Kaiserschmarrn ("Kaiser", meaning "Emperor" and "Schmarrn" is "Mishmash" in Austrian German) is one of the best known Austrian desserts, popular in the former Austria–Hungary as well as in Bavaria. In Hungary it is called "császármorzsa" or simply "smarni".[1] The translation of Kaiserschmarrn has generated some etymological debate. While “Kaiser” is literally translatable (as Emperor), the same cannot be said for “Schmarrn” or more correctly “Schmarren”. “Schmarrn” has been translated as a mishmash, a mess, crumbs, a trifle, a nonsense, a fluff, or even as a mild expletive. Like the closely related dish Sterz Schmarrn derived from the simple but hearthy cuisine of the alpine regions, there are different versions like Erdäpfelschmarrn (with potatoes) or Apfelschmarrn (with apples), usually prepared on an open fireplace of a so called Rauchkuchl. The Kaiserschmarrn is simple a more refined and richer version of this former staple food, which sometimes consisted of only flour and lard.
Kaiserschmarrn is a light, caramelized pancake made from a sweet batter with flour, eggs, sugar, salt, and milk, baked in butter. Kaiserschmarrn can be prepared in different ways. When making Kaiserschmarrn the eggwhites usually are separated from the yolk and beaten until stiff, then the flour, the yolks mixed with sugar and the other ingredients are added, including nuts, cherries, plums, apple jam, or small pieces of apple, or caramelized raisins and chopped almonds. The pancake is split into pieces while frying, shredded after preparation and usually sprinkled with powdered sugar, served hot with apple or plum sauce or various fruit compotes, including plum, lingonberry, strawberry, or apple. Kaiserschmarrn is eaten like a dessert, or it can also be eaten for lunch at tourist places like mountainside restaurants and taverns in the Austrian alps, as a quite filling meal. Traditionally Kaiserschmarrn is accompanied with Zwetschkenröster, a fruit compote made out of Plums.
It is generally agreed that the dish was first prepared for the Austrian Emperor Francis Joseph I (1830–1916). There are several stories. One apocryphal story involves the Emperor and his wife, Elisabeth of Bavaria, of the House of Wittelsbach. Obsessed with maintaining a minimal waistline, the Empress Elisabeth directed the royal chef to prepare only light desserts for her, much to the consternation and annoyance of her notoriously austere husband. Upon being presented with the chef’s confection, she found it too rich and refused to eat it. The exasperated Francis Joseph quipped, “Now let me see what "Schmarrn" our chef has cooked up”. It apparently met his approval as he finished his and even his wife’s serving. Thereafter, the dessert was called Kaiserschmarrn across the Empire.