What does “babapiskóta” mean in Hungarian?

Babapiskóta are the light, egg-based sponge fingers used to line tiramisu and trifles — literally “baby sponge cake” in Hungarian, from baba (“baby”) and piskóta (“sponge cake”). The name comes from their original job: a soft, easy-to-gum biscuit made for babies starting solid food, long before anyone thought to dunk them in coffee for dessert.

They’re Hungary’s answer to Italian savoiardi, and this recipe leans on the same trick: dip babapiskóta in sweet coffee, layer with a pistachio-mascarpone cream, and let the biscuit soften into the dessert overnight. Neighboring languages borrowed the same root for their own versions of the biscuit — Czech piškoty, Slovak piškóty.