About the bake
Originating from Galicia in North-Western Spain during the time of medieval pilgrimage, this tart is traditionally decorated with the St James cross. With its wonderfully moist almond and citrus flavours, this torte makes a perfect dessert or partner to an afternoon café con leche (milky coffee). This recipe was taken from World's best cakes by Roger Pizey, published by Jacqui Small.
Method
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 170°C (fan 150°C, gas mark 3) and grease an 28cm (11in) springform cake tin.
Step 2:
Cream 180g (6½oz) of the sugar, zests and egg yolks together until light and fluffy. Next, stir in the ground almonds, almond extract and the cinnamon.
Step 3:
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs whites with the remaining sugar until stiff. Add about one-quarter of the egg whites into the thick almond mixture and beat. Add a further quarter and repeat. Add the remaining egg white mixture and fold in until fully combined.
Step 4:
Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in a preheated oven for 40 minutes.
Step 5:
Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin and then turn out onto a wire rack.
Step 6:
To follow the time-honoured tradition of decoration, find the shape of the St James cross using the internet and print it out. Cut out the middle of the cross to use as a stencil.
Step 7:
Once the cake is cooled, dust the cake with icing sugar and serve straightaway
Ingredients
- 260g Almonds (ground)
- 255g Billington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar
- 1 Orange(s) (zest only)
- 1 Lemon (zest only)
- 6 Egg(s) (free range) (separated)
- 0.5 tsp Almond extract
- 0.5 tsp Cinnamon
- Icing sugar (to dust)
Utensils
- 28cm
- 11in cake tin
Recipe Reviews
Love love love, was forced to make it for my Spanish assignment but would definitely recommend
This is my new favourite! I would reduce the sugar a bit though as I don’t think it needs as much as the recipe states. It freezes well too!
I made this Tarta for a group of friends who have hiked the Camino Frances many times. It was easy to make and fabulous to eat! I’m making it again for Christmas dessert following a Navarro paella recipe. COVID might have thwarted hiking the el Camino this year, but tonight we dine in Spain!
Sublime. Elegant. Easy to make. Rich flavor without redundancy. Super plus for entertainment! Thank you.
Can I use almond flour instead of ground almonds
Typically, almond flour and ground almonds can be used interchangeably
Hello - did you use almond meal ? Or did you simply process natural almonds (unbalanced)
We used ground almond for this recipe. It is possible to make your own ground almonds if you prefer this to a shop bought ingredient
Ingredients
- 260g Almonds (ground)
- 255g Billington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar
- 1 Orange(s) (zest only)
- 1 Lemon (zest only)
- 6 Egg(s) (free range) (separated)
- 0.5 tsp Almond extract
- 0.5 tsp Cinnamon
- Icing sugar (to dust)
Utensils
- 28cm
- 11in cake tin