Christmas in Vienna

Last weekend the kid and I had our traditional Christmas outing: usually some kind of a show/concert and a nice dinner. Over the years, we’ve had our share of The Nutcracker, Christmas Carol and various other holiday productions. Every Christmas it’s been getting a bit difficult to find some venue that we’d both enjoy and have not been to before. His music taste and entertainment preferences change so quickly, his is now into jazz, classic rock and some modern bands that I’ve learned to appreciate. I must be the only mother of a teen who does not complain about his music! 🙂

This Christmas I was happy to introduce my 15 year-old to a group of talented young performers who I’ve grown to appreciate over the years myself, Vienna Boys Choir. A world-renowned choir with centuries old traditions are usually on tour during each holiday season with a stop at Carnegie Hall one Sunday in December. The choir is divided into four singing groups, each with their own tour schedule, that travel throughout the globe to many major cities. I’ve been to Vienna Boys Choir performances before, usually with some other male companion, but somehow this time became more memorable as it was the kid’s first (conscious, aka not for a kiddie concert) visit to Carnegie Hall. And he actually enjoyed it!

If you ever have a chance to catch their annual December concert, please consider it as your family holiday outing. It’s a wonderful option to introduce your children to classical music and visit a great venue as well as to support these amazing little performers in the beginning of their singing careers.

What’s Cooking This Week

Kaiserschmarrn is a traditional Austrian pancake that can be translated as “Emperor’s mess”. It is believed it was first served to the Emperor Francis Joseph in the 1800s. It is a dish of a fluffy pancake broken into pieces (thus the name, “mess”) and topped with powdered sugar and dried fruits or jam. Traditionally served as breakfast or dessert, this hearty dish could also be offered as a meal in itself.

Rustic Austrian Pancake (Kaiserschmarrn)

For 2 big pancakes:

3/4 cups of flour (I used Cup4Cup gluten free mix)

1/4 cup of either whole milk or cream (I used dairy free sweetened coffee creamer by So Delicious Dairy Free)

3 eggs, separated

1/2 tspoon of salt

1/2 tspoon of vanilla

2 Tbspoons of raisins or any dried berries

2 tspoons of sugar (omit if using pre-sweetened cream)

butter/oil spread for frying  (I used Earth Balance unsalted coconut oil spread)

In a bowl combine flour, salt, vanilla and sugar, if using unsweetened milk/cream.  Add egg yolks and milk/cream, combine well. Beat the egg whites until stiff and soft peaks appear, fold in into the batter, it will resemble a bit thinner pancake batter.

Heat up a frying pan and melt some butter/oil spread, spoon half the portion into the pan and spread it evenly. Top with some berries/raisins.

Lightly fry it on one side. When the pancake starts to form some bubbles, cut it in four pieces and flip them over. As it fries, continue cutting, with a spatula or knife, into rough smaller pieces until it’s done.

The taste resembles a crossover between a pancake and a french toast, a perfect breakfast for the undecided! 🙂

Serve with powdered sugar, jam or fruits. If you feel particularly indulgent, serve with some whipped cream and chopped nuts. Here I’m enjoying it with whipped cashew cream Healthy Top by Mimic Cream.

Enjoyt it too!