Tarta de Santiago

• 10 minutes to prepare • 50 minutes to cook • 12 Serves

Bo Camiño

 

Santiago de Compostela in the Northwest is probably best known as the end point of the Camino de Santiago.

It's a long trail, traditionally a pilgrimage, that is said to follow the path of St James leading to the cathedral that holds a shrine to him. To be more precise, it's more of a network of trails as you can come from a few directions.

 
A couple of weeks ago I embraced Camino Portogués which starts from Porto, in Portugal, and travels towards Northern Spain. We started in Valença just over the border in Portugal and - with a 9-kg of backpack -, it took us 6 days to cover 120 km (the minimum to qualify for a certificate of completion is 100km).

I have memories of finally being in Santiago de Compostela in the square in front of the cathedral. You could very clearly tell we had traveled along the trail, not just because of the boots and packs on our backs, but the sheer joy and relief at the sight of the cathedral.

True, food is a big part of most of Spain, but in Galicia, where Santiago is, seafood, stews and Padron peppers are on pretty much every menu. You'll also find a good number of bakeries selling savory pies and this traditional almond cake.

While it is named after St James (Santiago), the origins of this cake are unclear. Some stories say that it was brought as an offering be a pilgrim making the Camino and was then adopted. But then, since it is said to originate in the Middle Ages, who knows.
Either way, it uses some very typical ingredients for a Spanish dessert - eggs, sugar, almonds and lemon. Cinnamon is not in all versions, but for me it's always a good idea so I have included it.

Tarta de Santiago is a cake you'll find everywhere in its hometown, but its surprisingly unknown elsewhere. However for such an easy, delicious, and naturally gluten free cake that seems such a shame. Make sure you get to know it, and enjoy it often!

 

Here are ingredients for a 12-serving recipe (20-cm diameter baking pan):

5 eggs

250g sugar (caster sugar is better, if possible)

250g almond flour (or peeled almonds)

1 lemon zest

5g cinnamon

30g icing sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180°
2. Finely chop up the almonds, whether needed
3. Beat eggs with sugar until the mixture is puffy
4. Gradually incorporate almond flour. Mix well with an electric beater until smooth
5. Wash and grate the lemon zest
6. Incorporate zest and cinnamon powder to the mixture. Mix gently with a spoon
7. Grease and flour the baking pan, pour and level the mixture. Bake the cake at 180° for 30 minute. (Do not open the oven for at least the first half of the baking time and perform the toothpick test at the end, to be sure baking is done)
   
8. Leave the cake to cool a bit in the oven with the door open, then out of the oven. Garnish the top with some icing sugar, using a dedicated cross stencil if you like

Nutrition Facts are detailed in the table below. Data is provided per serving.