Imagine a cross between a Dutch baby and an American-style pancake, which is then chopped up, and you have Tatsch — a traditional dish from the Swiss canton of Graubünden. Of course, it’s also very similar, if not identical, to Austria’s Kaiserschmarren. You probably have all the ingredients you need to make it already in your kitchen. It’s quick, easy and filling. My children love it, and I do too.
Tatsch can be made sweet or savory. Typically, you will find it dusted with powdered sugar and paired with fruit preserves or applesauce. Most of the recipes contain regular all-purpose flour, but Swissmilk has also shared a gluten-free recipe for Mais-Tatsch that uses cornflour (maismehl in German, or farine de maïs in French). If you would like to try a savory version, Schweizer Käse has a recipe for Tatsch made with Tilsiter cheese.
The options are really endless for this versatile chopped pancake. I have made a Chocolate Tatsch by adding a tablespoon or two of cocoa powder. You can also add raisins or substitute some cinnamon for the lemon zest. You can eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner — or for a hearty afternoon snack.
The recipe below for Lemon Tatsch was inspired by two versions of Tatsch from two different sources: a recipe from Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) that originally came from Bäuerinnenvereinigung Graubünden and another recipe printed in Schweizer Illustrierten from the well-known Swiss chef, Andreas Caminada.
How to make it:
Lemon Tatsch
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- about 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- zest of half a lemon
- 1 cup milk
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- about 1-2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- powdered sugar
Directions
- Add the flour, sugar and salt to a large bowl. Whisk them together until well-blended.
- Add the lemon zest, milk, eggs and vanilla paste to the flour mixture in the large bowl. Whisk them together until the batter is smooth.
- Let the batter rest for about 60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375° F/190° C
- On the stove, melt about 1 tablespoons of unsalted butter in an oven-proof skillet. Swirl it around the bottom and the sides to help make sure the batter does not stick.
- Take the skillet off the heat and pour in the batter. Put the skillet into the preheated oven and bake for about 10 minutes, just until the pancake has set.
- Remove the pancake from the oven and cut the pancake into bite-size piece. Add the second tablespoon of unsalted butter to the same pan and fry the pancake over medium-high heat until it turns golden brown.
- Dust the warm Tatsch with powdered sugar. Serve immediately, while still a little warm, with fruit preserves or applesauce. I like it with apricot or sour cherry.
How do you make Tatsch? What do you serve it with? Please leave a comment below or send me an email. Thanks!
Updated: May 10, 2022
Categories: apples, Breakfast, Cheese, chocolate, fruit, lemon, Lunch/dinner, milk, Recipes, Swiss, Swiss food, Switzerland
OMG! I wish you could deliver these to me right now! They look yummy!
🙂
I love Kaiserschmarren, but haven’t made any in years. I will try this–thanks for the reminder of such a good thing!
Thanks, Donnalee! I am curious which recipe came first… I’m guessing the Tatsch is based on Kaiserschmarrn/Kaiserschmarren, but I don’t know they answer just yet.
This looks amazing! I’ve been looking for a justification to buy an oven save pan and now I have one!
Thanks! And, perfect! Glad I could help. 😉 I use a cast iron pan. The smaller the pan, the thicker the pancake. Hope you like this recipe.
Looks delicious! For some reason it made me think of crepes when I first saw it.
Yes! It definitely reminds me of crêpes as well. Especially because it doesn’t call for baking powder. Thanks for visiting my blog! 🙂
Not a fan of sweets, but this looks delicious! I will probably tell my wife about this recipe. It is also interesting to find out more about Swiss Cuisine.
Thanks for visiting my blog! I wish I didn’t like sweet stuff so much… 😉 Hope she enjoys the recipe.
Thank you for sharing. This is a new way for me to think of “pancakes” and I do enjoy what is savory!
Thanks for visiting my blog! I was happy to find this dish as well. Always looking for new breakfast alternatives. Hope you like the recipe! 🙂
I can’t wait to try this! It looks delicious. =)
Thanks for visiting my blog! This recipe is so easy to make. I hope you like it. 🙂
Wow! It looks amazing. I’ve been living in Geneva for a while and I have never come across this! Before make it myself, I will definitely research where to eat it if I’m going to the canton of Graubünden!
Thanks for visiting my blog! Tatsch does not seem to be very well known, especially outside of Graubünden. It’s one of my favorite Swiss cantons to visit!