Tarta de Santiago

Flawless, flourless

What is it? #

This is a traditional flourless cake(1) (1)It is a gluten free cake… But it has a lot of sugar: think twice before eating it whole in one sitting. recipe from Santiago de Compostela, named after St. James (Santiago in Spanish). It is easy to get great results on the first try, and with the proper decoration it makes a great impresion.

Ingredients #

The amounts can be changed as long as from the total weight of the cake 33% is almonds, 33% sugar, and 25% eggs.

• 250g (9oz) raw almonds
• 250g (9oz) sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 lemon zest
• confectionery sugar for the top

Some people add a bit of digestive alcohol to the mix. Since ‘Orujo’ is hard to come by outside of Galicia, I would recommend to wait to taste the cake as it is, before adding a splash of local creativity and flavor.

Preparation #

0. Preheat the oven, 180C (356 F)
1. Crush de almonds. Some people do half thinly crushed, half chunky
2. Mix the wet ingredients together (eggs, sugar)
3. Add the cinnamon and the lemon zest
4. Add the crushed almond to the mix
5. Pour the batter into a pre-greased mold
6. Bake for 30 min at 180C (356 F). To make sure it is ready, poke the center with a toothpick: it is ready if it comes out clean.

Decoration #

Cruz de Santiago. or St.James Cross. Use this as a template. Your first option is to simply unmold the cake and use a thin colander, or a sieve to dust the top with confectionery sugar. For an authentic result, print or draw a St. James Cross a piece of paper and cut to use it as a template. Put it on top of the cake and proceed to dust with confectionery sugar. Remove the template slowly, and you should end up with a handsome cake.