Who knew? Have you heard of The Schmoo?
The Canadian Winnipeg Schmoo Cake is regionally famous in Winnipeg Manitoba where Jewish mothers bake this ooey-gooey wonder for their sons when they become “of age” and other Winnipegers have caught on. Sadly, some just travel in the wrong circles, and don’t even know this is a local specialty… though it is sold in several local bakeries. It could be missed if you don’t know what you are looking for, but ask, and you will find it, if visiting that Pretty Windy City. It certainly tastes far better than it looks.
Introduced to this “Winnipeg Specialty” in last month’s The Canadian Food Experience Project Round Up via Tummy Grumbles, I knew instantly that I had to make it. No one knows who was the first mom to name this “The Schmoo”, but interestingly, “…the actual origin of Al Capp’s word “shmoo” has been the subject of debate by linguists for decades, leading to the misconception that the term was derived from “schmo” or “schmooze.” However, “shmue” was a taboo Yiddish term for the uterus. It’s one of many Yiddish slang variations that would find their way into Li’l Abner. Revealing an important key to the story, Al Capp himself wrote that the Shmoo metaphorically represented the limitless bounty of the earth in all its richness…” Knowing this and understanding how popular the animated Schmoo character was in the early to mid 1900’s, one can see how a yummy cake made for a coming of age event of a young Jewish boy could be titled “The Schmoo” in the early to mid 1900’s as every mother wished to present her son with “the limitless bounty of the earth in all its richness…” and likely understood the etimology of the word from their yiddish repertoire.
I was going to make the Canadian Winnipeg Schmoo Cake last week, then didn’t get to it, and it was Vanja’s birthday Tuesday. Perfect. Though I had planned to make the traditional Serbian Birthday Bombe Torte, my daughter delved into The Schmoo. One can never have enough birthday cakes and it seemed perfect to present Vanja with “the limitless bounty of the earth in all its richness…” for his birthday, too.
It is made in an Angel Food Cake tube pan: whites beaten sweet and to stiff peaks, yolks beaten to golden thick voluptuousness. The recipe photo essay follows and the written recipe follows at the end.
It became apparent to me when filling the tube pan that I needed twice the amount of batter if this was going to rise like an angel food cake, and I assumed it would not rise as much due to the nuts folded into it. Once out of the oven, I could see I was right. I have, therefore, doubled the recipe to accommodate for making Canadian Winnipeg Schmoo Cake in a tube pan. I did not double the cream as it is evident that there is far too much cream between the layers and around the cake.
Ground pecans were also sprinkled around the sides… and then the cake was placed in the freezer to firm up before dinner. Mom and dad came to celebrate with us.
Dinner was simple and delicious. Grilled pizzas. (Which I will add, humbly, is one of my specialties and there are detailed instructions with recipes, here.)
My Oven Roasted Tomatoes on the Caprese Pizza…my favourite; the Meat Lovers, fully loaded: Vanja and Dad’s fav!
Poached Chicken with my Roasted Red Peppers and lovely garden arugula: mom and Ragan’s fav.
Yes, Vanja is picking off the fresh, green, good-for-you bits.
My dad likes nothing better than to shoot the breeze with Vanja. Last fall, dad was fighting for his life and had such a difficult 4-6 months, but look at him now! What a miracle. He is one determined man. Oh, and there is his aging buddy, below… getting ready to blooowwww out his candles.
Vanja was that miracle that happened when we least expected it to. I was a single parent for over 17 years, thriving and had gone through all of the woe-is-me and loneliness stuff. Then we met. That was over 15 years ago. We have been married for almost 11 and he has brought a depth and breadth into the lives of myself and the girls as well as my extended family that has enriched us all. Yup. His story is also an amazing one. He most definitely deserves “the limitless bounty of the earth in all its richness…”.
Ta-da! Clearly there should be more Canadian Winnipeg Schmoo Cake than whipping cream. Woops.
So, this is The Schnoo. The sauce is what brings this cake to life. It is deadly delicious with the sauce and quite bland without it. Think sticky toffee pudding without the sauce. It just wouldn’t work. Neither would Canadian Schmoo Cake without this sauce.
The relationship between food and pop culture is a very intimate one. Think Popeye. Think Beaver Tails, and now, think the “Canadian Schmoo Cake.”
The Famous Canadian Winnipeg Schmoo Cake
Shmoo Torte Summary : This cake is a Manitoba favourite but there’s no reason the rest of us can’t enjoy it, too! The Famous Canadian Winnepeg Schmoo Cake
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Cake
- 12 egg whites
- 12 egg yolks
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 cup granulated sugar , divided
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cup pecans , toasted and chopped fine
Ingredients for the Filling:
- 3 cups whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar
Ingredients for the Caramel Sauce (my own version):
- 1 3/4 sticks (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Garnish
- Whole toasted pecans
Instructions
Instructions for the Cake:
-
Preheat oven to 325°F/160°C
-
In a large bowl, beat egg whites with the cream of tartar adding 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar very gradually until stiff peaks form
-
In another bowl, beat egg yolks until light (about 4 minutes); add remaining 1 and 1/2 cup granulated sugar and vanilla
-
Combine flour and baking powder; stir into yolk mixture
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Fold in one-quarter of the egg whites until combined; fold in remaining egg whites
-
Carefully fold in the pecans
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Pour batter into prepared pan; gently shake to level top of batter
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Bake 50-60 min.; remove from oven, invert to cool
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Remove from pan; slice cake into 3 layers
Instructions for the Filling:
-
Whip 2 1/2 cups of whipping cream with the icing sugar
-
Fill each layers with 1 cup of the cream; cover top and sides with remaining filling
-
Chill in the refrigerator 2 hours, or up to 24 hours
Instructions for the Sauce:
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In a 1 1/2- to 2-quart heavy saucepan melt butter over moderate heat and add brown sugar
-
Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, and stir in cream and vanilla
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Simmer sauce, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 15-20 minutes
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Cool sauce to warm and store in a tightly sealed container until ready to serve
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Just before serving, re-heat sauce and drizzle over torte; add extra sauce when plating or serve in little boats on the side
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Whole toasted pecans are pretty on the top of the cake, or sprinkled on the serving plate
Oh, it looks like a delicious cake, Valerie, and I like that there is more whipped cream than cake 🙂 The ground pecans and caramel sauce sound delightful too. I hope Vanja gets that limitless bounty 🙂
Susan
Left the cake sitting on the counter for a couple of hours unintentionally, and the cream soaked into the cake and then there was more cake than cream. It still looked great, but was so moist and yummy.
🙂
V
Oh my! This borders on illegal. I’ve never heard of schmoo.Is the process of eating a large slice called schmoozing?
Haha! Charmian
There is a line or two in the post that explains it is absolutely not about schmoozing.
🙂
V
Thank u for good recipe!
I’m 12 years old, Korean.
I was looking for schmoo recipe for my school work:group cooking.
I went to Canada Roblin last year, so I wanted
to make Canadian food and share Canadian culture with my classmates.
Now I think I can get good score in group cooking.
Thanks a lot.
An jeong
Thank you so much for letting me know! I am so happy to hear this!
Big hug to you!
I would love a photo of your cake!
🙂
Valerie
Sorry, but I cannot take pictures during the class so I don’t have any pictures…..I will ask to my teacher if she can send some. Thanks to ur recipe, my group won the first prize in group cooking!!! Thank you!!XD
An jeong,
If your teacher sends a photo, I will add it to the bottom of the post! Would love to see it!
Congratulations on your win!
🙂
Valerie
I attempted this cake as a birthday cake for someone special. Unfortunately, the mixture overflowed while baking.
also, after cooling, and pan removed, the cake sank.
what happened? I followed your receipe closely.
Geraldine, I am so sorry to hear that!! That is so so so disappointing. I have no idea what happened. It is a fairly straightforward cake without a very complicated process. I have never heard of a cake sinking after cooling. I am miffed. Anyone have any ideas?
🙂
Valerie
Yes, it would have been underdone. Angel food pans do not typically vary in size, though bundt pans do.
I think issue is that 12 eggs is too much, unless you are using small or medium eggs, both for a typical angel food pan and for only an hour baking, Mine also overflowed, which I half expected given the amount of batter, so I put a pan under it and baked it almost 70 minutes. I think 10 large or extra large eggs would have been enough.
Hi Chan,
I am tickled to see you chime in. While I do agree with you that Angelfood cake pans don’t typically vary in size, they vary enough to make the larges sized pan important for this recipe. The recipe worked beautifully for me, eventually. It is a bit of a learning curve with all of the nuts, but once practiced, the cake turned out perfectly in my Central Alberta home with the instructions provided, every time.
Thanks for the feedback.
Sincerely,
Valerie
That is because this is actually a double recipe and can no way fit into a single pan without flowing over and creating a huge disaster. What a mess. I have tried doing exactly half, it raises perfectly in the oven and is the appropriate size. Valerie obviously never made this recipe in one pan. She should have noted that.
Dear Cora,
I did note that I used an angel food cake pan and the photos indicate that. The recipe was purposefully designed for the size of this pan and I did use the entire batter in the one pan. I wonder if this is an altitude issue or something else? Many have had such success with the recipe. I am so sorry it was not a success for you… and will do more research on this as it is truly very important to me that my recipes are successful, easy to read and follow and come out as expected every time.
Thank you for letting me know!
Sincerely,
Valerie
Angel food cake pans vary in size. Not knowing what size was intended for this recipe means you could end up with too much batter for your pan. My daughter made this for New Year’s Eve and filled the pan to 3/4 full, which left us with extra batter to bake in a loaf pan. As it baked the cake rose above the height of the angel food cake pan, but thankfully didn’t overflow (which it definitely would have with the full amount of batter all in the one pan). It would have been helpful if the recipe indicated the size of pan used.
Otherwise, thanks for the recipe! The consensus was that it’s definitely a keeper!
Juliette,
I will always use the standard size pan unless otherwise noted. The standard size angel food cake pan is a 10 inch tube pan. I am sorry this was a problem for you! First time ever I have had a reader use a different size pan and I would have been so devastated in your shoes. Buy the 10 inch tube pan and you will be happy. I am tickled that it sounds like you are willing to give the recipe another go. That’s perseverance and it will be worth it! There is nothing like a homemade angel food cake. Divine bliss, me thinks! Happy 2017 to each of you!
Sincerely,
Valerie
I too found this recipe to be way too big for an angel food cake pan. It is currently overflowing all over my oven. A crazy mess!!
I think I mentioned it will require a standard size pan and gave measurements.
Sorry for this, Cynthia.
Valerie
Sounds to me like Geraldine’s cake may have been under baked. The first time I made this cake it was really tall too and I’m pretty sure that I had to bake it a bit longer.
Thank you, Marleen!
I so appreciate your help. That did not occur to me.
Big hug,
Valerie
Hi! I had a question about the sugar…When you say 1/2 cup is it really 1/2 cup sugar or half of the sugar listed so it’s really 1 cup of sugar?
Hi Berna
There are 2 cups of sugar in the recipe, divided. 1/2 cup is part of the 2 cups. Make sense? Let me know.
🙂
V
Hi! I think so… to clarify i’m using 1 cup for the meringue and the 2nd cup for the egg mixture? ????
Berna!
Apologies! I was not reading as carefully as you – I had missed typing the 1 with the 1/2 when it said add the remaining sugar. The recipe is fixed now. Thank you!
🙂
Valerie
Ok Thank u so much! I attempted this recipe for cupcakes and it was a hit! Your so awesome to share????
Never thought of cupcakes! Now you have me thinking about SCHMOO in a JAR!
🙂
V
I was learn es an important l’Essonne today…reading the comment section Would havé savez me some frustration. This double recipe does NOT fit into a standard Angel Food cake pan. It overflowed, but was fortunately easy to clean up. The other omission, how to prepare the tube pan, should be corrected. I buttered and floured the pan: BIG MISTAKE. The cake fell out when inverted ???? This calls for plan B: cube the cake and fold in the whipped cream, add a generous dose of caramel, and call it Shoebox-Schmoo.
Hi Shannon,
Sent you an email responding to your comment. I would be happy to discuss your process to determine what went wrong. I did look up the regular Angel Food Cake pan size and that is what we have always used for this recipe and there has never been a problem with the contents fitting into the pan. 🙂 So, that would be the first thing to go over. The next – would be the cake falling out of the pan. Again, it should be easily inverted and stick to the sides. It has to be loosened by a knife running carefully inside of the pan and around the center tube after room temp is achieved – so that would be the second point of discussion. I understand your disappointment – and, as you can see by the comments, rare… as this recipe is pretty thorough. But, I make mistakes and have disasters in my kitchen all the time. Yup. Hate that. But, love your perseverance and your ability to figure out a great way to use the cake!
Happy Easter, Valerie
Hello,
I am wanting to make this cake but have a family member with a nut allergy. I am wondering if I could make it without the pecans?
Thanks!
K
Well, Kea
It would not be the SCHMOO without the pecans.
🙂
Valerie
Hi Valerie, I want to be clear in that I do not put anything on the inside of the angel food pan prior to putting in my batter? Please confirm.
I did send you a direct email immediately to let you know that you are correct. No flour or grease in the angel food pan. I did not hear back from you, but hope you received it. (Check your spam)
Sincerely,
Valerie
Hi Valerie, I used 10 eggs instead of 12.. I made sure to wash my bowls and beaters thoroughly prior to using. The cake turned out beautifully and everyone loved it!
Lovely to hear, Lucille! Delighted!
i buy the angel food cake mix & use that & add the pecans to the cake while mixing & it turns out great.
Have done it for years & works great.
Way too many eggs. What a mess, the cake is all over the oven now. I used a regular angel food cake pan.
Either you need an extra-large pan or the recipe needs adjusting. Won’t be using this recipe again!!
Hi P Anderson,
Did you read the other reviews? I wonder what really happened. This cake has been a success for several years for most people. I make it often, but always take my time and follow each direction to a T. Baking is like that. I use a regular or standar angel food cake pan for a 12 egg cake. Not an extra-large one. I am sorry to hear you had such an unpleasant experience and am curious about what the cause could be.
Sincerely,
Valerie
I didn’t have Angel Food Pan so I used 3 standard round pans and stacked them after cooled, & filled. Huge success & absolutely love this cake. Had it at Pineridge Hallow and fig one day I’m going to make this myself and had the opportunity to. Raving reviews on my Facebook including my husband, son and absolutely loved it.
What a great solution to that problem, Wendy! Glad it worked and I did find your facebook page! Great pics! So happy this was the success for you that it was for us.
Thank you,
Valerie
I have made this cake many times in the 75 year old angel food pan I inherited from my mom. Until I read the comments on here I had no idea any other size of pan existed.
The cake always turns out great, for the sauce I use demerara sugar, we like the deeper taste.
Hi Janice,
Me, too, actually – but there are many sizes now.
🙂
Valerie
I should have followed my instincts that 12 eggs was too much! What a hot mess indeed. Cake overflowing, burnt cake on bottom of oven smoking, baked 50 minutes and cake was still “jiggling” so baked for 70+ minutes as per another review but still not good. WHAT A DISASTER.
Then I read your pre-amble: “Once out of the oven, I could see I was right. I have, therefore, doubled the recipe to accommodate for making Canadian Winnipeg Schmoo Cake in a tube pan.” Yes, but did you TEST the recipe again, or just assume doubling your original recipe was the way to go? Obviously you didn’t, Valerie!
This cake was supposed to be for my mother’s 94th birthday. I have to make another one or go buy one. Waste of my time and cost of ingredients. SO DISAPPOINTED!
I responded to you personally, Joanne.
I have been away for quite some time, so my responses have been personal ones and I am just catching up here now.
I know I told you that I had tested the recipe and that it was tested by others for a cookbook – very successfully. I think the issue may have been the size of the pan? Im not sure. There used to be only one size but now there are a few.
I know you did eventually achieve success and sent me a lovely photo. I sure to empathize with anyone struggling with a recipe and try to avoid that as much as possible by testing and making all the mistakes myself, first… but you didn’t have a great first experience.
I’m glad you told me and happier that you were able to achieve success and enjoy the cake for that special birthday.
Thank you for the lovely photo and again, big hug.
Valerie