torta
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtɔːtə/
ipa: /ˈtɔɹtə/
rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)tə
Forms: form: tortas
Etymology: Borrowed from Italian torta, from Latin turta, thought to derive from Latin tŏrta f (“twisted”). Doublet of torte and tart.
Senses: examples: text: They include fresh noodles, roasted chickens, savory Italian tortas, caponata and other antipasti like roasted onions in balsamic vinegar, crusty walnut breads, biscotti, and fabulous Italian desserts.
ref: 1991, Patricia Unterman, editor, Best Restaurants of San Francisco: The San Francisco Chronicle Guide to Fine Dining, San Francisco, Calif.: Chronicle Books, →ISBN, page 275:
text: Perhaps there could be a smarter balsamic kick in the latte cotto custard, more oomph in the chocolate torta.
ref: 1996 May 6, Gael Greene, “Where the Boys Are”, in New York, page 92, column 1:
text: Internationally popular from his cookbooks and television show, Middione fills the deli case with southern Italian tortas, roasted chicken, polenta, and white bean salad.
ref: 1998, Donna Peck, Romantic Days and Nights in San Francisco: Intimate Escapes in the City by the Bay, Globe Pequot Press, →ISBN, page 153:
text: To follow, there’s good, strong coffee and desserts such as chocolate torta with fresh whipped cream ($4.50), which comes from the divine Victoria Bakery a few steps away over the road (try their “Ugly But Beautiful” nut meringues), and gelato zabaglione ($3.50), an absolutely ambrosial yellow fluff.
ref: 2003, Elgy Gillespie, “Trattoria Contadina”, in The Rough Guide to San Francisco Restaurants, 2004 edition, Rough Guides Ltd, →ISBN, page 98:
text: The cuisine is rustic, with a decent choice of fish and meat, and great desserts like hazelnut chocolate torta with meringue doused in espresso and layered chantilly cream with bitter cocoa, or “bugies,” little fried pockets of dough filled with candied lemon zest and grappa di Moscato, then dusted with sugar.
ref: 2003 winter, Linda Marx, “Boardwalk baby”, in Palm Beach Life, page 34:
text: I cooked for her as I had never cooked before: Spanish appetizers, Thai curries, and Italian tortas landed before her in dizzying, delectable profusion.
ref: 2007, Marusya Bociurkiw, Comfort Food for Breakups: The Memoir of a Hungry Girl, Arsenal Pulp Press, →ISBN:
text: Leaving the world behind, I’d wallow in frosty solitude and chocolate torta.
ref: 2012, Steven Parlato, The Namesake, Merit Press, Simon & Schuster, Inc., →ISBN:
text: He’d spoken in Italian to the woman at the door—the same words of condolence that the Scarlattas had used when visiting their grieving neighbors. People arrived bearing plates of food and fresh-cut flowers. There was a table crowded with offerings: a whole muskmelon, chocolate torta and jugs of wine, lamb stew with a skin of orange grease.
ref: 2015, Leslie Parry, Church of Marvels, Two Roads, →ISBN:
text: The Venetian writer’s torta (see Appendix II) will serve twenty-five people, and he specifies the quantities of ingredients and how to bake the torta (over a low flame).
ref: 2017, Katherine A. McIver, Kitchens, Cooking, and Eating in Medieval Italy, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 8:
text: It stocks global conceptual fashion from Marni, Martin Margela, Comme des Garçons et al, but come for the more interesting independent Italian labels or just a peek at the whimsical displays and enjoy a slice of torta and espresso in the in-store cafe.
ref: 2018, Italy, 13th edition, Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd, →ISBN:
text: Life is indeed sweet at Thamel’s best Italian bistro, offering up such delights as parmesan gnocchi; goat’s cheese and spinach ravioli; and sinfully rich chocolate torta.
ref: 2018, Nepal, 11th edition, Lonely Planet Global Limited, →ISBN:
text: As expected, the coach party arrive too late for afternoon tea, but Rob and Ivy enjoy the evening meal of soup, local fish and vegetables, followed by a slice of chocolate torta, served in a cavernous dining room located in the centre of the hotel’s first floor.
ref: 2019, Sue Parritt, chapter 14, in Feed Thy Enemy, Next Chapter, published 2021:
text: He and Vincente are going head-to-head in a baking challenge. Wyoming meets Italy. Apple pie versus chocolate torta. It should be fun.
ref: 2020, Jane Godman [pseudonym; Amanda Anders], Family in the Crosshairs, Harlequin Romantic Suspense, →ISBN:
text: Crimson nails flashing dangerously, she slowly cuts a piece of torta with the small fork, and raises it before her parted lips. ‘It is delicious, what’s in it?’ / Straightening his back and lifting his right hand, as if engaging in a poetic recital, he begins. ‘It has all the ingredients of the mountain: almonds and round hazelnuts from the Langhe in Piedmont, flour and eggs from the land, yeast.[…]”
ref: 2020, Mara G. Fox, The Other Side of Como, Eyewear Publishing Ltd, →ISBN:
text: As dessert was being served—an intensely rich chocolate torta—she asked one of the waiters if she might take the delicacy up to one of the guests who was celebrating his birthday. The waiter returned with a generous slice of the cake, ringed with paste di meliga, cornmeal shortbread cookies that were a specialty of the region.
ref: 2022, Katie Hafner, The Boys, Spiegel & Grau, →ISBN:
glosses: An Italian cake.