Tarta de Santiago (Spanish almond cake)

May 11, 2020 by Caroline's Cooking

Tarta de Santiago is an almond cake from Spain that couldn't be easier to make. It's naturally gluten free, with a little brightness from lemon and lovely sweet, soft texture. Great for coffee time or dessert.

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tarta de Santiago almond cake from side with stencil to side of plate

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Many people who travel to Spain either just head to a beach town or if they go to a city, visit Barcelona or maybe Madrid. Don't get me wrong, I love all of those (I lived in Madrid a while and have seen my share of Spanish beaches).

However Spain has so many more sights, experiences and flavors to enjoy around the country.

tarta de Santiago cake from overhead showing stenciled St John's cross on top

A pilgrimage destination

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.

The most popular is the "Camino Frances" which, despite the name, mainly travels across Northern Spain. It starts just over the border in France (giving it the name) and, depending on your pace, will take 5 days or more to cover the minimum 100km to qualify for a certificate of completion (though the full route from the border is 790km).

I have memories of being in Santiago de Compostela in the square in front of the cathedral and seeing groups of people arriving. You could very clearly tell who had traveled along the trail, not just because of the boots and packs on their backs, but the sheer joy and relief at the sight of the cathedral. They'd reached their destination.

And I have to say, the cathedral was one impressive sight, whether you'd hiked the trail or not. On my couple visits, it was one of the things that I really loved about the small town, along with the covered stone colonnades and delicious food.

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.

ground almonds, lemon zest and cinnamon in bowl

What are the origins of this 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.

eggs and sugar beaten together as base for cake

There are two main methods of bringing these ingredients together - some mix the dry ingredients then gradually add the eggs. Others beat the eggs and sugar together then mix in the dry ingredients.

I'm not sure how much it matters, but I like beating the egg and sugar first to get a bit of air in them to help lighten the cake. I think it helps get a nice slightly chewy crust on the top. Then you simply pour it into a prepared tin and bake.

See how it comes together in the short video!

It's that easy, my kids did the majority of the work in making this one time (and they did a good job devouring it once baked as well!).

tarta de Santiago cake in pan ready to bake

Some gluten free cakes can be a bit heavy in texture, but that's surprisingly not the case here. Particularly when there is no raising agent, it tastes unusually light. But I think that's partly it contains a good number of eggs which add a certain amount of "lift".

I'm sometimes tempted to reduce the level of sugar in baking, and often do, but I think this is one where you just go with the traditional proportions. It's relatively sweet, but I think you need the sweetness for the texture and flavor.

Can you make a larger cake?

If you have ever been in Santiago, you have probably seen these cakes in all sizes in the many bakeries and restaurants around the city. I have made this on the smaller size, as it fits our family, but you can certainly make this into a bigger cake if that suits better. I see no reason why you couldn't make it smaller as well.

Whatever size you make, just keep the same weight proportions and adjust cooking time for a larger or smaller cake. This cake is traditionally made relatively 'flat', so if you make it larger, make sure you also use a larger tin as far as possible.

cut out stencil plavced on top of cake ready to dust with powdered sugar

Traditionally, you dust the cooled cake with powdered sugar (icing sugar) with a stencil of a St James' cross on top. Then, when you take the stencil away, you are left with the cross shape. It's a very simple, effective decoration. I drew my own stencil using various images I found online, but one that you can download to try is this one.

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!

Try these other delicious cakes:

Austrian apricot cake (Marillenkuchen)
Sour cream mocha cake
Pear cake
French lemon yogurt cake
Plus get more dessert recipes and Spanish recipes in the archives.

I'd recommend an 8in non-stick springform pan for this for easy removal (affiliate link).

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store.

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