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A torte is a cake made with many eggs and usually ground nuts or even bread crumbs instead of or in addition to flour.^[1] Tortes are Central European in origin. The word torte is derived from the German word "Torte" (pronounced [?to?t?], which has a somewhat different meaning), which was derived from the Italian word torta, which was used to describe a round cake or bread. ^[1]

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.^{[citation needed]}