Great Low-Cal Dessert: Schaum Torte

Posted on 23. Feb, 2010 by Becky in Feed Your Body

Hello, again, to all my friends!

You know you’re a mom when you begin a blog post with a Barney quote.

So you will be SO glad you read today’s blog post.  It is one of my favorite desserts, for 3 reasons:

1.  It is SO yummy

2.  It looks and sounds really fancy

3.  It is super low calorie but doesn’t taste like it!

I got this recipe for Creamy Vanilla Raspberry Pavolva from Kraftfoods.com, but modified to make it even lighter.  You might be familiar with this dessert under the name of Schaum Torte, if you’re from Wisconsin like me, or have any German roots.  Whether you call it Pavlova or Schaum Torte, it sounds exotic, looks impressive, and tastes delicious!   Just follow this link to get the detailed instructions from the website, and make the following substitutions:

• instead of granulated sugar, use Splenda
• instead of Cool Whip Lite topping, use Fat Free
• Omit the powdered sugar, or use a sprinkle of Splenda to get that “sugar-dusted” look

This recipe looks tricky, but it’s really not bad if you are watchful with your merengue.  Follow the directions exactly.  I just made a huge batch of this for an upcoming event, and instead of one big merengue circle I made a dozen single-serving size clouds.  They turned out great!  Merengue is an awesome low calorie option for your sweet-tooth, and it’s easier than you’d think.  Here are a few tips about cooking with merengue:

• Prepare merengue the day of or day before you will serve it.  It does not store well.  If you need to store it overnight, store it at room temp. in an airtight container.  Do NOT put it in the refrigerator!
• To keep merengue from shrinking or beading, cook it longer at a lower temperature.  As you can see, this recipe calls for a 225 degree oven for 1 hour.  Cook merengue until it is barely browning and dry to the touch.  This keeps you from overcooking, resulting in a tough texture.
• Make sure to add sugar very slowly as you whip those egg whites into shape.  Undissolved sugar is what attracts beads of moisture, resulting in sticky, “weeping” merengue.

So, take the challenge and master the merengue.  It will give you some great culinary experiences without any guilt for years to come.  Not to mention, how impressive will it look when you serve a Creamy Vanilla Raspberry Pavlova at your next get-together?  Just call you Martha Stewart.