Since the weather is what it is (winter in Austria, a dream 🙄), I went into my kitchen with the plan to simply make myself some Kaiserschmarren and conjure up some culinary sunshine. But then I was seized by a desire to be creative. So it turned into a baked Topfen-Schmarren. And oh my God, it's delicious. Self-praise olé!
Cheers to warm sweet dishes
Topfenschmarren, Kaiserschmarren, apricot dumplings, poppy seed noodles, yeast dumplings... In Austria, we are blessed with sweet main courses. Sweet main courses are something that is unimaginable in other countries. (“What, you eat sweets as a main dish...?”)
Unfortunately, I have a very sweet tooth. I could live on sweets alone. Just give me a serving of sushi or a few pickles for a change, and I'm good to go.
Topfenschmarren (curd cheese pancake) as a starter, main course, or with coffee. Or breakfast. When not, really?
This curd cheese pancake has three major advantages:
- It is not cooked in a pan, but baked in the oven. Super easy and fluffy.
- The mixture is ready in no time. Even people who are all thumbs can do it.
- Potato pancakes are always a good idea. Always, always. If necessary, as already mentioned, snack on a pickled gherkin in between.
Thanks to the curd cheese, it even passes as healthy. In any case, it contains almost no fat. You can also vary it with fruit. Add raspberries or blueberries, even frozen. Just mix them in and prepare as usual. It will be a little “messier,” but that doesn't matter. Of course, you can also serve it with really good things, just like with classic Kaiserschmarren. Pickled cherries, for example, or a delicious apricot compote.
My recipe below is designed to serve two main courses or three to four dessert portions. My father and I ate the whole amount as dessert between the two of us, so that works too. You might want to plan on having a herb liqueur afterwards.
To all dough lovers: don't be surprised if the raw mixture tastes a little strange—that's the peculiar mouthfeel caused by the cornstarch. But this disappears completely during baking. It also helps to prevent you from eating half the dough, which I'm rather prone to doing.
Lasst euch meinen gebackenen Topfenschmarren gut schmecken, ihr Lieben! Und probiert bei Gelegenheit doch auch mal meine Marmelade-gefüllten Polsterzipf. Die Fastenzeit ist noch weit weg 😉
Baked curd cheese pancake
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Mix the curd cheese, powdered sugar, egg yolks, rum, vanilla paste, and cornstarch well with a hand mixer. Fold in the raisins.
- Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt and the granulated sugar until creamy.
- In eine passende Auflaufform oder ofenfeste Schüssel die Butter geben und in den Ofen stellen, damit sie schmilzt. Danach die Form wieder herausnehmen. Die flüssige Butter in der Form mit einem Backpinsel verstreichen, sodass alles gut damit bedeckt ist.
- Carefully fold the egg whites into the curd mixture, stirring as little as possible.
- Pour the mixture into the baking dish and bake for 20–25 minutes until the surface is a nice golden brown color.
- Remove the pancake, carefully cut it into pieces, and serve sprinkled with powdered sugar.
