Torta de Santiago (Saint James' cake)

 

This delicious almond cake is named in honor of Santiago (St. James), the patron saint of Spain. His remains are buried in the city of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia. During the Middle Ages, the pilgrimage to Santiago was the most important pilgrimage of the Christian world. Today, many people still make the trip to Santiago not just for religious reasons, but as a cultural, historical or active vacation. The cake’s origin is not certain, but it may have been brought to Galicia by a pilgrim. Today, this cake is sold all over Santiago de Compostela and is popular with tourists and pilgrims.

 

Ingredients

• 1/4 kg blanched whole almonds
• 6 large eggs (separated)
• 1 1/4 cups superfine sugar
• Grated zest of 1 orange
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 4 drops almond extract
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting



 

Instructions

1. Finely grind the almonds.
2. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar to a smooth pale cream. Beat in the zests and almond extract. Add the almonds and mix.
3. Beat the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold them into the egg and almond mixture (the mixture is thick, so you will need to turn it over into the egg whites).
4. Grease an 30-cm springform pan with butter and dust it with flour. Pour in the cake batter, and bake into a preheated 170 degrees celsius for 40 minutes (until it feels firm to the touch). Let cool before turning out.
5. Before serving, cut a St. James cross out of paper. Place it in the middle of the cake, and dust the cake with confectioners' sugar, then remove the paper.

 



Notes

Stencil the top of the cake using the traditional cross symbol of Saint James.