Grandpa Lee’s Family’s Schaum Torte
Serves 8
Recipe courtesy of Genie Maybanks
6 egg whites
2 c. sugar
¼ t. cream of tartar
¼ t. vinegar
½ t. vanilla
Preheat oven to 275°.
Whip whites with electric mixer until frothy and light. Add cream of tartar, vinegar, and vanilla.
Add sugar one tablespoon at a time with mixer on full speed. Beat until all sugar is incorporated and peaks form.
Spoon mixture into a greased spring form pan. Cook for 50 minutes. DO NOT OPEN OVEN! Turn off the oven and let torte sit for 1-2 additional hours before opening oven.
Serve with whipped cream and berries.
Sweet Tradition
Genie Maybanks, Customer Service Manager
Brainstorming for food for the Catalyst can be a lot of fun. Combining seasonal ingredients in new and different ways can be so rewarding (we get to eat the demo foods, no pictures of fake food in here!). Often, the recipes are not really new, but more family favorites pulled from our diverse staff and their varied experiences.
It was back in January when we began to think about the summer issue, the Fourth of July, red, white, and blue, and I suggested Schaum Torte. I thought about what a kick my grandma would get out of reading this article and seeing the pictures of a food we shared. I thought about how summer would be the perfect time. We would use fresh local berries, red and blue, and place them atop the white peaked top of the Schaum Torte. It would be glorious. A recipe that needs to be shared. A food that needs to be photographed.
A funny name for such an elegant dessert, the Schaum Torte reportedly hails from our German immigrant forbearers. (The German word schaum means foam.) It is a dessert that can be found in restaurants and homes all around Milwaukee, but nearly nowhere else. It is similar to a Russian Pavlova, as it is basically a baked meringue topped with whipped cream and berries. Mostly, it is special to me, my sister, and my cousins because it is a family tradition.
My family ate Schaum Torte for Christmas, Fourth of July, Easter, our birthdays, and any other Sunday night we could talk our grandparents into making one. We agreed that it didn’t matter who made it, Grandma or Grandpa, it still tasted better at their house. But, we have also enjoyed serving it to friends over the years. As my cousin noted, Schaum Torte is an incredibly fun dessert to present at a dinner party. It is shamefully easy and so unique that you are certain to turn a few heads. And, as my sister rightly pointed out, it is very versatile as it can be served with any kind of fruit for any holiday. (She is so crazy for it that she named her dog after it!)
When I called my great auntie in Milwaukee to prod for more information about this magnificent dessert, and she confessed that it never really was her favorite, I was shocked. I will tell you that that is the first time in my whole life I ever met anyone who tried a Schaum Torte and didn’t love it. But, when I asked her what she was serving for Easter, she said, “Ham, asparagus, potatoes, and Schaum Torte!” Then I asked her why, if she didn’t care for it, she was making it, and she replied, “It’s tradition dear.”
Ah, sweet tradition.