What Is Spanish Almond Cake?
Spanish almond cake or widely known as tarta de Santiago (St. James cake) is a traditional Galician cake. Galicia is an autonomous community in northwest Spain.
This cake doesn't have any type of flour in it, making it a great option for those who practise gluten-free diet.
The cake can either be with a base or not. The base can be a shortcut pastry or puff pastry.
It is typically dusted with icing sugar with an imprint of Santiago's (St. James) cross.
Today I'm sharing with you my take on this delicious traditional Spanish almond cake without the base.
Let's start.
What Makes It Special?
Simple Ingredients
What I find so special about this cake is the simplicity of its ingredients.
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The main ingredients for this cake are almond meal, eggs and sugar. Yep, extremely basic ingredients, which of course make this cake a super easy one to prepare.
Simple Ratio
Apart from only having 3 main ingredients, each ingredient is the same weight to the other. You can see it in my written recipe below.
Having that simple and basic guide (you know I don't like to be bound by rules in cooking), the easiest way to start building your Spanish almond cake is by determining the amount of eggs that you will use.
1 large egg = 50 g.
Meaning using 1 large egg will also need 50 g of almond meal and 50 g of sugar.
Simple!
Simple Unique Look
As I mentioned earlier, this cake is dusted with icing sugar with an imprint of Santiago's cross on its top surface.
You can also make an imprint of a scallop shell. Or with no imprint at all. Your choice.
My Spanish Almond Cake
For this recipe, I'm keeping it simple like the typical traditional recipes out there, using the same amount of the main ingredients.
Typically, only a bit of lemon zest is added, but I like to add a good amount of it, like in my lemon cake with almonds, together with some clementine zest.
I love baking with lemon, clementine, and orange zest during this time of year.
I'm also adding a bit of cinnamon powder and salt. I think a touch of salt is always amazing when a recipe uses quite amount of sugar, like in this case.
If you love almond cake, I would really recommend you to try this Spanish almond cake.
Before You Go
Do you want to see more nuts-related recipes? Perhaps you can check these out:
You can look for more recipes in my recipe page.
Video
📖 Recipe
Spanish Almond Cake
Ingredients
- 3 eggs , room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar (150 gr)
- 1 ½ cup almond meal (150 gr)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Zest of 1 lemon
- zest of 1 clementine
- icing sugar , for dusting on top
Instructions
- Add eggs and sugar into a bowl and whisk until the mixture turns pale.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, except for icing sugar and using a spatula, gently fold everything until well combine.
- Pour batter into a 7 inch (18 cm) springform pan that has been buttered and floured. Bake in a preheated oven at 360ºF (180ºC) for 40 minutes or until golden brown and fully cooked.
- Cool completely. Place the Santiago cross cut out on top and dust generous amount of icing sugar all over the cake. Carefully remove the cut out. Slice and serve, enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
The nutrition facts provided are an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Vivian says
Wwaw what a delecious cake, i made it today and was perfect😍😋
Bea says
Awesome Vivian! 😘
Julio Gonzalez says
Can I make it with almond flour? I can’t find almond meal...
Bea says
I've never used almond flour but since they're both the same, only difference is the texture, why not, right? 😀
Karen Fox says
I have made 2 Spanish Almond Cakes using the Milk Street recipe. The texture of the interior of the cake was more dense - that of a macaroon. Delicious, but only about 1" high. That recipe calls for almond flour.
When I saw your recipe & photo it looked more like a "cake" - light. Your recipe calls for almond meal.
I've ordered a 7" springform off of Amazon & will pick up the Almond Meal from TJ. I'll let you know how it turns out !
Could the difference in the flour make that much difference? Your thoughts please. Thank you!!
Bea says
Hi Karen! Almond flour and almond meal are similar, the only difference is the texture. One is finer than the other. For this one, I'm making the recipe the traditional way, with the same weight ratio for eggs, almond flour and sugar. Also remember to fold gently to keep the air in (making the cake light). Hope it helps and have fun! 😃
Karen Fox says
Hi Bea -Thanks so much for your prompt reply. I've gotten the almond meal, now I'm just waiting for my 7" springform
to arrive. I'm anxious to try your recipe, and will let you know how it turns out.
I do have one more question. What type of salt are you using? Table salt, kosher salt?
Bea says
No, there's nothing to be anxious about Karen 😄! Just follow the instructions and you're going to do great 👍. And I use Himalayan salt, hope it helps.
Andrea says
Have made this several times now. It's so perfect. I want to double it... actually it's in the oven right now. Wondering if you have any suggestions on bake time?
Gloria Arango says
Love your work! You use tangerine peel combined with lemon rind and a dash of salt just like my mom would have done! Your way brings a Master Piece! Thanks.
Bea says
Oh that's wonderful Gloria! Thank you so much for your support and comment! XOXO
Pan says
Amazing Protein Cake!
Bea says
Thank you Pan! I’m happy to know you liked it 👍
Linda Shannon says
This is a wonderful recipe! The first try was so delicious I made it again the next day to give to relatives.
Bea says
Yay 😊 so happy to know that Linda! Thanks for trying the recipe and your support!
Andrea Diacono says
Do you think honey could be substituted for the sugar?
Bea says
Hi Andrea, sorry I haven’t tried so I can’t say for sure. Let me know if you try!
Josua Gerasch says
Very nice recipe, my wife and I met on the El Camino de Santiago and always loved a good slice of tarta de Santiago!
Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Bea says
Oh that's so wonderful! Cheers to both of you and tarta de Santiago! 🙂 🙂
Gwen Arrand says
Delicious and oh so easy..x
Bea says
Right? Thanks for your feedback Gwen! XOXO
Paula says
Does anyone know what the conversion would be if using almond flour instead of almond meal?
Cat says
I’m pretty sure they are the same thing. Almond flour can be finely ground. The best price for. Almond flour is at Costco.
Carol abram says
I made this cake. It was good but darker than yours. What kind of almond meal do you use?
Trish Thompson says
Why are people praising this cake and yet not rating it???
Well I made it last weekend and it came out fabulous! I was surprise on how light it was. I thought it would be a dense cake for the almond meal. Very easy recipe with great result.
For that, thank you!
Bea says
Haha! Well thank you so much for your rating Trish 🙂 ! Yes, it's light isn't it? I'm happy to know that you liked it.
Chuck McCollom says
Almond cake sounds unusual and I would l8ke to try it, but I have never heard of almond meal. Is there a different name for it? We really enjoyed your chocolate peanut butter no bake cheese cake however at the get together there was nothing left for us to take home. It was really a hit.
Bea says
That's awesome Chuck, I'm happy to hear that you and the rest loved it 🙂 . Almond meal is simply ground almond with a coarse texture. Not to be mistaken with almond flour though. I hope you'll give this almond cake a try, let me know what you think. Thank you!
Emme says
Thank you soooo much for this recipe. I’m gluten intolerant, I’m definitely trying this recipe! 👍 so simple, I almost want start right now!
Bea says
You're welcome Emme! Yes it's super easy to make and only needs a few ingredients. Hope you'll like it as much as we do. Thank you!
Astrid Horward says
Absolutely delicious, Bea! I made it yesterday and was delighted with the outcome: the lightless and softness of the cake, the delicate citrussy flavour. And again you made things SO easy! It’s a cake that could be an excellent dessert too. Thank you! Another one to add to ‘My Favorites’ :))
Bea says
That's awesome! Happy to know that you loved it Astrid 🙂 Yes it's light and soft, even not having any leavening agent in it. We first tried it when we went to Galicia around 7 years ago and it was delicious. But as always, nothing beats fresh homemade ones. Thank you Astrid! 🙂
Astrid says
Am thinking of decorating the cake with a Christmas star instead and then adding it to our Christmas menu for this year. Its simplicity and sumptuousness (it really tastes even better the day after!) makes it a worthy competitor for Christmas desserts! But no doubt, you’ll be tempting me with other beautiful recipes before then... 😉
Bea says
That sounds wonderful Astrid! A perfect look for Christmas 🙂 And yes, you're right. It does taste better the next day. Since it's cold now, I left it covered on the kitchen top for several days before taking it to our family gathering. Tasted yum! 🙂