Day 4 - Tarta de Santiago

Last night I tried the most wonderful dessert, Tarta de Santiago. Tarta is the Galego word for torta or, in English, cake. But this is not your standard cake. This is a cake whose ingredients consist of almonds, eggs and sugar. Different recipes add a little cinnamon or lemon zest or even a bit of flour. But all contain the first three ingredients and apparently in "equal parts." I'm not exactly sure how to get equal parts egg and almond... but one recipe I found listed 5 XL eggs with 250g (approximately half a pound) of sugar and ground almonds. Hey, I didn't say it was healthy, just delicious! The finished cake is sprinkled in powdered sugar.

The first reference to this particular almond cake in Santiago was around 1577 and the first written recipe is dated 1838. It has gained fame over time with increased travel on the Camino de Santiago and is now served not only in Santiago de Compostela but all along the Camino and even in other areas of Spain, especially in July around St. James Day.

If you are ever in a Spanish restaurant and you see this item on the menu I highly recommend trying it, you won't be disappointed! I am going to have to see about converting the measurements and cooking temperatures to cups and farenheit so that I can make this when I get back to the states! In the meantime, I will just have to keep enjoying it while I'm here... I just ordered one... I'll take a picture and post it for you all to see.

If you feel up to the challenge, there are many online versions of the recipe I found during my research. Just google "recipe tarta de santiago" and you'll find plenty of options. I recommend one with little to no flour as the moist versions are even tastier!