Tarta de Santiago is a traditional Spanish dessert that originated in the Galicia region. It is a star-shaped almond cake, which is usually decorated with a sugar cross.
Santiago cake is a simple and delicious dessert that can be prepared at home. The main ingredients are almonds, sugar, eggs and flour.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups ground almonds
- 1 cup of sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 egg white, beaten to decorate
- Powdered sugar to decorate
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- In a large bowl, mix together the ground almonds, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, salt and almond extract.
- Pour the mixture into a greased and floured 23cm cake tin.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool completely.
- Decorate the cake with a cross of icing sugar and a beaten egg white.
Tips:
- For the best result, use good quality ground almonds.
- Don't beat the eggs too much, or the cake will become dense.
- Do not open the oven during baking, or the cake will deflate.
Culinary terms explained:
- Grind: Grind the almonds until they are fine.
- Flour: Sprinkle flour on a cake pan to prevent the cake from sticking.
- Bake: Cook in an oven.
- Decorate: Garnish the cake.
Variants:
- You can add 1/2 cup of raisins or dried fruits to the mixture.
- You can decorate the cake with icing sugar or melted chocolate.