Tarta de Santiago — the traditional Spanish cake with almonds and cinnamon

Tarta de Santiago is the most famous dessert of Galicia, the region in northwestern Spain, and bears the name of the apostle St James (Santiago), the patron saint of Spain. As Wikipedia reports, this traditional cake is prepared with ground almonds, eggs and sugar, with no flour — so it is naturally gluten-free — and is decorated with the Cross of St James drawn in icing sugar over its golden surface.

Ingredients (8 servings, 22–24 cm tin):
• 250 g ground almonds (almond flour)
• 5 large eggs
• 200 g sugar
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• A pinch of salt
• Icing sugar for decoration
• Butter for greasing the tin

Preparation steps:

1. Heat the oven to 180°C and butter a round 22–24 cm tin.
2. Beat the eggs with the sugar until the mixture becomes pale and creamy.
3. Add the grated lemon zest, cinnamon and a pinch of salt; mix well.
4. Add the ground almonds and fold in gently with a spatula until you have a smooth batter.
5. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 30–35 minutes, until the surface turns golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
6. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.
7. For the classic decoration: cut the shape of the Cross of St James out of paper, place it on the cake and dust with icing sugar; remove the paper carefully.

Preparation time: 15 minutes. Baking time: 30–35 minutes. Servings: 8.