Tarta de Santiago

A sword-shaped cross is stenciled out of the white powdered sugar, letting the brown of the almond cake show through. Tarta de Santiago is a cake from Galicia in northwestern Spain, densely baked with nuts. The cross strongly ties the cake to the name of the pilgrimage site, but there is a gap between the old records of almond confections and the time when the emblem was added.

Almonds shipped by sea and old records of confections

Galicia has few almond trees, and in the past almonds were brought by sea from eastern Spain. Confections using costly nuts and sugar are associated with after-dinner hospitality in wealthy households.

An inquiry record from the University of Santiago dated 1577 contains testimony that “tortas reales” were served at a meal accompanying the conferral of a degree. The name differs from that of the present-day tarta, and it is unclear whether it was the same confection. The 2008 certification specification also introduces this old record.

A more concrete clue to how it was made is the confectionery notebook compiled around 1838 by Luis Bartolomé de Leybar. It contains a method for small baked almond confections that connects to the present-day tarta. Eduardo Merín’s 1893 cookbook includes a recipe (formulation and method) for “tarta de almendra” decorated with powdered sugar.

A hypothesis linking it to Jewish migration

In her 2011 book, food culture researcher Claudia Roden describes an experience of telling people involved in Galician tourism about the view that it was a confection of the Jewish Passover. As background, she points to Jews who fled the Almohads, who were forcing conversion, and moved from the south to Galicia in the 12th–13th centuries. Because no recipes for the cake from that time survive, the view that it was transmitted through Jewish migration remains a hypothesis.

The cross was added in the 20th century

The idea of putting the town’s emblem on the cake appeared much later. According to the account passed down among his descendants, José Mora Soto, founder of Casa Mora, placed the cross on it in 1924. The 2008 specification also records this story and states that the decoration spread to other workshops. The sword-shaped cross of the Order of Santiago, the Cross of Santiago, made a single cake enough to evoke the pilgrimage site.

The emblem is applied after baking. A cross stencil is placed on the cooled surface, powdered sugar is dusted over it, and the stencil is lifted away. Rather than piling sugar on top in the shape of the cross, this technique leaves only that area showing the brown cake. The popularity of the pilgrimage routes in recent years has also been one factor in making the cake known in Spain and abroad.

A formula built mainly on almonds, sugar and eggs

The filling centers on finely ground almonds, sugar and eggs. The particles and oil of the nuts create the texture and flavor, and a pale yellow color and fine grains remain at the cut surface. Besides lemon zest, it is sometimes flavored with sweet wine, brandy, or a spirit distilled from grape pomace.

According to the IGP Regulatory Council’s public description, relative to the weight of the batter excluding the base, almonds and sugar must each be at least 33% and eggs at least 25%. There is also a requirement that the fat content of the almonds, measured with skins on, exceed 50%. The nuts are not an ingredient added in small amounts for flavor; they make up the core of the batter.

The process in the 2008 specification is to grind the almonds, skinned if necessary, into a meal, mix them with sugar, add the eggs gradually, and mix vigorously until the texture is fine. There are also home recipes that first whip the eggs and sugar before adding the almonds and use cinnamon, so neither the mixing order nor the flavoring is fixed to a single version.

Whether it has a base changes the range of ingredients

Certified products include those without a base and those with a thin base. The latter use laminated pastry or short pastry, whose weight is no more than 25% of the whole product. The almond-and-egg filling is poured into the case and baked together with it. Even though the filling uses no wheat flour, the base may contain wheat flour or butter, so the ingredients used in the product as a whole differ depending on whether it has a base.

For the version without a base, the 2008 specification indicates preheating to 180–200 degrees and baking for about 30 minutes, though the time depends on the thickness. The same version also requires packaging within the production facility. This is to protect the fragile cake and its powdered-sugar surface during transport and to maintain hygiene; the process of preserving the form of each cake extends through applying the emblem and placing it in its box.

The Galicia Tourism Board’s recipe collection also includes a formula that adds wheat flour, milk, butter and water to the batter in addition to almonds, eggs and sugar. This is one example presented under the same name, and it does not directly represent the ingredients and proportions of the filling of certified products.

A geographical indication with all of Galicia as its production area

The IGP’s production area is not limited to the town of Santiago but covers the entire autonomous community of Galicia. In May 2010, the name was registered in the EU. A cross decoration was added in the 20th century to an old almond confection, and today its method and name are protected throughout Galicia.

Glossary