What is kaiserschmarrn? Where to find the best of the 'king' of Austrian desserts

PLATE UP

Pancakes are great. We can all agree on that, right? But now what happens if you take some fluffy, airy pancake batter, and you add the likes of raisins soaked in rum, plus nuts, cherries, even pieces of apple? And then you cook that batter in a pan bubbling with butter, you shred the giant pancake it forms into small hunks, and you dust the whole thing with icing sugar and serve it with apple sauce or plum jam? Then, you have kaiserschmarrn, very much the "king" of Austrian desserts, a hearty, belt-bursting sweet dish that could easily – and probably should – be consumed as a main meal.

FIRST SERVE

Though there are multiple probably-untrue stories about the creation of kaiserschmarrn, the one thing they have in common is the presence of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I, the man who puts the "Kaiser" in kaiserschmarrn. Franz Joseph I ruled from 1848 to 1916, and during that time he either visited a farmer who tried to impress him but botched a simple pancake, or he liked crepes for dessert and his kitchen staff would eat the pancakes they stuffed up themselves, or his wife was a terrible cook and couldn't flip a pancake without tearing it. And if you don't like those stories, there are more.

ORDER THERE

Kaiserschmarrn is a classic mountain meal in Austria, the perfect stomach-filler after a day on the ski slopes. They do an excellent version at Hospiz Alm in St Anton am Arlberg (arlberg1800resort.at).

ORDER HERE

In Sydney, make your way to classic Austrian eatery Kaiser Stub'n in Terrey Hills (kaiserstubn.com.au). For Melburnians, go for the whopper kaiserschmarrn at Gasthaus on Queen in the CBD (gasthausonqueen.com).

ONE MORE THING

The "schmarrn" in kaiserschmarrn means roughly "mess" or "shredded". That's the signature of this dish: a full pancake that has been shredded with two forks, and which also explains the many fanciful theories of its origin.