Campfire Dutch Oven Austrian Kaiserschmarrn with Peak-Harvest Sour Cherries

Build your fire early and let it burn down to a bed of even coals; Kaiserschmarrn wants steady moderate heat, not flames licking the pan.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar, divided
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp butter, for the pan
• 2 tbsp raisins soaked in 2 tbsp warm rum or apple juice (optional)
• 2 cups fresh sour cherries, pitted
• 1/4 cup sugar, for the compote
• 1 strip lemon zest and 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

1. Build your fire early and let it burn down to a bed of even coals; Kaiserschmarrn wants steady moderate heat, not flames licking the pan.
2. Make the compote first: simmer the pitted sour cherries with the 1/4 cup sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice in a small pot at the edge of the coals for 10 minutes, until glossy and slightly syrupy. Set aside.
3. Whisk the egg yolks with the milk, flour, 1 tbsp of the sugar, salt and vanilla into a smooth batter. Let it rest 10 minutes while the pan heats.
4. Beat the egg whites with the remaining 2 tbsp sugar until they hold soft peaks, then fold them into the batter in two additions. Keep the mixture airy; this is what separates Kaiserschmarrn from a flat pancake.
5. Melt the butter in a 10-inch dutch oven or deep cast-iron skillet set over the coals. Pour in the batter, scatter over the soaked raisins, cover, and cook undisturbed for 6 to 8 minutes until the bottom is deep gold and the top has just set.
6. Now the good part: tear the pancake into rough bite-size pieces with two forks or a spatula, letting the torn edges fall back onto the hot pan.
7. Sprinkle over another teaspoon of sugar and cook 3 to 4 minutes more, turning the pieces so they caramelize on the cut sides. They should be crisp at the edges and custardy in the middle.
8. Dust generously with powdered sugar and serve straight from the pan with the warm cherry compote spooned over.
9. Kaiserschmarrn takes its name from Emperor Franz Joseph I, and Austrians will happily argue over which of the half-dozen origin stories is true; the most-told version has a court cook botching a delicate pancake for the Empress and shredding the evidence into something the Emperor ate instead. It is one of very few dishes that belongs equally to breakfast tables, ski huts and dessert menus, which makes it perfect campfire food. Cooked over coals in a dutch oven it gains a faint smokiness that no kitchen stove will give you, and August sour cherries — too sharp to eat out of hand, exactly right cooked down with sugar — are the compote it deserves.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 430 kcal
• Protein: 11g
• Fat: 17g
• Carbohydrates: 58g
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugar: 28g
• Sodium: 210mg