Torte

:"Not to be confused with tort, a civil wrong at law."

A torte is a cake made with many eggs and usually ground nuts or even bread crumbs instead of or in addition to flour. [ [http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/torte] Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary Online accessed June 23, 2007 ] Tortes are Central European in origin. The word torte is derived from the German word "Torte" (pronounced|ˈtoʀtə), which was derived from the Italian word "torta" which was used to describe a round cake or bread. [ "Ibid."]

The most well-known of the typical tortes include the Austrian Sacher torte and Linzertorte and the many-layered Hungarian Dobos torte. But other well-known European confections are also tortes, such as the French Gateau St. Honore.

A element common to most tortes is sweet icing. (Exceptions include several French tortes, such as Gâteau Mercédès and Gâteau Alcazar.) When the cake is layered, a thick covering of icing is placed between the layers, but there is almost always icing on the tops and sides of the torte. A number of European tortes do not have layers.

In America, wedding cakes are sometimes called "tortes," and their creation has developed into quite a complicated technique of its own.Fact|date=June 2008

Well-known European tortes

* Gâteau St. Honoré
* Sacher torte
* Linzertorte
* Dobos torte
* Black Forest cake
* Simnel cake
* Gâteau Pithiviers
* Gâteau Mercédès
* Gâteau Alcazar
* Gâteau Progrès
* Tarta de Santiago
* Reform Torte
* Vasa's Torte

Wedding cakes

Wedding cakes can be quite ornate, some with gravity-defying designs. Some American wedding cake makers have made designs that are so elaborate that they can sometimes topple before they are served. Some torte makers even use power tools to assist them in their torte sculpting.Fact|date=February 2007 Elaborate tortes have dowel rods between each layer for support. Without these supporting dowels, the tortes would topple under their own weight. Other than the dowels, every part of a torte is edible, even the glassy-looking flowers which are made from molten sugar.

Wedding cakes can have multi-colored, or even multi-flavored icing or frosting. Icing is a basic mixture of whipped cream and sugar. Some torte makers add flavoring to their icing like strawberry, banana, cherry, chocolate, or even apple. They also add colors to their icing like yellow, red, blue, green, pink, etc.

The majority of the wedding cake's weight is the cake itself. The two most common cake flavors are chocolate, also known as devil's food cake, and vanilla.

Many tortes have decorations made of molten sugar attached to the torte. A different type of design is the sugar bubble, which usually acts as a centerpiece on the torte. It is made using almost the same process as glass blowing. A hollow rod is dipped into molten sugar and then spun slowly. The spinner then blows air through the hollow tube and into the sugar to create a bubble. When the bubble cools, it is placed on a cloth or pillow and the rod is tapped lightly to release the bubble.

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