Wuselig Recipes · Recipe 55
VegetarianPuschel’s Kaiserschmarrn with Apple Sauce
Golden, fluffy torn pancake pieces with apple sauce – clearly explained, without alcohol, and with a little Wusel mishap.
The little story
The Pancake That Wanted to Be Broken
Puschel and Flauschi sat at their little kitchen table. A mountain of whipped egg whites shone in the bowl. Puschel lifted the whisk and studied the white peak on it.
Puschel„A kitchen cloud! Do we need an umbrella now?“
Flauschi„Just a spatula. And this cloud is not for tasting.“
Beside the bowl were raisins, already soaked in warm water for ten minutes and drained well. Puschel studied their little wrinkles.
Puschel„Who folded up the grapes?“
Flauschi„They are raisins! I call them Traubenschrumpel — grape crinkles. I like them in my Kaiserschmarrn.“
Puschel„Then you can have the crinkles. I prefer mine without.“
They gently folded the egg whites into the batter. An adult took care of the cooker and cooked Puschel’s plain batch first. Meanwhile, the softening apples made the kitchen smell lovely.
When the thick pancake was ready, it was torn into golden pieces. Puschel stared at the plate. With his forks, he nudged two cooled pieces together.
Puschel„Don’t worry. I can probably repair it!“
Flauschi„You don’t need to. Kaiserschmarrn is meant to be in pieces!“
Puschel studied his breakfast puzzle, then laughed. Food where a little mishap was already part of the recipe was exactly his kind of food.
Puschel„Then today, for once, I am an especially tidy breaker.“
For the second batch, the adult scattered the grape crinkles over the still-soft batter and cooked it through. Flauschi looked forward to her raisin pieces. Both batches cooled a little and were served with apple sauce. Puschel put down his repair fork and picked up his eating fork. Together they made the delicious puzzle disappear, piece by piece — each just as they liked it.
Preparation: about 15 minutes · Cooking in 2 batches: about 25 minutes · Total: about 45 minutes including brief cooling. Cook the apples alongside. Allow longer if needed for your cooker and pan.
Makes 4 small portions or 2 large main-meal portions
How to make it
In a few words: Fold whipped egg whites into a simple batter, cook two thick pancakes through and tear into pieces. Serve with apple sauce.Add raisins to the second batch if wanted.
Ingredients
- 4 medium eggs
- 160 g plain wheat flour
- 250 ml milk
- 20 g caster sugar and 8 g vanilla sugar
- A small pinch of salt
- 40 g butter for frying, divided into 2 portions of 20 g
- Optional: 20–30 g raisins for one of the two batches; about 100 ml warm water for soaking
- For the apple sauce: 3 medium apples, about 500 g in total
- 80 ml water for the apples, plus a little more if needed
- Optional: ¼ tsp ground cinnamon for the apple sauce
- Optional: 1–2 tsp icing sugar for all portions together
Method
- Wash hands and measure the ingredients. Set out two mixing bowls, a small bowl for separating eggs, a hand mixer, whisk, spatula, a non-stick frying pan about 28 cm wide with a lid, two turners and a small saucepan. Adults handle knives, the mixer and the cooker.
- If you like raisins, rinse them and soak in warm water for about 10 minutes while preparing the other ingredients. Drain well and pat dry with clean kitchen paper. Skip this step if not using raisins.
- Wash the apples. An adult peels, cores and chops them. Put in a saucepan with 80 ml water, cover and simmer gently for about 10–15 minutes until soft. Stir occasionally and add a little more water if needed. Mash with a fork, add cinnamon if wanted and let cool.
- An adult separates the eggs: crack each egg over a small bowl and collect the white and yolk separately. Put the whites in a clean, grease-free mixing bowl and the yolks in the other bowl. Keep yolk out of the whites.
- Whisk the yolks, milk, flour and vanilla sugar into a smooth batter. Do not taste raw batter.
- An adult beats the egg whites with the pinch of salt until foamy. Slowly add the 20 g sugar and keep beating until firm peaks remain when the switched-off beaters are lifted. These are whipped egg whites.
- Use a spatula to gently fold the whipped whites into the batter in two additions: scoop from underneath and turn over until no large white lumps remain. Do not stir hard, so the batter keeps as much air as possible. Divide into two roughly equal batches.
- An adult melts 20 g butter in the pan over medium-low heat. Do not let the butter smoke. Add the first half of the batter, spread evenly, cover and cook for about 6–8 minutes. The underside should be golden and the surface beginning to set. Lower the heat if it browns too quickly.
- Carefully lift the lid. Use the turners to divide the thick pancake into four quarters and turn each one. Cook uncovered for about 3–4 more minutes.
- Tear the quarters into bite-sized pieces with the turners and keep turning and cooking for about 1–2 minutes. Cut open a thick piece: there must be no liquid or sticky raw batter inside. Cook longer over low heat if needed.
- Put the first batch, without raisins, on a clean plate and cover loosely. Melt the remaining 20 g butter and add the second half of the batter. If wanted, scatter the prepared raisins evenly over the still-soft batter. Then cover, cook, turn, tear and cook through as for the first batch. Cook the batches one straight after the other and serve separately.
- Let cool slightly. An adult checks the eating temperature. Divide between four small plates or two large plates and serve with apple sauce. If wanted, lightly dust all portions together with a little icing sugar.
Three simple terms
Separating eggs means putting whites and yolks in different bowls. Whipped egg whites are whites beaten until firm. Folding means gently turning them into the batter with a spatula. Cooking in two batches keeps the batter shallow enough to cook through. The Wusels call raisins “Traubenschrumpel” — grape crinkles. They are optional: keep the first batch plain and add raisins to the second if wanted. Soak in water, not rum. Vegetarian, not vegan.