Home » Kaiserschmarrn (Austrian Torn Pancakes) Kaiserschmarrn (Austrian Torn Pancakes) Written on January 1, 2022As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.The famous torn pancakes originating in Austria and enjoyed throughout Bavaria, this traditional Kaiserschmarrn recipe features pillowy soft torn pieces of pancakes studded with rum-soaked raisins (optional) and served with powdered sugar and your choice of fruit preserves, berry jam or applesauce! Here is a special treat my mom used to make for us growing up in Germany.  It’s also served at the annual Oktoberfest in Munich where the huge fairytale castle-like tent called Café Kaiserschmarrn is set up and seats 400 people eagerly awaiting the famous confection.  Enjoyed throughout Austria and Bavaria as both a dessert or lunch, Kaiserschmarrn is quick to make and a thorough delight to eat! What is Kaiserschmarrn? Kaiserschmarrn is a sweet dish of torn pancakes studded with rum-soaked raisins and served with fruit preserves or compote (traditionally plum compote, or Zwetschgenröster), berry jam, or applesauce.  The name comes from the German words Kaiser, meaning Emperor, and Schmarrn, which is a colloquial term that means messy, nonsense, or scrambled.  Hence these scrambled pancakes are also known as Emperor’s Mess.While no one knows for sure exactly how the dish came about, most food historians believe it originated with Emperor Francis Joseph I of Austria and his wife Elisabeth of Bavaria. 

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