Torte facts for kids
A serving of Sachertorte at the Hotel Sacher, Vienna
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| Type | Cake |
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| Main ingredients | Cake base Filling: buttercream, mousse, jam, or fruits |
A torte is a special kind of cake. It's usually rich and has many layers. These layers are often filled with yummy things. Think of whipped cream, smooth buttercream, light mousse, sweet jam, or fresh fruit.
After a torte cools down, it's often covered with a shiny glaze. Then, it's decorated to look extra special!
Tortes are usually baked in a springform pan. This pan has sides that can be removed. The cake layers are often made from sponge cake. But sometimes, they use very little or no flour. Instead, they might use ground nuts or breadcrumbs.
Where Do Tortes Come From?
The word "torte" comes from the German word Torte. This word itself came from the Italian word torta. So, tortes have a long history in Europe!
Many famous tortes come from countries like Austria and Germany. Some well-known ones include the Sachertorte and Linzer torte from Austria. Germany is famous for its Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, also known as Black Forest cake.
Hungary has a famous many-layered torte called the Dobos torte. Even some French desserts, like the Gâteau St. Honoré, are considered tortes.
In some countries like Hungary, Czech Republic, and Ukraine, most cakes are simply called tortes. They don't always use different words for "cake" and "torte." For example, in Polish, "tort" can mean both "torte" and "layer cake".
What About Icing?
Most tortes have sweet icing. This icing is often put between the layers of the cake. There's almost always icing on the top and sides too. A good example is the whiskey cake.
However, some tortes don't have layers. And some, like certain German "Käsesahnetorte," are not even baked!
Famous European Tortes
Here are some of the well-known tortes from Europe:
