Ingredients

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• ¾ cup (95 g) Petley Grain Gluten-Free Pancake Mix
• ½ cup (120 ml) milk
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 2 tbsp (20 g) raisins, soaked in warm water or rum
• 2 tbsp (28 g) butter, plus extra
• 1 tbsp (12 g) coarse sugar

At the table

• · Plum compote (Zwetschkenröster)
• · Warm applesauce
• · Plenty of powdered sugar
• · A Viennese melange coffee

Method

1. 1Mix the egg yolks, milk, and Petley Grain Mix until smooth.
2. 2Whip the whites to soft peaks and fold into the batter with the drained raisins.
3. 3Melt the butter in an oven-safe skillet over medium heat, pour in the batter, and cook 4 minutes until the bottom sets.
4. 4Move the skillet to a 375°F (190°C) oven for 6 minutes to finish rising.
5. 5Back on the stove, tear into bite-size pieces with two forks. Add the coarse sugar and extra butter and toss until caramelized.

The story

Kaiserschmarrn is a sweet pancake deliberately torn into irregular pieces. Its name brings together Kaiser, or emperor, and Schmarrn, a word with associations of a shredded preparation and, colloquially, nonsense. The dish is strongly linked with Austria and Emperor Franz Joseph I. Several stories explain that association, involving a court kitchen, an accidental tear, or the emperor’s appetite. They are competing legends, not a securely documented recipe-invention scene. The dish has a place in the wider culinary world of the former Habsburg Empire, as well as in Austrian home cooking and Alpine restaurants. Historical cookbook material also shows it within Viennese Jewish cooking. These overlapping settings are a reminder that a national specialty can travel through communities, languages, and household traditions without belonging to one isolated origin story. Its texture depends on more than its name. A light batter cooks into a soft pancake before being pulled apart; the newly exposed edges can then brown in butter. Raisins appear in many versions, but are not essential to every preparation. Powdered sugar and plum compote, often called Zwetschkenröster, are familiar finishing touches. The result is intentionally rustic: tender pieces, browned corners, and a fruit accompaniment that balances the rich pancake.