🥮 Pastry Vocab
Pastry vocabulary becomes much easier when you separate the dough from the finished pastry. Puff pastry, phyllo, shortcrust, and choux are dough families. A croissant, éclair, turnover, or fruit tart is a finished pastry made from one of those doughs. Other names describe a particular shape, filling, or preparation method. Learning these distinctions will help you understand bakery displays, recipes, café menus, and instructions such as fold, laminate, pipe, fill, roll, glaze, and bake until crisp.
🧈 Dough Families
🥐 Croissant
flaky, buttery French pastry made from yeasted laminated dough
Example: The croissant had a crisp outside and many light, buttery layers inside.
🇫🇷 French: Croissant
🇩🇪 German: Croissant
🇮🇹 Italian: Croissant
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Croissant
💡 Nuance: Laminated dough is dough repeatedly folded with butter to create many layers. Croissant dough also contains yeast. Pain au chocolat uses the same dough family but a different shape.
flaky, buttery French pastry made from yeasted laminated dough
Example: The croissant had a crisp outside and many light, buttery layers inside.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Crucasán / croissant🇫🇷 French: Croissant
🇩🇪 German: Croissant
🇮🇹 Italian: Croissant
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Croissant
💡 Nuance: Laminated dough is dough repeatedly folded with butter to create many layers. Croissant dough also contains yeast. Pain au chocolat uses the same dough family but a different shape.
🇩🇰 Danish Pastry
sweet laminated pastry often filled with fruit, cheese, custard, or nuts
Example: She chose a cheese Danish with a sweet creamy filling in the center.
🇫🇷 French: Viennoiserie danoise
🇩🇪 German: Plundergebäck
🇮🇹 Italian: Pasta danese
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Folhado dinamarquês
💡 Nuance: Danish pastry is generally sweeter and richer than a plain croissant. The filling may be placed in the center, folded inside, or arranged on top.
sweet laminated pastry often filled with fruit, cheese, custard, or nuts
Example: She chose a cheese Danish with a sweet creamy filling in the center.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Pastel danés🇫🇷 French: Viennoiserie danoise
🇩🇪 German: Plundergebäck
🇮🇹 Italian: Pasta danese
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Folhado dinamarquês
💡 Nuance: Danish pastry is generally sweeter and richer than a plain croissant. The filling may be placed in the center, folded inside, or arranged on top.
📄 Puff Pastry
flaky dough made by repeatedly folding butter between layers of dough, usually without yeast
Example: The recipe asked for a sheet of puff pastry to make the turnovers.
🇫🇷 French: Pâte feuilletée
🇩🇪 German: Blätterteig
🇮🇹 Italian: Pasta sfoglia
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Massa folhada
💡 Nuance: Puff pastry is a dough, not one particular finished pastry. Palmiers, turnovers, and mille-feuille can all be made from puff pastry. Unlike croissant dough, it usually does not rely on yeast.
flaky dough made by repeatedly folding butter between layers of dough, usually without yeast
Example: The recipe asked for a sheet of puff pastry to make the turnovers.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Hojaldre🇫🇷 French: Pâte feuilletée
🇩🇪 German: Blätterteig
🇮🇹 Italian: Pasta sfoglia
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Massa folhada
💡 Nuance: Puff pastry is a dough, not one particular finished pastry. Palmiers, turnovers, and mille-feuille can all be made from puff pastry. Unlike croissant dough, it usually does not rely on yeast.
📜 Phyllo Pastry
extremely thin sheets of dough layered with butter or oil
Example: She brushed each sheet of phyllo with butter before layering the baklava.
🇫🇷 French: Pâte phyllo / filo
🇩🇪 German: Filoteig
🇮🇹 Italian: Pasta fillo
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Massa filo
💡 Nuance: Phyllo is also spelled filo. Its sheets are much thinner than puff pastry. The layers are stacked and brushed with fat rather than created by folding a thick butter block into the dough.
extremely thin sheets of dough layered with butter or oil
Example: She brushed each sheet of phyllo with butter before layering the baklava.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Pasta filo🇫🇷 French: Pâte phyllo / filo
🇩🇪 German: Filoteig
🇮🇹 Italian: Pasta fillo
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Massa filo
💡 Nuance: Phyllo is also spelled filo. Its sheets are much thinner than puff pastry. The layers are stacked and brushed with fat rather than created by folding a thick butter block into the dough.
🥧 Shortcrust Pastry
crisp, crumbly pastry dough commonly used for pies, tart shells, and galettes
Example: The lemon tart had a crisp shortcrust shell.
🇫🇷 French: Pâte brisée / sablée
🇩🇪 German: Mürbeteig
🇮🇹 Italian: Pasta frolla
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Massa quebrada
💡 Nuance: Shortcrust is not laminated. Instead, fat is mixed or cut into the flour to create a tender, crumbly texture. Many tarts begin with this type of pastry.
crisp, crumbly pastry dough commonly used for pies, tart shells, and galettes
Example: The lemon tart had a crisp shortcrust shell.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Masa quebrada🇫🇷 French: Pâte brisée / sablée
🇩🇪 German: Mürbeteig
🇮🇹 Italian: Pasta frolla
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Massa quebrada
💡 Nuance: Shortcrust is not laminated. Instead, fat is mixed or cut into the flour to create a tender, crumbly texture. Many tarts begin with this type of pastry.
💨 Choux Pastry
cooked pastry dough that expands in the oven and forms a hollow interior
Example: She piped the choux dough into long shapes before baking the éclairs.
🇫🇷 French: Pâte à choux
🇩🇪 German: Brandteig
🇮🇹 Italian: Pasta choux
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Massa choux
💡 Nuance: Choux is the dough family. Éclairs, cream puffs, and profiteroles are different finished pastries made from that dough. To pipe means to squeeze soft dough through a pastry bag into a controlled shape.
cooked pastry dough that expands in the oven and forms a hollow interior
Example: She piped the choux dough into long shapes before baking the éclairs.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Pasta choux🇫🇷 French: Pâte à choux
🇩🇪 German: Brandteig
🇮🇹 Italian: Pasta choux
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Massa choux
💡 Nuance: Choux is the dough family. Éclairs, cream puffs, and profiteroles are different finished pastries made from that dough. To pipe means to squeeze soft dough through a pastry bag into a controlled shape.
🥐 Laminated Buns
🌰 Almond Croissant
croissant filled or topped with almond cream and sliced almonds
Example: The almond croissant was filled with sweet almond cream and topped with sliced almonds.
🇫🇷 French: Croissant aux amandes
🇩🇪 German: Mandelcroissant
🇮🇹 Italian: Croissant alle mandorle
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Croissant de amêndoa
💡 Nuance: The almond filling is often frangipane or a related almond cream. Frangipane can also appear in tarts, so the same filling may be used in very different pastries.
croissant filled or topped with almond cream and sliced almonds
Example: The almond croissant was filled with sweet almond cream and topped with sliced almonds.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Croissant de almendra🇫🇷 French: Croissant aux amandes
🇩🇪 German: Mandelcroissant
🇮🇹 Italian: Croissant alle mandorle
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Croissant de amêndoa
💡 Nuance: The almond filling is often frangipane or a related almond cream. Frangipane can also appear in tarts, so the same filling may be used in very different pastries.
🍫 Pain au Chocolat
rectangular laminated pastry wrapped around bars of chocolate
Example: The pain au chocolat had two strips of chocolate running through the center.
🇫🇷 French: Pain au chocolat
🇩🇪 German: Pain au chocolat
🇮🇹 Italian: Pain au chocolat
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Pain au chocolat
💡 Nuance: Pain au chocolat belongs to the same laminated-dough family as a croissant, but its shape is rectangular and the chocolate is enclosed inside the folds rather than scattered as chips.
rectangular laminated pastry wrapped around bars of chocolate
Example: The pain au chocolat had two strips of chocolate running through the center.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Napolitana / pain au chocolat🇫🇷 French: Pain au chocolat
🇩🇪 German: Pain au chocolat
🇮🇹 Italian: Pain au chocolat
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Pain au chocolat
💡 Nuance: Pain au chocolat belongs to the same laminated-dough family as a croissant, but its shape is rectangular and the chocolate is enclosed inside the folds rather than scattered as chips.
🍇 Pain aux Raisins
spiral laminated pastry with raisins and pastry cream
Example: The pain aux raisins had a spiral shape with raisins throughout the layers.
🇫🇷 French: Pain aux raisins
🇩🇪 German: Pain aux raisins
🇮🇹 Italian: Pain aux raisins
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Pain aux raisins
💡 Nuance: The spiral shape may remind English speakers of a snail; the French nickname escargot may also appear. Danish pastries can have similar shapes but belong to a somewhat sweeter dough tradition.
spiral laminated pastry with raisins and pastry cream
Example: The pain aux raisins had a spiral shape with raisins throughout the layers.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Caracol / pain aux raisins🇫🇷 French: Pain aux raisins
🇩🇪 German: Pain aux raisins
🇮🇹 Italian: Pain aux raisins
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Pain aux raisins
💡 Nuance: The spiral shape may remind English speakers of a snail; the French nickname escargot may also appear. Danish pastries can have similar shapes but belong to a somewhat sweeter dough tradition.
🍯 Kouign-Amann
Breton laminated pastry with butter and sugar folded through the layers
Example: The sugar on the kouign-amann caramelized into a crisp, sticky crust.
🇫🇷 French: Kouign-amann
🇩🇪 German: Kouign-Amann
🇮🇹 Italian: Kouign-amann
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Kouign-amann
💡 Nuance: To caramelize means sugar browns during cooking and develops a deeper flavor. The extra sugar in the folds makes kouign-amann noticeably sweeter and more caramelized than a plain croissant.
Breton laminated pastry with butter and sugar folded through the layers
Example: The sugar on the kouign-amann caramelized into a crisp, sticky crust.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Kouign-amann🇫🇷 French: Kouign-amann
🇩🇪 German: Kouign-Amann
🇮🇹 Italian: Kouign-amann
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Kouign-amann
💡 Nuance: To caramelize means sugar browns during cooking and develops a deeper flavor. The extra sugar in the folds makes kouign-amann noticeably sweeter and more caramelized than a plain croissant.
💨 Choux Shapes
🍫 Éclair
long choux pastry filled with cream or custard and usually finished with icing
Example: The chocolate éclair was filled with pastry cream and glazed on top.
🇫🇷 French: Éclair
🇩🇪 German: Éclair
🇮🇹 Italian: Bigné allungato / éclair
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Éclair
💡 Nuance: The long shape helps distinguish an éclair from a round cream puff. Both are made from choux pastry.
long choux pastry filled with cream or custard and usually finished with icing
Example: The chocolate éclair was filled with pastry cream and glazed on top.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Éclair🇫🇷 French: Éclair
🇩🇪 German: Éclair
🇮🇹 Italian: Bigné allungato / éclair
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Éclair
💡 Nuance: The long shape helps distinguish an éclair from a round cream puff. Both are made from choux pastry.
☁️ Cream Puff
round hollow choux pastry filled with whipped cream or pastry cream
Example: She filled the cream puffs just before serving them.
🇫🇷 French: Chou à la crème
🇩🇪 German: Windbeutel
🇮🇹 Italian: Bigné
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Carolina / bombom de choux
💡 Nuance: Cream puff is a common English bakery term for a round filled choux pastry. The term overlaps with profiterole, and exact size or presentation can vary.
round hollow choux pastry filled with whipped cream or pastry cream
Example: She filled the cream puffs just before serving them.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Profiterol / bollo de crema🇫🇷 French: Chou à la crème
🇩🇪 German: Windbeutel
🇮🇹 Italian: Bigné
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Carolina / bombom de choux
💡 Nuance: Cream puff is a common English bakery term for a round filled choux pastry. The term overlaps with profiterole, and exact size or presentation can vary.
🍨 Profiterole
small filled choux puff often served with chocolate sauce or another topping
Example: The profiteroles were served with warm chocolate sauce.
🇫🇷 French: Profiterole
🇩🇪 German: Profiterole
🇮🇹 Italian: Profiterole
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Profiterole
💡 Nuance: A profiterole is another round choux pastry. In many contexts, the distinction from a cream puff depends more on serving style than on a completely different dough or shape.
small filled choux puff often served with chocolate sauce or another topping
Example: The profiteroles were served with warm chocolate sauce.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Profiterol🇫🇷 French: Profiterole
🇩🇪 German: Profiterole
🇮🇹 Italian: Profiterole
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Profiterole
💡 Nuance: A profiterole is another round choux pastry. In many contexts, the distinction from a cream puff depends more on serving style than on a completely different dough or shape.
📚 Layers, Folds & Shells
🌯 Filo Rolls
thin phyllo sheets rolled around a sweet or savory filling
Example: The spinach-and-cheese filling was wrapped in crisp filo rolls.
🇫🇷 French: Rouleaux de filo
🇩🇪 German: Filo-Röllchen
🇮🇹 Italian: Involtini di fillo
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Rolinhos de filo
💡 Nuance: Filo names the dough; roll names the shape. The filling may be savory, such as spinach and cheese, or sweet.
thin phyllo sheets rolled around a sweet or savory filling
Example: The spinach-and-cheese filling was wrapped in crisp filo rolls.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Rollitos de filo🇫🇷 French: Rouleaux de filo
🇩🇪 German: Filo-Röllchen
🇮🇹 Italian: Involtini di fillo
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Rolinhos de filo
💡 Nuance: Filo names the dough; roll names the shape. The filling may be savory, such as spinach and cheese, or sweet.
🍎 Strudel
pastry made by wrapping very thin stretched dough around a filling
Example: The warm apple strudel was filled with apples, cinnamon, and raisins.
🇫🇷 French: Strudel
🇩🇪 German: Strudel
🇮🇹 Italian: Strudel
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Strudel
💡 Nuance: Traditional strudel dough is stretched extremely thin. Recipes sometimes substitute phyllo, but classic strudel is not simply a shortcrust pie or ordinary puff-pastry turnover.
pastry made by wrapping very thin stretched dough around a filling
Example: The warm apple strudel was filled with apples, cinnamon, and raisins.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Strudel🇫🇷 French: Strudel
🇩🇪 German: Strudel
🇮🇹 Italian: Strudel
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Strudel
💡 Nuance: Traditional strudel dough is stretched extremely thin. Recipes sometimes substitute phyllo, but classic strudel is not simply a shortcrust pie or ordinary puff-pastry turnover.
🍯 Baklava
layered phyllo pastry with nuts and sweet syrup or honey
Example: The warm syrup soaked into the layers of baklava after baking.
🇫🇷 French: Baklava
🇩🇪 German: Baklava
🇮🇹 Italian: Baklava
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Baklava
💡 Nuance: The useful memory combination is phyllo + nuts + syrup. Mille-feuille also has many layers, but it uses puff pastry and pastry cream rather than phyllo and syrup.
layered phyllo pastry with nuts and sweet syrup or honey
Example: The warm syrup soaked into the layers of baklava after baking.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Baklava🇫🇷 French: Baklava
🇩🇪 German: Baklava
🇮🇹 Italian: Baklava
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Baklava
💡 Nuance: The useful memory combination is phyllo + nuts + syrup. Mille-feuille also has many layers, but it uses puff pastry and pastry cream rather than phyllo and syrup.
🌴 Palmier
crisp sugared puff pastry folded into a palm-leaf or heart-like shape
Example: The palmiers became crisp and caramelized around the edges.
🇫🇷 French: Palmier
🇩🇪 German: Schweinsohr
🇮🇹 Italian: Ventaglio
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Palmier / palmeira
💡 Nuance: Palmiers are sometimes called elephant ears. They are made from folded puff pastry with sugar rather than from filled choux dough.
crisp sugared puff pastry folded into a palm-leaf or heart-like shape
Example: The palmiers became crisp and caramelized around the edges.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Palmera🇫🇷 French: Palmier
🇩🇪 German: Schweinsohr
🇮🇹 Italian: Ventaglio
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Palmier / palmeira
💡 Nuance: Palmiers are sometimes called elephant ears. They are made from folded puff pastry with sugar rather than from filled choux dough.
📚 Mille-Feuille
dessert made from crisp layers of puff pastry separated by pastry cream
Example: The mille-feuille had alternating layers of crisp pastry and vanilla cream.
🇫🇷 French: Mille-feuille
🇩🇪 German: Millefeuille
🇮🇹 Italian: Millefoglie
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Mil-folhas
💡 Nuance: The French name means “a thousand leaves,” referring to the many flaky layers. Napoleon is often used in English for a very similar pastry.
dessert made from crisp layers of puff pastry separated by pastry cream
Example: The mille-feuille had alternating layers of crisp pastry and vanilla cream.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Milhojas🇫🇷 French: Mille-feuille
🇩🇪 German: Millefeuille
🇮🇹 Italian: Millefoglie
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Mil-folhas
💡 Nuance: The French name means “a thousand leaves,” referring to the many flaky layers. Napoleon is often used in English for a very similar pastry.
👑 Napoleon
English bakery name for a layered puff-pastry dessert with cream or custard
Example: The bakery labeled the iced mille-feuille as a Napoleon.
🇫🇷 French: Napoléon
🇩🇪 German: Napoleon
🇮🇹 Italian: Napoleone
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Napoleão
💡 Nuance: In many English-speaking bakeries, Napoleon and mille-feuille refer to closely related layered pastries. Individual bakery styles may differ.
English bakery name for a layered puff-pastry dessert with cream or custard
Example: The bakery labeled the iced mille-feuille as a Napoleon.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Napoleón🇫🇷 French: Napoléon
🇩🇪 German: Napoleon
🇮🇹 Italian: Napoleone
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Napoleão
💡 Nuance: In many English-speaking bakeries, Napoleon and mille-feuille refer to closely related layered pastries. Individual bakery styles may differ.
🐚 Sfogliatella
Italian pastry with many thin crisp layers surrounding a sweet filling
Example: The sfogliatella had a crisp shell with dozens of visible pastry layers.
🇫🇷 French: Sfogliatella
🇩🇪 German: Sfogliatella
🇮🇹 Italian: Sfogliatella
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Sfogliatella
💡 Nuance: The pastry is famous for its shell-like layered appearance and may contain fillings based on ricotta or semolina. It is visually very different from a crescent-shaped croissant.
Italian pastry with many thin crisp layers surrounding a sweet filling
Example: The sfogliatella had a crisp shell with dozens of visible pastry layers.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Sfogliatella🇫🇷 French: Sfogliatella
🇩🇪 German: Sfogliatella
🇮🇹 Italian: Sfogliatella
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Sfogliatella
💡 Nuance: The pastry is famous for its shell-like layered appearance and may contain fillings based on ricotta or semolina. It is visually very different from a crescent-shaped croissant.
🇮🇹 Cannoli
fried crisp pastry tubes filled with sweetened ricotta
Example: The baker filled the cannoli with sweet ricotta just before serving.
🇫🇷 French: Cannoli
🇩🇪 German: Cannoli
🇮🇹 Italian: Cannoli
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Cannoli
💡 Nuance: Cannoli shells are fried, not baked like choux pastry. Filling them close to serving time helps keep the shell crisp instead of becoming soggy.
fried crisp pastry tubes filled with sweetened ricotta
Example: The baker filled the cannoli with sweet ricotta just before serving.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Cannoli🇫🇷 French: Cannoli
🇩🇪 German: Cannoli
🇮🇹 Italian: Cannoli
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Cannoli
💡 Nuance: Cannoli shells are fried, not baked like choux pastry. Filling them close to serving time helps keep the shell crisp instead of becoming soggy.
🥧 Tarts, Galettes & Pockets
🍓 Fruit Tart
pastry shell filled with custard or cream and decorated with fruit
Example: The fruit tart was topped with strawberries, kiwi, and blueberries.
🇫🇷 French: Tarte aux fruits
🇩🇪 German: Obsttorte
🇮🇹 Italian: Crostata di frutta
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Tarte de fruta
💡 Nuance: A tart is usually baked or assembled in a defined shell or tin. A galette has a more free-form shape, while a turnover encloses its filling inside folded pastry.
pastry shell filled with custard or cream and decorated with fruit
Example: The fruit tart was topped with strawberries, kiwi, and blueberries.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Tarta de fruta🇫🇷 French: Tarte aux fruits
🇩🇪 German: Obsttorte
🇮🇹 Italian: Crostata di frutta
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Tarte de fruta
💡 Nuance: A tart is usually baked or assembled in a defined shell or tin. A galette has a more free-form shape, while a turnover encloses its filling inside folded pastry.
🍋 Lemon Tart
crisp pastry shell filled with smooth lemon custard or lemon curd
Example: The lemon tart had a sharp citrus filling and a crisp pastry shell.
🇫🇷 French: Tarte au citron
🇩🇪 German: Zitronentarte
🇮🇹 Italian: Crostata al limone
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Tarte de limão
💡 Nuance: The lemon filling is the defining feature. This is different from pastéis de nata, which are small custard tarts in flaky shells.
crisp pastry shell filled with smooth lemon custard or lemon curd
Example: The lemon tart had a sharp citrus filling and a crisp pastry shell.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Tarta de limón🇫🇷 French: Tarte au citron
🇩🇪 German: Zitronentarte
🇮🇹 Italian: Crostata al limone
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Tarte de limão
💡 Nuance: The lemon filling is the defining feature. This is different from pastéis de nata, which are small custard tarts in flaky shells.
🇬🇧 Bakewell Tart
British tart with pastry, a layer of jam, and an almond filling
Example: The Bakewell tart had raspberry jam underneath the almond filling.
🇫🇷 French: Tarte Bakewell
🇩🇪 German: Bakewell-Tarte
🇮🇹 Italian: Crostata Bakewell
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Tarte Bakewell
💡 Nuance: A useful memory pattern is jam underneath almond filling. A plain frangipane tart may contain almond cream without the characteristic jam layer.
British tart with pastry, a layer of jam, and an almond filling
Example: The Bakewell tart had raspberry jam underneath the almond filling.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Tarta Bakewell🇫🇷 French: Tarte Bakewell
🇩🇪 German: Bakewell-Tarte
🇮🇹 Italian: Crostata Bakewell
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Tarte Bakewell
💡 Nuance: A useful memory pattern is jam underneath almond filling. A plain frangipane tart may contain almond cream without the characteristic jam layer.
🇦🇹 Linzer Tart
Austrian nut-based pastry filled with fruit preserves and often topped with a lattice
Example: The red jam showed clearly through the lattice on the Linzer tart.
🇫🇷 French: Tarte Linzer
🇩🇪 German: Linzertorte
🇮🇹 Italian: Torta Linzer
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Tarte Linzer
💡 Nuance: A lattice is a crisscross pattern of pastry strips. Linzer cookies use the same nut-and-jam idea in a smaller sandwich-cookie form.
Austrian nut-based pastry filled with fruit preserves and often topped with a lattice
Example: The red jam showed clearly through the lattice on the Linzer tart.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Tarta Linzer🇫🇷 French: Tarte Linzer
🇩🇪 German: Linzertorte
🇮🇹 Italian: Torta Linzer
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Tarte Linzer
💡 Nuance: A lattice is a crisscross pattern of pastry strips. Linzer cookies use the same nut-and-jam idea in a smaller sandwich-cookie form.
🌰 Frangipane Tart
tart filled with sweet almond cream
Example: The pear frangipane tart combined soft fruit with a rich almond filling.
🇫🇷 French: Tarte à la frangipane
🇩🇪 German: Frangipane-Tarte
🇮🇹 Italian: Crostata alla frangipane
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Tarte de frangipane
💡 Nuance: Frangipane names the almond filling. The same type of filling may also appear inside an almond croissant.
tart filled with sweet almond cream
Example: The pear frangipane tart combined soft fruit with a rich almond filling.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Tarta de frangipane🇫🇷 French: Tarte à la frangipane
🇩🇪 German: Frangipane-Tarte
🇮🇹 Italian: Crostata alla frangipane
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Tarte de frangipane
💡 Nuance: Frangipane names the almond filling. The same type of filling may also appear inside an almond croissant.
🇵🇹 Pastéis de Nata
Portuguese custard tarts baked in small flaky pastry shells
Example: The pastéis de nata had flaky shells and dark caramelized spots on the custard.
🇫🇷 French: Pastéis de nata
🇩🇪 German: Pastéis de Nata
🇮🇹 Italian: Pastéis de nata
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Pastéis de nata
💡 Nuance: Blistered or caramelized spots describe the browned marks that can form on the custard surface. Pastéis de Belém is associated with the famous Lisbon version.
Portuguese custard tarts baked in small flaky pastry shells
Example: The pastéis de nata had flaky shells and dark caramelized spots on the custard.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Pasteles de Belém / nata🇫🇷 French: Pastéis de nata
🇩🇪 German: Pastéis de Nata
🇮🇹 Italian: Pastéis de nata
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Pastéis de nata
💡 Nuance: Blistered or caramelized spots describe the browned marks that can form on the custard surface. Pastéis de Belém is associated with the famous Lisbon version.
🫓 Galette
free-form pastry made by folding the edges of dough around a filling
Example: She folded the rough edges of the galette over the peaches before baking it.
🇫🇷 French: Galette
🇩🇪 German: Galette
🇮🇹 Italian: Galette
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Galette
💡 Nuance: Free-form means the pastry is shaped by hand rather than fitted neatly into a tart pan. In other contexts, especially Brittany, galette can also refer to a buckwheat crêpe.
free-form pastry made by folding the edges of dough around a filling
Example: She folded the rough edges of the galette over the peaches before baking it.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Galette🇫🇷 French: Galette
🇩🇪 German: Galette
🇮🇹 Italian: Galette
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Galette
💡 Nuance: Free-form means the pastry is shaped by hand rather than fitted neatly into a tart pan. In other contexts, especially Brittany, galette can also refer to a buckwheat crêpe.
🔺 Turnover
pastry made by folding dough over a sweet or savory filling and sealing the edges
Example: The apple turnover had a flaky outside and warm fruit filling inside.
🇫🇷 French: Chausson
🇩🇪 German: Teigtasche
🇮🇹 Italian: Fagottino
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Folhado recheado
💡 Nuance: To seal the edges means pressing them together so the filling stays inside. In an American bakery, turnovers are especially associated with fruit fillings.
pastry made by folding dough over a sweet or savory filling and sealing the edges
Example: The apple turnover had a flaky outside and warm fruit filling inside.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Empanadilla dulce / turnover🇫🇷 French: Chausson
🇩🇪 German: Teigtasche
🇮🇹 Italian: Fagottino
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Folhado recheado
💡 Nuance: To seal the edges means pressing them together so the filling stays inside. In an American bakery, turnovers are especially associated with fruit fillings.
🥟 Empanada
folded filled pastry common in Spanish and Latin American cuisines
Example: The beef empanada was filled with seasoned meat and baked until golden.
🇫🇷 French: Empanada
🇩🇪 German: Empanada
🇮🇹 Italian: Empanada
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Empada / empanada
💡 Nuance: Empanadas can be baked or fried and may contain many different fillings. This lesson contrasts them with bakery turnovers, which are especially likely to be sweet in English-speaking cafés.
folded filled pastry common in Spanish and Latin American cuisines
Example: The beef empanada was filled with seasoned meat and baked until golden.
Show translations
🇪🇸 Spanish: Empanada🇫🇷 French: Empanada
🇩🇪 German: Empanada
🇮🇹 Italian: Empanada
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Empada / empanada
💡 Nuance: Empanadas can be baked or fried and may contain many different fillings. This lesson contrasts them with bakery turnovers, which are especially likely to be sweet in English-speaking cafés.
🧠 Useful Distinctions
🥐 Croissant vs. 📄 Puff Pastry vs. 🇩🇰 Danish vs. 🍯 Kouign-Amann
All involve laminated layers. Croissant uses yeasted laminated dough. Puff pastry usually has no yeast and is a dough rather than one finished pastry. Danish is sweeter and commonly filled. Kouign-amann has substantial sugar folded into the layers so the outside caramelizes.
All involve laminated layers. Croissant uses yeasted laminated dough. Puff pastry usually has no yeast and is a dough rather than one finished pastry. Danish is sweeter and commonly filled. Kouign-amann has substantial sugar folded into the layers so the outside caramelizes.
📜 Phyllo vs. 📄 Puff Pastry
Phyllo consists of extremely thin separate sheets brushed with butter or oil. Puff pastry creates layers by repeatedly folding butter inside a thicker piece of dough.
Phyllo consists of extremely thin separate sheets brushed with butter or oil. Puff pastry creates layers by repeatedly folding butter inside a thicker piece of dough.
💨 Choux vs. 🍫 Éclair vs. ☁️ Cream Puff vs. 🍨 Profiterole
Choux is the dough. An éclair is long and often iced. Cream puffs and profiteroles are round filled choux pastries, with the distinction often depending on size or serving style.
Choux is the dough. An éclair is long and often iced. Cream puffs and profiteroles are round filled choux pastries, with the distinction often depending on size or serving style.
📚 Mille-Feuille vs. 👑 Napoleon
Both names commonly describe layered puff pastry with cream or custard. Napoleon is a familiar English bakery term for a pastry closely related to mille-feuille.
Both names commonly describe layered puff pastry with cream or custard. Napoleon is a familiar English bakery term for a pastry closely related to mille-feuille.
🥧 Tart vs. 🫓 Galette
A traditional tart has a defined shell, usually shaped in a pan or tin. A galette is free-form, with the pastry edges folded around the filling by hand.
A traditional tart has a defined shell, usually shaped in a pan or tin. A galette is free-form, with the pastry edges folded around the filling by hand.
🇬🇧 Bakewell vs. 🇦🇹 Linzer vs. 🌰 Frangipane Tart
Bakewell tart has jam underneath almond filling. Linzer tart uses a nut-based pastry and usually has visible jam under a lattice. A frangipane tart is identified primarily by its sweet almond-cream filling.
Bakewell tart has jam underneath almond filling. Linzer tart uses a nut-based pastry and usually has visible jam under a lattice. A frangipane tart is identified primarily by its sweet almond-cream filling.
🔺 Turnover vs. 🥟 Empanada
Both are folded pastries containing filling. Turnover is a broad English bakery word and is especially associated with sweet fruit versions. Empanada refers to a family of filled pastries common in Spanish and Latin American cuisines.
Both are folded pastries containing filling. Turnover is a broad English bakery word and is especially associated with sweet fruit versions. Empanada refers to a family of filled pastries common in Spanish and Latin American cuisines.
💬 Everyday Pastry Phrases
🥐 Pain au chocolat uses the same dough family as a croissant, but it is folded around chocolate.
same dough family, different finished shape
🇫🇷 Le pain au chocolat utilise la même famille de pâte que le croissant, mais il est plié autour du chocolat.
🇩🇪 Pain au chocolat verwendet dieselbe Teigfamilie wie ein Croissant, wird aber um Schokolade gefaltet.
🇮🇹 Il pain au chocolat usa la stessa famiglia di impasto del croissant, ma viene piegato intorno al cioccolato.
🇵🇹 O pain au chocolat usa a mesma família de massa do croissant, mas é dobrado em volta do chocolate.
same dough family, different finished shape
Show translations
🇪🇸 El pain au chocolat usa la misma familia de masa que un croissant, pero se pliega alrededor del chocolate.🇫🇷 Le pain au chocolat utilise la même famille de pâte que le croissant, mais il est plié autour du chocolat.
🇩🇪 Pain au chocolat verwendet dieselbe Teigfamilie wie ein Croissant, wird aber um Schokolade gefaltet.
🇮🇹 Il pain au chocolat usa la stessa famiglia di impasto del croissant, ma viene piegato intorno al cioccolato.
🇵🇹 O pain au chocolat usa a mesma família de massa do croissant, mas é dobrado em volta do chocolate.
💨 Choux is the dough; an éclair is one pastry made from that dough.
dough family vs. finished pastry
🇫🇷 Le choux est la pâte ; un éclair est une pâtisserie faite avec cette pâte.
🇩🇪 Choux ist der Teig; ein Éclair ist ein Gebäck, das aus diesem Teig gemacht wird.
🇮🇹 Lo choux è l’impasto; un éclair è un dolce fatto con quell’impasto.
🇵🇹 Choux é a massa; um éclair é um doce feito com essa massa.
dough family vs. finished pastry
Show translations
🇪🇸 Choux es la masa; un éclair es un pastel hecho con esa masa.🇫🇷 Le choux est la pâte ; un éclair est une pâtisserie faite avec cette pâte.
🇩🇪 Choux ist der Teig; ein Éclair ist ein Gebäck, das aus diesem Teig gemacht wird.
🇮🇹 Lo choux è l’impasto; un éclair è un dolce fatto con quell’impasto.
🇵🇹 Choux é a massa; um éclair é um doce feito com essa massa.
📜 Baklava uses phyllo, while mille-feuille uses puff pastry.
two different ways of creating pastry layers
🇫🇷 Le baklava utilise de la pâte filo, tandis que le mille-feuille utilise de la pâte feuilletée.
🇩🇪 Baklava verwendet Filoteig, während Millefeuille Blätterteig verwendet.
🇮🇹 Il baklava usa pasta fillo, mentre il millefoglie usa pasta sfoglia.
🇵🇹 O baklava usa massa filo, enquanto o mil-folhas usa massa folhada.
two different ways of creating pastry layers
Show translations
🇪🇸 El baklava usa masa filo, mientras que el milhojas usa hojaldre.🇫🇷 Le baklava utilise de la pâte filo, tandis que le mille-feuille utilise de la pâte feuilletée.
🇩🇪 Baklava verwendet Filoteig, während Millefeuille Blätterteig verwendet.
🇮🇹 Il baklava usa pasta fillo, mentre il millefoglie usa pasta sfoglia.
🇵🇹 O baklava usa massa filo, enquanto o mil-folhas usa massa folhada.
🇵🇹 Pastéis de nata are small custard tarts with flaky pastry shells.
recognizing a Portuguese bakery classic
🇫🇷 Les pastéis de nata sont de petites tartelettes à la crème dans une pâte feuilletée.
🇩🇪 Pastéis de nata sind kleine Puddingtörtchen mit blättrigen Teigschalen.
🇮🇹 I pastéis de nata sono piccole tortine alla crema con gusci di pasta sfoglia.
🇵🇹 Os pastéis de nata são pequenas tartes de creme com massa folhada.
recognizing a Portuguese bakery classic
Show translations
🇪🇸 Los pastéis de nata son pequeñas tartas de crema con conchas de hojaldre.🇫🇷 Les pastéis de nata sont de petites tartelettes à la crème dans une pâte feuilletée.
🇩🇪 Pastéis de nata sind kleine Puddingtörtchen mit blättrigen Teigschalen.
🇮🇹 I pastéis de nata sono piccole tortine alla crema con gusci di pasta sfoglia.
🇵🇹 Os pastéis de nata são pequenas tartes de creme com massa folhada.
🏆 Final Practice
English in the Real World:
Imagine you are reading a bakery label, choosing a pastry, or following a recipe. Choose the pastry word that best fits each situation.
Imagine you are reading a bakery label, choosing a pastry, or following a recipe. Choose the pastry word that best fits each situation.
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