Bacalao and Apple Pie: Tarta de Santiago -- Flavorful, flourless cake

The summer of 2012 was marked by love, adventure, farewells, running, travel and Tarta de Santiago! The latter is the one I prefer to talk about in this blog post. I first heard about this cake in college when preparing a presentation on Galicia, a region of northwest Spain right above Portugal, but I did not try it until I went to a low budget birthday party where this cheaper cake was bought instead of a better quality one. I later ate it for breakfast along with coffee in some Spanish cafeterías a few times, but it was not until 2012 when I would experiment with this cake at home. I started running during that summer and was always craving sweets, so I decided to learn to make it. It turned out to be easy to make and I continued to make it often throughout the summer upon my flatmates' request.

To give you a bit of history about this cake, it is a cake that has its origins in 16th century Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain, according to the Spanish State Official Bulletin. This cake, tarta in Spanish, was first served to a visiting inspector at the University of Santiago de Compostela in 1577. Its original name was "torta real", royal cake, and later became known as "tarta de almendras" before finally taking its current name of Tarta de Santiago. In 2006 this cake received the distinction of becoming a "Protected Geographic Origin", meaning that certain bakeries in Galicia can sell the cake with this title as long as they use the proper ingredients.

As the official document states, the weight of the cake is to be distributed in the following manner: at least 33% quality ground almonds, at least 33% refined sugar, and at least 25% eggs. You can also add grated lemon peel, powdered sugar, sweet wine, brandy, or aguardiente. The recipe I have always used does not feature alcohol, and is completely celiac friendly as it does not contain gluten.

Almonds, or almendras in Spanish, are widely seen in Spanish deserts. I have eaten almonds in many ways unimaginable before coming to Spain. The Spanish Almond Board - Almendrave, the Spanish organization for exporters of almonds and hazelnuts, explains that Spain is the world's number 2 producer of almonds. The group states that almonds are high in fiber, vitamin E, and fatty acids; and they are good for fighting cardiac illnesses and osteoporosis. They are high in calories, but this means they give you energy!

My version of Tarta de Santiago is quite similar to the official version. The only thing I do different is that I add a bit of cinnamon to the mix. I have seen some interesting varieties floating around on the internet: chocolate, orange, walnut, hazelnut, and tons more. I recommend you to adapt your recipe if you are up for experimenting. I would sure like to try it in the future. Below I give you the base recipe which you will find quite simple. Have fun baking!

Equipment
Cake pan

Grater (or vegetable peeler and knife to chop)
Bowl
Whisk
Ingredients
5 eggs
250 grams (a bit more than a cup) sugar
250 grams (about 9 ounces) ground almonds
1 lemon
1 tsp of cinnamon
Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 175° Celsius (350° Fahrenheit). Grate only the yellow part of the peel of the lemon and reserve.

2. In a bowl mix the ground almonds, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon peel. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs. After whisking add the eggs to the dry mixture.

3. Grease the cake mold with butter or oil and pour in the mixture. Bake for 45 minutes.

4. While you are waiting for the cake to bake, draw or print out a Santiago cross (I don't have a printer so I drew it by hand). You can see an example at this website. When the cake finishes and cools, place the cross on top and powder it with sifted powdered sugar.