North, and even the East tend to call them pancakes. Some states have entirely different names for pancakes altogether.