Torta de Santiago - An Easter Almond Cake

Torta de Santiago (cake of St. James) is named for Saint James, patron saint of Spain.  He was apparently a cousin of Jesus, who was beheaded by King Herod in Jerusalem.  His remains were then taken to Galicia, where he was buried in Santiago de Compostela.  Remember the Camino?  The walk of pilgrims, which can start in either France or Spain.  A couple of friends have done the Camino, and my cousin was going to do it this year, before Covid struck down her plans.  She's not a happy chappie that overseas travel is a thing of the past, at least for now.

Well, we can make this cake at least.  It's a delicious and very easy cake to bake, with simple flavours.  I think it may even be keto, if that's your fancy.  Beat up some eggs, add the almond meal and you're pretty much done.  I was surprised at how tasty and moist this cake ended up.  I gave some to our 90-year old neighbour (who loved it), and Mr P. has had his fair share.  It's a winner!  BTW, it's the Feast of St. James today, so maybe you'd better make this cake, my friends.  The stencilled sword of St. James on top is not essential, but it looks good.  (Sorry, my sword got stuck under the icing sugar, so it flicked it around and messed up my pointy bits.)   

the sword is slightly dusty but never mind :-)

Recipe from Willunga Almonds: Stories + Recipes by Helen Bennetts

Serves 8:


ingredients:

250g. (scant 9 oz) almond meal 

zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon

5 large eggs

220g. (scant 8 oz) caster sugar

4-5 drops almond extract

1 paper stencil of the sword of St. James - optional :-)

icing sugar for dusting the top



Method:


Turn your oven to 180C/350F

Grab a 22 cm./9 in cake tin, grease the base and sides, then tip some cornflour or plain flour all around the tin

Tip out the excess flour, and line the base with baking paper

Stir the zest into the almond meal

Into a medium mixing bowl go the eggs and the sugar; beat with electric beaters for 5-8 minutes:  you want it to go thick and pale and airy

Add the almond extract, then gently fold the almond meal into the egg mixture - don't go crazy here; just till it's nicely combined

Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 40 minutes, or till a skewer comes out clean

Let the cake (still in the tin) rest on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then gently tip it out and place back on the wire rack till completely cold

Now take the stencil that you have carefully cut out, place it in the middle of the cake and dust liberally with icing sugar

This will keep in an air-tight container for several days


Notes:


Freshly-ground almond meal is best, but don't stress if you use store-bought.  I used a mix of both (and I shoved some hazelnut meal in too).  I like to use almonds with the skin-on, but I don't think it's an issue really:-)

Just to be clear, when I say 'scant' in a measurement, I mean it's just a bit under.  For instance, 220 grams is actually 7.76 ounces, but that's plain silly, so I suggest being a bit mean with your 8 ounces rather than actually weighing out 7.76 ounces:-) 

It may take 10 minutes to get the eggs and sugar to the proper consistency; mine did!  The mixture tripled in size, which is perfect for a good result

prepare your 22 cm. tin

zest your fruit

start beating the eggs and sugar

and it starts to turn into this

fold the almond meal into the whipped-up egg and sugar mixture

ready for the oven

after baking, cool on the rack completely

place the paper stencil on top of the cake and dust liberally with icing sugar

look at that cute sword :-)

crumbly, nutty and a bit citrus-y = delish!

cut out your paper stencil of  St. James's sword

Mr P. printed out a copy of the sword from the Net for me, and I veeeerrrryy carefully cut it out.  I felt like I was five years old again!

nutty/eggy artwork © Sherry's Pickings