Torte

A rich cake, usually with several layers, often made with ground nuts or breadcrumbs in place of much of the flour.

Torte: A tall multilayered torte with thin cake layers and buttercream visible on the cut side
  • Cakes, cookies, pastries and baked goods

Also called: multilayer cake, multilayer tart, multilayered cake, multilayered tart

The word comes from German and refers to many Central European layer cakes. Classic tortes are made from thin layers of sponge or nut cake stacked with buttercream, jam, ganache or whipped cream, then glazed or decorated. Some tortes are a single dense layer, such as a flourless chocolate or nut torte.

Well-known examples include the Viennese Sachertorte, the Hungarian Dobos torte and the Linzer torte. Tortes tend to be shorter and richer than American layer cakes and are served in small slices.

Related entries

Sources

Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.

  1. Glossary, LibreTexts / BCcampus, Modern Pastry and Plated Dessert Techniques (open textbook)