The story
Tarta de Santiago is linked to Galicia and the pilgrimage city of Santiago de Compostela. Almond cakes were recorded in the region for centuries, and the modern powdered-sugar stencil of the Cross of Saint James became widespread in the twentieth century. The protected name now defines its essential almond-rich character. It is famous for being flourless or nearly flourless, with a moist, close crumb and a clear almond flavour lifted by lemon, orange or cinnamon. The dark cross left against the white sugar gives the cake an instantly recognisable appearance. The cake is sold along the Camino de Santiago and served in Galician homes, bakeries and restaurants. It connects pilgrimage culture with regional confectionery and works equally well as a simple dessert or a travel-friendly cake.
Ingredients
- Main
- 62.5 gram ground almonds250g ground almonds
- 62.5 gram sugar250g sugar
- 1.25 piece eggs5 eggs
- 0.5 piece Lemon zestLemon zest [Phase 1 metric normalisation: zest from half a lemon for serves 2]
- 1 portion Icing sugarIcing sugar
Method
Method
Beat eggs and sugar, fold in almonds and zest. Bake at 180°C for 30–35 minutes. Cool and dust with icing sugar over a Santiago cross stencil.
Nutrition
per serving
Estimated nutrition for Tarta de Santiago; use as editorial/testing data and refine from exact ingredient weights if needed.
