St. James' Cake Torta de Santiago or, as is known in Spanish, Tarta de Santiago, is one of the best known Galician delicacies. It's sold at bakeries throughout the region. This simple, if expensive, cake might date to the 16the century, but only became popular in the 19th. It received it's current name in 1924, when a Galician bakery decided to decorate these almond cakes with the Cross of St. James.
The recipe for this cake is pretty straight forward, though there are some variations. Some recipes have you toast the ground almonds to enhance their flavor. Some have you include half a shot of your favorite liqueur. This one is just quick and easy.
The cake turned out amazing flavor wise. It was just delicious and I couldn't stop eating it. But I had problems unmolding it, even though I heavily buttered the pan, and it broke a bit. Most recipes recommend that you use a tart pan with a removable bottom, but I didn't have one so I used my regular tart pan. The cake also turned out a little bit too soft, next time I think I'd add an extra egg and cook it for 30 to 35 minutes.
You can decorate the cake however you want. If you want to use the cross of St. James, there are plenty of stencils online. Just print them, cut them out, then place the cross in the center of the cake and sprinkle powdered sugar around it. Be careful when taking the stencil out. Of course, you can use whatever stencil you want.
Adapted from a recipe at Lolita la pastelera. |
