Dessert

Italy

Tortionata or tortjonata is a crispy, crumbly almond cake from the city of Lodi, named after tortijon - a piece of twisted wire that was once used to cut the cake. Created in the 19th century by a pastry chef named Carlo Tacchinardi, it is made with flour, butter, sugar, almonds and lemon zest. In fact, it is pretty similar to the more famous sbrisolona, only made without cornflour. Tortionata is not sliced, but broken and served in pieces, then dusted with powdered sugar. Enjoy it with a glass of sweet Malvasia from the hills of Piacenza.

Tortionata

Poland

Even though they are often referred as Toruń gingerbread cookies, pierniki derive their name from the Polish word pieprz, meaning pepper. The authentic recipe is still a closely guarded secret, but they are traditionally made with wheat or rye flour, honey, and a blend of spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, and cloves. In the past, pierniki were mostly shaped with the help of intricate wooden molds, but nowadays the dough is often cut into heart or club shapes. Modern day pierniki come in various versions that are often glazed with chocolate or sugar and filled with fruit jams, chocolate or marzipan. They are a traditional Christmas treat as well as a cherished Polish souvenir.

Toruńskie pierniki

Toto is a popular Jamaican cake consisting of flour, sugar, grated coconut, eggs, milk, butter, and flavorings such as allspice, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. There are some variations on the recipe, so many people like to add raisins and rum into the cake to make it even more flavorful. Once the cake is baked and cooled, it is traditionally cut into squares and enjoyed as a snack.

Toto

Toucinho do c&eacute;u is one of many Portuguese sweets that were initially prepared at convents. In its simplest form, this traditional cake combines sugary syrup, lard, ground almonds, and a hefty amount of egg yolks, while the common additions include various spices and chila squash. Although not much is known about its history and the place of origin, the varieties of this Portuguese-style almond cake are found throughout the country, but the most popular local versions hail from Guimar&atilde;es, Mur&ccedil;a, and Tr&aacute;s-os-Montes. Interestingly, the name of the dish translates as pork from heaven, presumably because some of the first recipes included pork lard.

Toucinho do céu

France

Tourteau fromag&eacute; is a traditional pastry from the Poitou region in France, made with fresh goat cheese. Originating from the Pays Mellois, its name derives from "tourterie," meaning "cake" in the Poitevin dialect. Historically baked in rounded earthenware dishes, it features a distinctive blackened dome crust contrasting with a soft, creamy white interior. The filling is made with eggs, sugar, flour, fresh goat cheese, and a pinch of salt and is encased in shortcrust pastry. Traditionally enjoyed at weddings, it remains popular during Easter and other convivial gatherings.

Tourteau fromagé

Tozzetti are Italian double-baked cookies found in Lazio and Umbria. These dry cookies are prepared with hazelnuts but can also include whole pistachios, candied fruit, or even chocolate, which makes them go well with hot beverages like tea. There is a large variety of these cookies, and the most famous are the spiced tozzetti Romani, known as Lazio Christmas cookies, made with almonds or walnuts and sweetened with honey, and the hazelnut tozzetti di Viterbo which are usually served at weddings and christenings.

Tozzetti

Treacle tart is a traditional dessert consisting of a shortcrust pastry filled with sugar syrup, breadcrumbs, lemon juice, and spices such as ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Originally, treacle was the most inexpensive sweetener, so food historians believe that the dish was invented as a way for peasants to use up leftover bread. This classic dish is traditionally served warm, with a dollop of clotted cream, whipped cream, or a few scoops of ice cream on the side. Local variations include Yorkshire's treacle tart with added dried fruit and grated apple, and Suffolk's, which has eggs beaten into it for a custard-like result.

Treacle tart

Tres leches cake is a Latin American sponge soaked after baking in a mixture of three milks, evaporated, sweetened condensed and whole milk or cream, until it is saturated and cold, then topped with whipped cream or meringue and often a few strawberries or a dusting of cinnamon. Mexico and Nicaragua both claim it and neither can prove it; the dish spread across the region in the mid-twentieth century along with canned milk, and recipes printed on the labels of evaporated and condensed milk tins did much of the work. It belongs to the same family as the trifle and the European milk-soaked cakes, but the three-milk soak and the fact that the cake is served chilled are its own. It is the standard birthday and celebration cake across Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, sold by the slice in bakeries and by the whole tray for parties.

The sponge has to be built to take liquid without collapsing: a génoise-style cake of whisked eggs, sugar and flour with little or no butter, baked in a shallow rectangular tin, cooled, and pricked all over with a fork or skewer. The milk mixture is roughly equal parts of the three, sometimes with a spoon of rum or vanilla, poured slowly over the cake in stages so that it absorbs rather than pools; a 23 by 33 centimetre cake takes around 600 to 700 millilitres. It then rests in the fridge for at least four hours and better overnight, which is when the cake stops being wet and becomes uniformly moist. The topping goes on cold: lightly sweetened whipped cream in Mexico and the north, an Italian or Swiss meringue in Nicaragua and much of Central America, where the cake is also sometimes finished with a layer of dulce de leche.

Cut a slice and press it: it should be heavy, cold and moist right through, with a little milk weeping onto the plate but no pool, and the crumb should hold together instead of dissolving into pudding. The top should be lighter than the cake, and the sweetness, which is considerable, should come with the dairy richness of the evaporated milk rather than just sugar. Mark down a dry band in the centre where the soak did not reach, a cake so wet it falls apart on the fork, a sponge that has gone gummy from too much flour or butter, canned whipped topping instead of cream, and a serving at room temperature, which turns the whole thing cloying. Cinnamon and fruit are decoration; the cake itself should be judged without them.

Tres Leches Cake

Trifle is the British layered dessert built in a glass bowl so the strata show: sponge soaked in sherry or another fortified wine at the bottom, fruit and often a layer of set jelly above it, thick egg custard over that, and whipped cream on top, finished with toasted almonds, glacé cherries or grated chocolate. It has a long record, with recipes under the name from the late sixteenth century that were closer to a flavoured cream, and the sponge-custard-cream form settled in the eighteenth; jelly arrived in the Victorian period and remains the dividing line between two camps, with the older and more serious tradition rejecting it. It is the standard English Christmas and family-party pudding, the Scottish tipsy laird uses whisky in place of sherry, and the Italian zuppa inglese, a sponge and custard dessert flavoured with the red liqueur alchermes, is its closest relation abroad.

A proper trifle is made a day ahead. The base is dry sponge fingers or stale plain sponge, split and spread with raspberry jam, laid in the bowl and soaked with enough sweet or medium sherry that it is wet right through but not swimming; raspberries or other soft fruit go over or between the sponge, and if jelly is used it is poured on warm and allowed to set. The custard is the part that separates a good one from a packet: egg yolks, sugar, cream and milk, cooked gently to a thick pouring consistency, cooled, and spread in a layer at least as deep as the sponge. The cream is whipped only to soft peaks, sweetened barely if at all, and spooned on in a thick layer once the custard is cold. The bowl is chilled overnight so the sherry works through the sponge and the layers firm up, and the top decoration goes on at the last minute.

Serve a spoonful that cuts through all the layers and judge the proportions: roughly equal depths of sponge, custard and cream, with the fruit clearly present. The sponge should be soaked and tasting unmistakably of sherry, the custard should be set enough to hold its own layer but soft, yellow and tasting of egg and vanilla, and the cream should be light and not stiff. Mark down a dry sponge, a trifle that has no alcohol unless it is labelled as such, a custard from powder, which is stiff, pale and tastes of cornflour, jelly that has been allowed to dominate so the thing eats like a jelly with cream, cream whipped to a dense slab or from a can, tinned fruit cocktail, and a trifle served the day it is made, in which the layers have not had time to settle into each other. A fresh raspberry on top beats a glacé cherry, but neither is worth a point.

Trifle

Croatia

Trnovečka makovnjača is a simple cake that is a specialty of Trnovec, located in the suburbs of Varaždin. The dough is rolled and stretched until very thin, brushed with butter, and spread with a combination of ground poppy seeds, milk, and sugar. The whole concoction is rolled and baked in the oven. It is recommended to bake the cake in a clay pot, as it gives the dish a unique aroma and flavor. Trnovečka makovnjača was invented more than 200 years ago, when people could not afford to bake cakes with other ingredients, and poppy seeds were abundant and readily available in the region.

Trnovečka makovnjača

Norway

Trondheimssodd is a traditional sweet soup originating from Trondheim. It is usually made with a combination of water, sugar, salt, flour, cinnamon, whipping cream, raisins, and rice. The rice, raisins, and cinnamon are placed in water and simmered until the rice becomes fully cooked. The flour is whisked into the cream, and the combination is added to the pot. The soup is simmered for a few minutes until it thickens, and it's then sweetened with sugar and seasoned with a few grains of salt before serving.

Trondheimssodd

Tropisk aroma-kake is a classic cake originating from Norway. The flavor of nutmeg in the cake and coffee in the icing give this cake an exotic aroma and its name. The cake is usually made with a combination of flour, baking powder, eggs, sugar, butter, salt, nutmeg, milk, and cinnamon, while the icing is made with a combination of coffee, vanilla, butter, cocoa powder, and icing sugar. The batter is placed into a baking pan and baked for about 20 minutes. It is then left to cool on a wire rack and topped with the icing, which also goes on the sides of the cake in thin layers. Once prepared, tropisk aroma-kake is typically sliced in thin wedges when served.

Tropisk aroma-kake

Tteok are traditional Korean rice cakes that are prepared with glutinous or non-glutinous rice. The cakes are incredibly versatile, and although they are mostly sweet and enjoyed as a dessert, some plain varieties can be incorporated into savory dishes. The usual preparation includes steaming, pounding, or kneading the rice until it transforms into a pliable dough which can optionally be enriched with different ingredients and shaped into various forms. The most popular tteok varieties include songpyeon, chapssaltteok, garaetteok, gyeongdan, as well as many more traditional and modern versions. The cakes are a staple at various special occasions in South Korea, but some are also enjoyed as a sweet, everyday dessert.

Tteok

South Korea

Ttongppang is a traditional South Korean sweet bread originating from the Insa-dong neighborhood of Seoul. The sweet bread is shaped into a stylized human feces. Although it might look unappetizing to some people, this sweet treat is actually delicious, made with a wheat flour shell that's filled with red bean paste and pieces of walnuts. Ttongppang is typically sold at markets as a sweet street food item. In Korean culture, poo is a good thing &ndash; it symbolizes prosperity, and if you dream about poo, it's said that you'll be prosperous.

Ttongppang

Tufahija is a dessert made from apples which are stewed in water and sugar, stuffed with an almond or walnut cream filling, then shortly baked and doused in sugar syrup. The origin of the dessert is Persian - it came to Bosnia with the Ottomans who ruled the country in the past. This refreshing treat is traditionally consumed chilled, served in a large glass, and garnished with whipped cream and a cherry on top.

Tufahija

Turkish tulumba is a hot water dough fritter traditionally found in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire, particularly throughout the Middle East and the Balkans. Even though tulumba (lit. pump) was named after a special tool used to make it&mdash;a kind of syringe with a star-shaped nozzle&mdash;in Iranian cuisine they call it bamiyeh; in Egypt and Syria balah el-sham, and datli in Iraq; while in the rest of the Arab world tulumba fritters are also known as asabe Zainab (lit. Zainab's fingers). These deep-fried, crisp-shelled treats deliver a serious kick of sugar as they are soaked in thick, sometimes lemon-flavored syrup. In Lebanon and Syria, they often use orange blossom and rose water for flavoring, while Gulf countries add cardamom and saffron as well, and in Morocco they use heated honey instead of syrup. Tulumba was typically prepared during Ramadan and enjoyed cold, but today, this classic Turkish dessert has become one of the most popular street foods, sold by numerous street vendors who fry it up fresh on the spot, and serve it warm, sprinkled with crushed pistachios.

Tulumba

Tumr bel nargine is a traditional dessert originating from Saudi Arabia. Also known as coconut dates, these sweet treats are usually made with a combination of blanched almonds, pitted dates, cardamom, desiccated coconut, and butter. The almonds are fried until golden, while the butter is melted in a saucepan and mixed with the dates and cardamom. The mixture is stirred over low heat until it&rsquo;s well blended, and it&rsquo;s then cooled. Once cooled, the mixture is shaped into small balls, and an almond is studded into each ball. The balls are reshaped into ovals, rolled in coconut, and arranged on a serving platter before they&rsquo;re enjoyed. Tumr bel nargine is typically served for Eid-ul-Fitar, the ending of the Ramadan fasting.

Tumr bel nargine

Falling in the group of popular lumpia snacks, turon is the famous Filipino treat made with saba plantains and jackfruit. The fruit is sliced lengthwise, dusted in brown sugar, enclosed in thin wheat wrappers, then fried until golden and crispy. Like other lumpia varieties, turon was also developed from the Chinese spring rolls and represents one of the most common sweet versions of the dish. Before it is served, it is commonly drizzled with caramel or sprinkled with roasted sesame seeds. It is usually sold by Filipino street vendors and enjoyed as a sweet snack or a satisfying dessert.

Turon

Turr&oacute;n or torr&oacute;, as it is known in the Catalan language, is the Spanish version of the world-famous confection called nougat. This sweet delicacy typically combines roasted nuts (usually almonds, but also other types of nuts such as hazelnuts or pistachios) with honey, sugar, and whipped egg whites. A staple Christmas treat, turr&oacute;n is believed to have originated in the early Middle Ages during the Moorish invasion of Spain. The name of this sweet treat is thought to have been derived from the Catalan word torrar, which in turn comes from the Latin torrere, meaning charring or roasting, an apparent reference to the use of roasted nuts. There are numerous varieties of Spanish nougat nowadays, ranging from soft and chewy to hard and brittle, to those enhanced with flavors such as chocolate or coconut, or types that are made with egg yolks or without any eggs. The two most popular varieties of Spanish nougat include the soft variety referred to as turr&oacute;n blando or turr&oacute;n de Jijona and the hard variety called turr&oacute;n duro or turr&oacute;n de Alicante, hailing from the respective Spanish towns of Jijona and Alicante. This sweet treat is often found among various gifts contained in a caga t&iacute;o, a type of 'pooping log' that is an indispensable part of Spanish Christmas traditions.

Turrón

Peru

Turr&oacute;n de Do&ntilde;a Pepa is a traditional dessert that is prepared and consumed in October, or, as it&rsquo;s called in Peru, el mes morada, meaning the purple month. This layered nougat is drizzled with chancaca, then topped with a variety of colorful sprinkles and candies, resulting in a psychedelic concoction with a striking visual appearance, made with a combination of anise seeds, flour, sugar, butter, eggs, and flavorings such as vanilla, lime juice, orange zest, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. It is believed that this dessert was invented by Josefa Maraminillo, a woman from the Ca&ntilde;ete Valley who was paralyzed before she went to Lima to pray to El Se&ntilde;or de los Milagros during the religious procession held in the center of the city. Shortly after that, she felt no pain in her limbs, and as a sign of respect, she created this dessert and could be seen each October in Lima with her turr&oacute;n. Years later, she was nicknamed Do&ntilde;a Pepa and nowadays, during the El Senor de Milagros procession, free samples of this festive turr&oacute;n are regularly dealt out near the main church.