Torta de Santiago (in Galician) or Tarta de Santiago (in Spanish), literally meaning ''cake of St. James'', is an

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

cake Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, ...

pie A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), swe ...

from Galicia with origin in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and the

Camino de Santiago The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint ...

. The filling principally consists of ground almonds, eggs, and sugar, with additional flavouring of

lemon zest Zest is a food ingredient that is prepared by scraping or cutting from the rind of unwaxed citrus fruits such as lemon, orange, citron, and lime. Zest is used to add flavor to foods. In terms of fruit anatomy, the zest is obtained from the fl ...

, sweet wine, brandy, or

grape marc Pomace ( ), or marc (; from French ''marc'' ), is the solid remains of grapes, olives, or other fruit after pressing for juice or oil. It contains the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems of the fruit. Grape pomace has traditionally been used to p ...

, depending on the recipe used.

Background

The Galician for cake is tarta whilst it is often referred to torta, which is the Spanish word for it. It is a round shape and can be made with or without a base which can be either

puff pastry Puff pastry, also known as ', is a flaky light pastry made from a laminated dough composed of dough (') and butter or other solid fat ('). The butter is put inside the dough (or vice versa), making a ' that is repeatedly folded and rolled out befo ...

shortcrust pastry Shortcrust pastry is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart, quiche, pie, or (in the British English sense) flan. Shortcrust pastry can be used to make both sweet and savory pies such as apple pie, quiche, lemon meringue or chicken ...

. The top of the pie is decorated with

powdered sugar Powdered sugar, also called confectioners' sugar, or icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains between 2% and 5% of an anti-caking agent – such as corn starch, po ...

, masked by a silhouette of the

Cross of Saint James The Cross of Saint James, also known as the Santiago cross, ''cruz espada,'' or Saint James' Cross, is a heraldic badge that is cruciform in design. The cross, shaped as a cross fitchy, combines with either a cross fleury or a cross moline. Its ...

(''cruz de Santiago'') which gives the pastry its name. The origin of the cross being decorated on the cake dates to 1924 when the "Casa Mora" began to adorn the almond cakes with the silhouette. In May 2010, the EU gave Tarta de Santiago '' PGI'' status within Europe. To qualify, the cake must be made in the Autonomous Community of Galicia and contain at least 33% almonds, excluding the base.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarta De Santiago Cakes Galician cuisine Sweet pies Almond dishes Spanish products with protected designation of origin Santiago de Compostela Spanish cuisine Spanish desserts

Background

See also

References

External links