PANCAKE DAY!

Happy Pancake Day from The Globe Muncher!

Pancake Day (or Shrove Tuesday) had literally crêped up (not my joke btw, creds to Innocent Smoothies) on me this year, and so has Lent (which starts tomorrow!), where some Christians go on a 40 day fast from ~something~ to remember the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert fasting and also where he rejected temptation from the devil. I completely had no idea that Lent was starting tomorrow, until the lady in the bookshop at church told me on Sunday that it was starting soon (I just didn't realise it was this week soon). I feel like ever since I moved back to Malaysia I have lost all sense of time.

Anywayyyy today I am going to talk about one of my most favourite pancakes ever! Actually, all pancakes are my most favourite pancakes ever. I can't think of any pancake that I do not like - whether it's savoury or sweet. And it's not like I prefer one or the other either. I JUST FLIPPING (hahaha) LOVE PANCAKES.

One of the pancakes I've had that absolutely blew my mind when I first had it is the Austrian torn pancake, the Kaiserschmarrn. I had them in a Christkindlmarkt, or Christmas market in Mozartplatz, Salzburg when I visited during Christmas time in 2013 and sad to say I never had it again for the rest of my Austria trip. The Kaiserschmarrn is a torn pancake, served with apple sauce and dusted with icing sugar. The warm Kaiserschmarrn and the Christmas market lights warmed my soul in the cold ass Austrian winter.

The Kaiserschmarrn is made by separating the egg yolks from the whites, and making the actual pancake batter from the egg yolks before folding in the egg whites which have been beaten until stiff peaks are formed, resulting in the fluffy, light, airy pancakes. The batter is the poured onto a hot pan and torn on the pan itself when the bottom has set, a little bit like making scrambled eggs. BUT WITH PANCAKES! I've made them twice at home, the first time was on Pancake Day itself too. But I had underestimated how hard it was to get stiff peaks in egg whites without an electric beater. If anyone is looking for a good arm workout, make Kaiserschmarrn without an electric beater! The pancakes will be a good reward for all the hard work on your arms.

"Kaiser" in German means king or emperor, and the story is, the royal chef of the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I had made it for the emperor and his wife for dessert one day. Emperor's wifey didn't eat hers because she was on diet, and appaz Franz Joseph I had liked it so much he ate her portion as well.

I hope he told her after that she was bareeeeee missing out because she wassssss.

The Kaiserschmarrn I had in Salzburg had raisins (controversial, but I loooooveeeee them), and although I can't remember if mine were rummy, the raisins are sometimes soaked in rum before being added to the batter. The sweetness of the raisins go well with the slightly tart apple sauce.

The Kaiserschmarrn from the Salzburg Christmas market.

Doesn't look crazy impressive and maybe not the most Insta-worthy food picture, and in fact, if I hadn't told you it was pancake with apple sauce, you might have mistaken it for chips with curry sauce or something. Tbf it's a bad pic on my part, but sometimes, in my opinion, the foods that taste the best are sometimes the least Insta-worthy ones.

This is the slightly more Insta-worthy version that I made for Pancake Day 3 years ago, with home made apple sauce and berries (got to meet your 5-a-day innit, though I hear it's 10 now??). They were fine despite me not having the stamina to get the egg whites to a stiff peak, but I made them again about a year or so later (with an electric beater) and it was muchhh better.

Presenting the Kaiserschmarrn man that HAD CHANGED MY LIFE. Definitely hit this stall up if you are in Salzburg during Christmas time, and are visiting their Christmas market which is in the town centre!

Ahhh memz memz. What will I do to go back and eat more Kaiserschmarrn. Cri cri cri.