Torta is a culinary term that can, depending on the cuisine, refer to cakes, pies, flatbreads, sandwiches, or omelettes.

It could also mean a sandwich made from a bread called bolillo, with a filling of meat and vegetables, which can include beef, cochinita pibil, and many others.

In the southern Philippines, in the Visayas and Mindanao islands, torta is generally used to refer to small cakes.

It usually refers to mamón or torta mamón, a native porous sponge cake delicacy (traditionally made with lard and palm wine) that resembles a large cupcake with butter, sugar, and/or cheese on top, traditionally served with sikwate (a thick, hot drink made of ground roasted cacao seeds) for afternoon snack or merienda.

[1][2] In Hungarian, Polish, Slovak, Slovene, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Swedish, Italian, Macedonian and Bulgarian, it is a word for cake, typically made with layered sponge and cream, chocolate or fruit filling.

Historically, the difference between torta and bread was its round and flat shape, as well as the use of baking soda/powder as the proofing agent instead of yeast.

In the northern Philippines, particularly among Tagalog-speaking provinces and islands, torta refers to a class of omelettes made by mixing eggs with various ingredients.

There are many variations on Filipino tortas, such as: Tortilla de huevo is a small fried mixture of scrambled eggs, usually eaten sandwiched in bread.

[13] Some falsely believe that an Italian crust torta is a combination of layered cheeses and tomatoes to be spread onto bread.

[14] Torta in Portugal, Brazil and other Portuguese speaking countries refers to a moist cake or a pie which can be a sweet or savory dish.

The origin of the torta is unclear, but some claim it sprouted in Puebla due to Spanish-French interaction; others argue it was a late-arriving example of American influence.