Traditional Spanish Dishes
Discover how to prepare Tarta De Santiago, a typical Spanish recipe
Traditional Tarta de Santiago, with a tender and moist almond crumb, aromas of lemon and cinnamon, and the characteristic cross of Santiago covered in powdered sugar.
This classic Galician dessert is made with ground almonds, sugar, and eggs, without wheat flour in the dough. Its golden surface and traditional decoration make it an emblematic dessert of Spanish pastry.
01
Ingredients
Have everything ready before you begin.
- ✓250 g of ground almonds
- ✓250 g of sugar
- ✓5 medium eggs
- ✓The fine zest of 1 lemon
- ✓1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- ✓15 g of butter to grease the mold
- ✓1 tablespoon of wheat flour to dust the mold
- ✓30 g of powdered sugar to decorate
02
Step-by-step method
- 01
Preheat the oven
Heat the oven to 170 °C, with heat up and down and without a fan.
- 02
Prepare the mold
Use a round mold of about 22 cm in diameter. Grease it with butter and dust it with flour, covering the base and walls; remove excess.
- 03
Beat eggs and sugar
Place the eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Beat with rods for a few minutes, until the mixture clears and becomes slightly foamy.
- 04
Add aromatics
Incorporate the fine zest of lemon and ground cinnamon. Grate only the yellow part of the lemon peel to avoid bitter flavors.
- 05
Incorporate almonds
Add the ground almonds gradually and mix gently with a spatula or with the rods at low speed, until a thick and homogeneous dough is obtained.
- 06
Pour and smooth
Pour the mixture into the prepared mold and smooth the surface. Give the mold a small tap on the counter to eliminate large bubbles.
- 07
Bake the cake
Bake for 35-45 minutes. The surface should be golden and, when pierced in the center with a stick, it should come out clean or with some moist crumbs.
- 08
Check cooking
If the surface browns too quickly, cover it gently with aluminum foil during the last minutes. Do not open the oven during the first 30 minutes.
- 09
Rest in the mold
Remove the cake from the oven and let it rest in the mold for about 10 minutes.
- 10
Unmold and cool
Pass a thin knife through the edge, unmold the cake carefully onto a rack, and let it cool completely.
- 11
Place the template
Put a clean template with the shape of the cross of Santiago in the center of the cooled cake.
- 12
Sprinkle powdered sugar
Cover the entire surface with powdered sugar using a fine strainer.
- 13
Reveal the cross
Remove the template vertically, without dragging it, to reveal the contrast between the golden cross and the powdered sugar.
- 14
Cut and serve
Cut the cake into triangular portions. You can accompany it with coffee, an infusion, or a small glass of sweet liqueur.
- Cinnamon can be omitted according to family tradition without altering the structure of the cake.
- The cake should be golden on the outside and slightly moist on the inside; it's not necessary for the stick to come out completely dry.
- Let it cool completely before unmolding, decorating, and cutting.
- For a strictly gluten-free version, replace the flour in the mold with ground almonds or use parchment paper on the base and butter on the walls.
- Keep the cake completely cool in an airtight container at room temperature for one or two days. If you refrigerate it, let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
- The texture and aromas usually improve after a few hours of rest.