Schmoo Torte

The schmoo torte is a Winnipeg favourite, which was reportedly created in 1948 by a woman who ran a local catering business, Dora Zaslavsky, for her son’s bar mitzvah. It's a decadent cake fit for any celebration.

The biggest challenge of making this dessert is maintaining the airiness of the angel food cake layers and whipped cream while loading it with candied pecans and buttery caramel sauce.

Schmoo Torte was the Technical Bake for Cake Week in Season 8 of The Great Canadian Baking Show.

Schmoo Torte

Special Equipment

• 10-inch angel food cake pan

Ingredients

Pecan Angel Food Cake:

• 12 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1⅓ cups (270 g) sugar
• 2 cups (230 g) pecan halves
• 1 cup (120 g) cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce:

• ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1½ cups (300 g) packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp golden corn syrup
• ½ cup 35% cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp kosher salt

Candied Pecans:

• 1 large egg white
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp water
• ½ cup (100 g) sugar
• 3 cups (345 g) pecan halves

Stabilized Whipped Cream:

• 4 sheets gelatin
• 1 tbsp water, plus more for soaking gelatin
• 2 cups plus 1 tbsp 35% cream, divided
• ½ cup (65 g) icing sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Preparation

Pecan Angel Food Cake:

Heat oven to 350 F with the rack in the middle position.

Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium speed until the whites form medium peaks. 

Process sugar in a food processor until finely ground, about 1 minute. Increase the mixer speed to high and add the pulverized sugar to the egg whites, 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until the meringue forms stiff peaks, about 4 minutes.

Add pecans to the now-empty food processor and pulse until finely ground. Transfer to a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine cake flour, baking powder and salt, then sift the mixture into the ground pecans. Whisk together the pecan-flour mixture and break up any lumps with your fingers.

Add about 2 cups of the meringue to the flour mixture and gently mix with a rubber spatula to incorporate. Gently fold the remaining egg-white mixture into the flour mixture in three additions. You should have a fluffy batter with no streaks.

Scrape the batter into an angel food cake pan, and bake until golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.

Invert the pan onto a wire rack and cool the cake in the refrigerator or at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours before removing the cake from the pan, running an offset spatula around the edges to loosen if needed. Place the inverted cake on a wire rack and refrigerate until fully cooled. Once cool, place the cake on a turntable and use a serrated knife to slice it horizontally into three even layers. 

Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce:

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar, corn syrup and cream and mix with a rubber spatula until smooth. Increase heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil, then whisk constantly until the caramel has emulsified, 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and salt.  

When the sauce has stopped bubbling, pour it into a 9-inch-square brownie pan and do not stir. Set aside to cool.

Candied Pecans:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together egg white, vanilla, salt and water until frothy and opaque. Whisk in sugar until dissolved. Add pecans and mix with a rubber spatula until the nuts are fully coated. 

Spread pecans in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, and bake until the nuts are crunchy and dry, tossing halfway through, about 25 to 30 minutes. When the pecans are cool enough to handle, reserve eight halves for the garnish and finely chop the rest. 

Stabilized Whipped Cream:

Note: Do not make this ahead of time. The gelatin will start to set before you can pipe it.

Place the gelatin in a bowl of cold water and let stand for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine 2 cups cream, icing sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high until very soft peaks form, about 5 to 6 minutes. 

Remove the softened gelatin from the water and squeeze out any excess. Add gelatin and 1 tbsp of water to a small saucepan and heat on low until dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tbsp cream. Pour the gelatin mixture into the whipped cream and whip on medium-high until it forms medium peaks.

Working quickly, add about 1 to 1½ cups whipped cream (enough for eight rosettes) to a piping bag fitted with a large closed star tip. Then fill another large piping bag, fitted with a large round tip, with the rest of the whipping cream.

Assembly:

Pipe a few dots of whipped cream onto a cake board, then place the bottom layer of cake on the board, securing it in place. Pipe a small amount of whipped cream on top of the cake and spread it into a thin layer with an offset spatula. Pipe a ¼-inch-high rim of whipped cream along the inner and outer rings of the cake, then fill the space in between with the caramel sauce. Lightly sprinkle with some of the chopped pecans and place the second layer of cake on top. Repeat with more whipped cream, caramel sauce and pecans, and top with the third layer of cake.

Pipe whipped cream onto the sides and top of the cake and smooth with the offset spatula. Gently press chopped pecans onto the sides of the cake so they’re completely covered, then drizzle caramel sauce on top of the cake. Using the smaller bag of whipped cream, pipe eight evenly spaced rosettes around the top of the cake, and place a pecan half on each rosette. Sprinkle more chopped nuts on top of the cake, avoiding the rosettes. Transfer to a serving plate.

Makes one cake

Note: Reserve the yolks from this recipe to make this Lemon Lavender Raspberry Tarte Tropézienne.