Tarta de Santiago

Cook it at home: Tarta de Santiago

No flour, no butter: just almonds, eggs, sugar, lemon and cinnamon. Grind the almonds yourself if you can for a moister crumb. The cross is a stencil of Saint James's sword-cross.

Pans and tools

• 9-inch springform pan
• Large bowl and whisk
• Fine sieve
• Paper and scissors for the stencil

You’ll need

• 2 1/2 cups (250 g) finely ground blanched almonds (almond flour)
• 1 1/4 cups (250 g) sugar
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp brandy or orujo (optional)
• Butter, for the pan
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 350F (180C). Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan and line the bottom with parchment.
2. Print or draw the Cross of Saint James on paper about 4 inches (10 cm) tall and cut it out as a stencil.
3. Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large bowl by hand for 2 to 3 minutes, until foamy and pale, but not whipped stiff.
4. Add the almonds, lemon zest, cinnamon, salt and brandy, and stir until evenly combined; the batter will be thick and wet.
5. Pour into the pan and smooth the top.
6. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown, firm in the center, and a skewer comes out with moist crumbs. Cover loosely with foil after 25 minutes if it browns too quickly.
7. Cool in the pan 15 minutes, then release and cool completely on a rack.
8. Place the stencil in the center of the cake, sift powdered sugar evenly over the top, and lift the stencil off carefully.

Contains: Tree nuts, egg.