Strawberry Schaum Torte (Meringue, Ice Cream & Berries)
I just got word from my CSA—the strawberry harvest is in! This means that for the next two weeks, I will be eating strawberries in every conceivable form, then preserving more to last out the winter.
One of my favorite super-easy treats is strawberries in cream. Simply slice the berries, top with cream or half & half, then sprinkle with sugar. But when I really want to indulge I have a strawberry schaum torte.
A base of fluffy-crisp meringue topped with ice cream, drizzled with strawberries and finished with whipped cream, it was the quintessential restaurant dessert here in the 70s.
Akin to the more famous Pavlova, “the meringue dessert most familiar to Wisconsinites is the schaum torte, a specialty of German origin. (Schaum is German for foam.) The schaum torte can be traced to Wisconsin in the 1870s, according to “The Joy of Cooking”” (source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
In my youth I always brightened to hear these listed on the dessert menu. Yes, back then, I could polish off a full dinner and still have room for a good sized dessert.
So now I’ll skip dinner!
If you can find bakery meringues, these are super easy to make (in a pinch you can even make a base of crumbled meringue cookies). But in truth, meringue isn’t hard to work with even from scratch. See my earlier Strawberry Meringue Cup post for instructions.
Here’s to a bountiful Strawberry Harvest!

Strawberry Schaum Torte
Ingredients
- 1 pint strawberries
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 4 meringues
- 1 ½ - 2 cups vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
- 1/2 cup whipped cream or part of a nice spray bottle
Instructions
- Slice strawberries into a bowl. Sprinkle with sugar. Mash a few berries, then stir to combine. Let sit for at least 10 minutes to macerate (bring out the juice)
- Set meringues on individual serving plates. Top each with a scoop of ice cream. Drizzle with berries and finish with a dollop (or squirt) of whipped cream. Serve immediately.
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Oh, now this looks absolutely delicious. I am suddenly hungry!
My apologies on that hungry thing 😉 Hazard of blogging I guess!
while i’m perfectly content to eat strawberries as simply as they come naturally, this is a much more exciting way to consume them. looks lovely!!
Thanks Grace. And we are enjoying plenty of strawberries plain too–I just got another case!
Wow, this looks beautiful! I am in Germany right now and enjoying the fresh strawberries every day! Maybe I need to make Schaumtorte for our hosts when we travel to Zürich!
Enjoy your trip David!
I would be all too happy to skip dinner and have two of these instead! These schaum tortes look fabulous!
Isn’t dessert wonderful!
wow, Simply damn delicious n comforting strawberry sweet bites …
cant wait to try some!!!
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Thanks!
Inger this look delicious!
I love strawberries.
I miss them here in this time is not easy find!
(We are in winter)
Thanks Gloria! I wish it were easier to send you some strawberries!
I would be happy! Now Im using frozen, but is the only I can have for now!!
Now I am freezing some of mine for winter!
I love pavlovas, and even though I haven’t heard of schaum tortes, I know I’d love them too! I hadn’t made meringues until a few years ago, and was surprised at how easy they were. This is an absolutely perfect way to enjoy fresh summer fruit.
I need to expand into more forms of meringue. I soooo agree about the ease of preparation–my reaction was definitely “why didn’t I try this before!”
These look fabulous, Inger! I picked strawberries last week from a farm by me…I love the sweet smell of fresh strawberries. I’m going to give these a try…I’ve never made a schaum torte. I made strawberry shortcake with mine, and of-course jam!
I hope you get to try these Kathy–everything you bake turns out great!