taffy – a soft chewy candy made with butter, sugar, and flavoring. Saltwater taffy uses a small amount of saltwater in the mixture.
tapioca – A starch extracted from the root of the cassava plant. Tapioca is sold as flour or little pellets called pears and is used as a thickening agent in pie fillings and other desserts. Pearl tapioca is used to make Tapioca Pudding.
tart – An open-faced pastry made freeform on a baking sheet or in a shallow pastry pan. A tart has a bottom pastry and is filled with a wide variety of sweet or savory fillings. A sweet tart may have a filling made with fruits, chocolate, custard, or nuts. Savory fillings may be made with cheese, vegetables, or meats. See recipe for Summer Berry Tart.
tart pan - Tart pans normally have a fluted edge and may come in round, square, or rectangular shapes. They often have a removable bottom which makes is easy to remove the tart without damaging the delicate crust. Since tart pans are normally shallow, about 1 inch deep, the tart crust stars equally along with the filling. Shop for tart pans.
tartlette pan - Small tartlette pans are designed as a one-serving size, perfect for buffets or teas. Six 4 or 4½ Tartlette pans will normally replace one large 9 inch tart recipe. Tartlette pans can also be used to make individual cakes and muffins. Shop for tartlette pans.
tarte tatin – A French upside-down caramelized tart named after the Tatin sisters from the early twentieth century. The tarte is traditionally made with apples but many other fruits may be substituted. The fruit is combined with sugar or brown sugar and spices in a cast iron or tarte tatin pan. The fruit mixture is topped with a pastry and then baked. After baking the tart is turned out of the pan and placed upside down on a serving plate. See recipe for Peach-Nectarine Tarte Tatin.
tarte tatin pan - A classic Tarte Tatin pan is 9½ inch diameter copper, lined with tin or stainless steel, with handles on the sides to make unmolding easy. Tarte Tatin is a caramelized upside-down apple tart, a classic French dessert. The pastry is placed over the caramelized apples before baking, and then after baking, the tart is turned out of the pan so the pastry is on the bottom. Shop for tarte tatin pans.
tea cake – Tea cakes may be any variety of small cakes served with afternoon tea. Tea cake is also a buttery yeast bun made with dried fruits, glazed with sugar syrup, and dusted with a cinnamon sugar mixture. See recipe for Lemon Tea Cakes.
temper chocolate – See Tempering Chocolate.
thread stage - Indicates the stage and temperature when a small amount of hot sugar syrup is dropped into cold water and it forms loose, thin threads. The thread stage temperature ranges between 223 and 234 degrees F. on a candy thermometer. See Sugar and Caramel Stages.
tiramisu – An Italian dessert meaning “pick me up” that is similar to a trifle. Tiramisu is made with layers of coffee and brandy soaked ladyfingers or sponge cake, zabaglione custard, mascarpone cheese, and then garnished with sweetened whipped cream and cocoa powder or chocolate shavings.
toffee – A brittle, crunchy and buttery candy made from sugar, butter, and water that is cooked to the soft crack stage, and then poured onto a marble slab in a thin layer to cool. Once the candy is hardened and cooled, it is broken into smaller irregular pieces. The toffee may be eaten as is or dipped in chocolate and chopped nuts.
torrone – Italian nougat candy made with honey, sugar, egg whites, and toasted almonds. See recipe for Nougat (Torrone.)
torta – The Italian word for tart, cake, or pie. The Spanish word for loaf or cake. The Portuguese word for cake or tart.
torta delizia – An Italian sponge cake filled with pastry cream or jam and covered with almond paste. It is briefly baked to brown the almond paste and then brushed with a sweet glaze.
torta di mandorle- An Italian almond tart originating in Venice. The dessert is made with a pastry shell filled with frangipane, topped with whole almonds, baked, and then heavily dusted with confectioners’ sugar.
torta diplomatica – An Italian cake made with layers of puff pastry, pastry cream, and sponge cake soaked with rum syrup. The cake is covered with pastry cream and dusted with confectioners’ sugar.
torta nicolota – An Italian bread pudding made with bread, milk, sugar, and added flavorings such as lemon zest, raisins, rum, and cinnamon.
torte – The German word for cake. Tortes come in many varieties of cakes and pastries. They are typically made with ground nuts replacing all or some of the flour, along with eggs, sugar, and butter. Well known tortes include Sachertorte and Linzertorte. See recipe for Chocolate Pecan Torte.
tortoni – An Italian dessert prepared in individual sized portions, and made with sweetened whipped cream or ice cream and rum, along with chopped almonds and crumbled macaroons.
trifle – An English dessert made in a deep bowl that is layered with liqueur soaked ladyfingers or sponge cake, jam or fruit, custard, and garnished with sweetened whipped cream and sliced almonds.
truffle – A rich confection made with chocolate and other flavorings such as fruits, nuts, spices, and liqueurs. Truffles are normally rolled into a small ball and may be rolled in cocoa powder to resemble the truffle fungus.
tube pans - The tube is used to conduct heat through the center of a cake, ensuring that the cake bakes evenly. Tube pans come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with Angel Food Cake Pans and Bundt Pans being the most common. Except for Angel Food Cake, fluted pans must be generously coated with butter or shortening, then dusted with flour for easy removal from the pan.
Angel Food Cake Pans: Angel Food Cake is baked in a tube shaped pan that is ungreased, allowing the cake to raise high by clinging to the sides of the pan, and then turned upside down after baking so the cake does not collapse while cooling. An Angel food cake pan should not be non-stick, allowing the cake to raise by clinging to the sides of the pan and almost doubling in size during baking; and it should include either “feet” that the pan sits on when turned upside down, or a tube that is wide enough to fit over the top of a glass bottle or wine bottle. A pan with a removable bottom makes removing the cooled cake from the pan, and clean-up easier. Shop for angel food cake pans.
Bundt Pans: Bundt is pronounced “bunt” with the “d” being silent. A Bundt cake is baked in a special pan called a Bundt pan, a ring shaped pan with fluted sided, originally created to prepare German Kugelhopf cake. National Bundt Pan Day is November 15th. The modern Bundt pan was developed by the Nordic Ware company in 1950, and its fame rose after a Pillsbury-sponsored baking contest in 1966. The 9 x 4½ inch Nordic Ware Bundt Pan is my favorite, and can be used for many cake recipes. Shop for Bundt pans.
Fluted Tube Pans: These pans are fun to use, producing a fancier cake than a basic layer cake. Pans such as Bavaria shape, castle shape, chrysanthemum shape, star shape, heart shape are just a few of the fun shapes to choose from. Shop for fluted tube pans.
Kugelhopf Pans: Kugelhopf pans are for baking Kugelhopf, A European cake baked in a special Kugelhopf pan which is a deep, round, tube pan with ornate fluting, and a narrow center tube. The cake is a sweet yeast cake studded with raisins, nuts, and candied fruits, and has a round pyramid shape when the cake in unmolded. Shop for kugelhopf pans.
tuile – A delicate, thin, crisp almond flavored cookie. The cookies are formed into a curve shape resembling a roof tile by placing over a rolling pin after baking and while they are still warm. Tuile is the French word for tile.
Turkish delight – A sweet gelatin confection from Turkey made with fruit juice, sugar, honey, gelatin, and normally either pine nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, or pistachios. After the mixture is cooked it is poured into a pan to cool, and then cut into squares and covered with confectioners’ sugar.
turnover – A pastry that is folded in half to enclose a sweet or savory filling. The pastry may be formed into half circles, crescents, or triangles and is either baked or fried.
twelfth night cake – Also known as Epiphany Cake or King Cake. A cake served on Epiphany, January 6th. The cake may be a butter or sponge cake, but is typically a yeast cake shaped in a round or ring shape. Traditionally a small token is baked into the cake, and the person receiving the slice with the token is named king or queen of the day.
Tyler pie – A Southern pie created in honor of President John Tyler. The pie is made with butter, eggs, cream, brown sugar, and is garnished with toasted coconut.
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