Of bread, cake, etc.: having an airy or spongy consistency, esp. as a result of being properly risen.

Of edible substances: Friable, easily crumbled. of crust, pastry, etc. Cf. shortbread, n., shortcake, n., short crust, n.

Of material objects. Of pastry, dough, etc.: that has failed to rise, heavy. Now chiefly regional.

Of bread, dough, etc.: fully or properly risen.

Of bread, pastry, etc.: that has not properly ‘risen’, and is consequently dense and compact.

spec. Of pastry: consisting when baked of thin delicate flakes or layers.

A baked sweet of Austrian origin, made of very thin layers of pastry with a filling, usually of fruit. Also used attributively to denote the kind…