Tortina Original

Tortina Original by Loacker with hazelnut cream under milk chocolate

Tortina Original by Loacker is a round wafer pastry made of two crispy wafer layers, filled with hazelnut cream and coated all around in milk chocolate. Each piece weighs 21g and is individually wrapped, which is why the Loacker Tortina fits on every saucer and in every jacket pocket.

Tortina Original is a wafer specialty with hazelnut cream and milk chocolate from Loacker in South Tyrol. "Tortina" means "little cake" in Italian, and that is exactly how the piece is structured: round like a small cake, with a base, filling, and lid. Loacker considers it part of its fine patisserie and, in addition to the original, also offers a dark Tortina; here, you can get both individually, piece by piece.

First the chocolate snaps, then the cream melts

With the first bite, the chocolate shell breaks with a soft snap, and underneath, the two wafer layers give way with a crunch. The smooth hazelnut cream awaits in the middle, meaning three textures—snappy, crispy, and creamy—are layered in a single piece.

The milk chocolate tastes mild and creamy; Loacker uses fine cocoa from Ecuador for it. The cream underneath is nuttier than the delicate shell might suggest, as it consists of 27 percent hazelnuts. Real Bourbon vanilla from the pod ties both together, and because the little cake is so small, it finishes exactly at the moment you would like to have another.

Italian hazelnuts, fresh from their own roaster

For the Tortina cream, Loacker processes exclusively Italian hazelnuts, which are roasted in-house. This short distance has a good reason: a hazelnut loses its aroma quickly once it has been roasted and ground.

Those who roast themselves determine the timing and the degree of roasting. The fresher the nuts come from the roaster into the cream, the fuller and warmer the entire little cake tastes later. In the Tortina, this flavor is protected under the chocolate, which seals the piece all around and keeps the wafer layers crispy.

Loacker now grows a portion of its hazelnuts itself on its own plantations in Tuscany. In this way, the company accompanies its nuts from the shrub to the cream. You can taste this care in a pastry that consists of more than half hazelnut cream and wafer.

A little cake for saucer and jacket pocket

At 21g, the Loacker Tortina is sized to fit next to an espresso cup without replacing the dessert. It sits on the saucer when coffee is served after a meal. In the office, it waits in the desk drawer for the afternoon when lunch was too long ago.

Because each little cake is individually wrapped, a handful of them can be placed in a bowl on the table for game night or when guests stay overnight. If the Tortina Dark with dark chocolate lies next to it, everyone reaches for their preference, light or dark, and in the end, the bowl is empty.

The Tortina likes it cool and dry, which keeps the chocolate shiny and the wafer crisp. With a cup of espresso, such a little cake is gone in three or four bites. A short break often doesn't need more than that. You can find further wafers from Loacker on the manufacturer page, and other sweet pastries for coffee right next to it.