Kaiserschmarrn With Peaches

Do you prefer sweet or savory foods for breakfast? I tend to choose egg dishes over pancakes, waffles, and other sweet dishes. When I'm out, I like to order eggs Benedict, and when I'm home, I like to make poached eggs and hash or loaded-up omelets. Most of the time when I make pancakes and waffles at home, it's really for Jeff. But when I saw the kaiserschmarrn with peaches in the August issue of Food & Wine, my preference for savory breakfast foods was suddenly swayed. After I found peaches and raspberries at the Union Square Farmers Market on Saturday, it was a done deal.

Kaiserschmarrn is an Austrian pancake that's usually served as a dessert, but the recipe note in Food & Wine suggested that it could also be served for breakfast. That sounded like the way to go to me. The original recipe called for blackberries, but since I only found raspberries at the farmers' market, I used those instead. I also cut the recipe in half since there are only two of us. And the final change I made was to remove Jeff's half of the pancake from the pan before adding the peaches and raspberries because he prefers his pancakes without fruit. Instead of giving you the crazy recipe with all of my changes, I'll direct you to the recipe on Food & Wine's website and give you the step-by-step photos here.

Kaiserschmarrn With Peaches

Saute peaches in butter with lemon juice and sugar until caramelized, and then transfer peaches to a plate.

Mix egg yolks, flour, lemon zest, milk, and sugar in one bowl. Whip egg whites with salt and sugar in bowl of electric mixer.

Fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture.

Melt butter in skillet, and pour in the batter.

Let cook 4 to 5 minutes, until bottom is golden brown and top starts to set.

Slide the pancake onto a plate, and then place the skillet over the pancake, and carefully flip the pancake back into the skillet.

Cut the pancake into squares.

Add butter and confectioners' sugar to the skillet, and toss the pancake squares around so they get coated with the butter and sugar.

If someone you're making breakfast for doesn't want fruit in their pancake, transfer some of the pancake to a plate, dust with powdered sugar, and serve.

For those who want fruit, which I highly recommend, return the peaches to the pan and cook them with the pancake for a few minutes, and then add raspberries or blackberries, and cook those for about 1 minute.

Transfer the mixture to a plate, dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve.

This recipe yields a light, fluffy pancake, with hints of lemon, lots of fresh fruit, and a touch of sweetness. I really enjoyed it and didn't miss my savory breakfast foods the morning I made it. It was also great to find a dish that let me incorporate my farmers' market finds.

Do you go sweet or savory for breakfast?