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For Elise

KAISERSCHMARRN

(EMPEROR'S PANCAKE)

To serve 4 to 6

 
2 tablespoons sultanas 
2 oz. dark rum 
4 egg yolks 
3 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt 
3/4 pint milk 
1/8 teaspoon vanilla essence 
1/4 lb. sifted flour 
5 egg whites 
2 oz. unsalted butter, melted 
Icing sugar


 
Soak the sultanas in the rum for 30 minutes; drain and squeeze dry. 
Beat the egg yolks, sugar and salt together with a whisk or rotary or electric beater until 
the mixture is pale yellow and thick. 
Stir in the milk and vanilla essence, then gradually beat in the sifted flour 2 ounces at a time. 
Continue to beat until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the sultanas. 
In another bowl, preferably of unlined copper, beat the egg whites until they are stiff enough 
to form unwavering peaks when the beater is lifted from the bowl. 
Using a rubber spatula, fold the whites into the batter with an over-and-under cutting motion 
rather than a stirring motion. Continue to fold until there is no trace of the whites. 
Do not overfold. 
In a heavy 8-inch frying pan, heat 1/2 an ounce of the butter over a low heat. 
Pour in about half the batter - at least enough to cover the bottom of the pan to a 1/4-inch depth. 
Cook over a low heat for about 4 minutes, or until the pancake has puffed up and browned slightly. 
(Test by lifting an edge with a spatula.) 
Turn the pancake out on to a plate, add another 1/2 ounce of butter, reheat, then slide the 
pancake back into the pan, uncooked side down. 
Cook for the same length of time. With 2 forks, pull the pancake into 6 or 8 pieces. 
Remove to a warm plate. 
Heat another 1/2 ounce of butter in the frying pan, cook another pancake in the 
same way as the first, and pull it into similar pieces. 
Return the first batch to the pan and cook both batches over a medium heat for about 2 minutes, 
turning them 2 or 3 times with a spatula. 
Remove the Kaiserschmarrn to a plate, sprinkle it with icing sugar and serve with fruit syrup or a fruit compote.

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