Torte and Kuchen

Torte and Kuchen Torte is a German word which corresponds fairly closely to gateau. Its sister-word, Kuchen, can usually be translated as cake (large or of biscuit size); but in this connection see also quiche, a derived term. Torte appears in the title of many celebrated C. European confections, including sachertorte. A few other examples are:

• Engadiner Nusstorte, a speciality of the Swiss canton of Engadine, is really a kind of pie consisting of two layers of rich sweet short pastry enclosing a filling of caramelized sugar mixed with cream and walnuts.

• Dobostorte, named after Dobos, a famous Hungarian chef who created it in 1887, is made by building up five or more thin circles of savoy sponge sandwiched with layers of a creamed filling, often flavoured with chocolate. The top layer of cake is covered with a layer of sugar caramel, marked into portions.

• Linzertorte is a Viennese pastry made from a dough of flour, ground almonds, butter, and sugar, flavoured with lemon zest and cinnamon. Raspberry jam is spread over this base, and covered with a latticework of strips made from the dough, before baking.

• Mohntorte is a poppyseed cake, originally a speciality of Silesia. It is made from four layers of sweet short pastry, interspersed with a filling of ground poppyseeds (see poppy) mixed with sugar, chocolate, raisins, candied peel, and almonds.

• Zuger Kirschtorte, a speciality of the canton of Zug in Switzerland, is made from three layers of japonaismeringue and a layer of Savoy-type sponge, sandwiched with pink-coloured kirsch-flavoured buttercream, and covered with toasted almonds.