Spanish Almond Cake Recipe- Tarta De Santiago

Sharing is caring!

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Spanish Almond Cake Recipe- Tarta de Santiago– A traditional Spanish dessert that requires little effort to make, it is delicious and also gluten-free.

If you love almonds, this recipe is for you. The recipe is suitable for holidays, dinners in the family, or any other events when an easy dessert is required.

Spanish Almond tart- Tarta de Santiago

This cake is a classic traditional Spanish dessert created a long, long time ago. The first documents about this recipe are dated 1577.  

It originated in Galicia, but other regions of Spain adopted the recipe and created their own version of it. 

Traditionally, the cake is marked with the cross of the Knights of Santiago and makes a perfect dessert for the holidays.

The almond tart recipe is also gluten-free for those of you who follow a gluten-free diet. In 1577, people did not think about gluten-free recipes, but they did think about a way to use ingredients they had available.

Spain is known for using almonds in many of its recipes, and this one is no different. Why not, as they are one of the biggest producers of almonds in the world.

The original recipe requires raw Marcona almonds, but if you do not have that type of almond, any almonds will do.

The cake is dense because, in the traditional recipe, the ingredients are mixed without whipping the egg whites or adding baking powder for aerating the batter.

In some recipes I saw, the egg whites are beaten and then added to the batter, but I personally do not recommend it if you want to make it truly authentic.

It is a beautiful dessert and it needs to be tried at least once.

When we were visiting Madrid a year ago, our daughter took us to lunch one day and ordered Tarta de Santiago for us.

We had to take a picture of it. But before that, we had to take a picture of the lovely meal we had.

A seafood soup that was delicious…

Pork tenderloin with mashed potatoes and a little salad…light and simple…

And Tarta de Santiago, the one that we are going to make today.

Do you see how dense the cake is? Let’s see how it is made!

How to make Spanish Almond Cake Recipe- Tarta De Santiago

Step One.

Start by gathering the ingredients together. Eggs, sugar, almond liqueur (or almond flavor), cinnamon, almond flour, and lemon.

Step two.

Place the eggs in a bowl and beat them well.

Step three:

Add the lemon peel, cinnamon, and almond liqueur.

Add the sugar. Beat the eggs and the sugar together until frothy.

Step four:

Add the almond flour and incorporate it into the mixture.

Note about the ground almonds: I suggest you look for almond flour made from skinless blanched almonds.

How to remove the skin of the almonds before grinding them:

You need to buy whole raw almonds(not roasted or salted) and soak them in hot water for 5 minutes.

The brown skin will slide off the almonds very easily. Place the almonds on a clean kitchen towel and remove the moisture, then put them in the food processor and grind them. Now they are ready to be used.

Finally, pour the batter into the buttered pan and bake it at 350F for about 35 minutes.

Remove it from the pan carefully and place it on a serving platter.

Dust it with powder sugar and serve.

DELICIOUS!

The recipe is incredibly simple, and you will be pleased with the results. Also, the cake is not tall, and it looks more like an elegant tart. Enjoy!

PIN THIS FOR LATER: