ALMOND CAKE EASY RECIPES

_Tarta de Santiago—Galicia_ This is a splendid cake. I have eaten almond cakes in other parts of Spain, but this one is special. Pilgrims and tourists who visit the great Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, where the relics of the apostle Saint James are believed to be buried, see the cake in the windows of every pastry shop and restaurant. It is usually marked with the shape of the cross of the Order of Santiago. I have watched the cake being made in many sizes, big and small, thin and thick, over a pastry tart base at a bakery called Capri in Pontevedra. This deliciously moist and fragrant homey version is without a base. There is sometimes a little cinnamon added, but I find that masks the delicate flavor of orange and almonds and prefer it without it. When I suggested to a man associated with the tourist office in Galicia that the _tarta_ was a Jewish Passover cake, I was dragged to a television studio to tell it to all. The hosts thought the idea made sense. The Galician city of Coruña is on the Jewish tourist route, because of its synagogue and old Jewish quarter. Jews from Andalusia, who fled from the Berber Almohads' attempts to convert them in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries came to Galicia, where they planted grapevines and made wine. The cake is normally made in a wide cake or tart pan and so comes out low, but it is equally good as a thicker cake.

Provided by Claudia Roden

Yield Serves 10

Number Of Ingredients 7

• Ingredients

This exquisite recipe came to The Times in a 2001 article by Amanda Hesser about the first meal her now mother-in-law, Elizabeth Friend, prepared for her. The meal ended with this simple almond cake. Ms. Hesser wrote: “It had a crust, fragile like a dry leaf, that led to a moist, downy layer of ground almonds and sugar. It was a perfect dessert. And it punctuated one of the great meals of my life.” It's not the prettiest cake in the world – Ms. Friend called it “the Shar-Pei of cakes” because it crumbles on the edges and falls in the middle – but it is flawless otherwise. If you care about looks, dust it with confectioners’ sugar and top it with fresh berries as we've done in the picture. It also improves with age and can be made 1 to 2 weeks ahead. Store it covered in or out of the fridge. Finally, this recipe makes two 8-inch cakes, so give one away or freeze one for a rainy day.

Provided by Amanda Hesser

Total Time 1 hours 45 minutes

Yield 2 8-inch cakes, 8 servings each

Number Of Ingredients 10

• Ingredients

Nutrition Facts : @context http//schema.org, Calories 661, UnsaturatedFatContent 16 grams, CarbohydrateContent 76 grams, FatContent 38 grams, FiberContent 2 grams, ProteinContent 7 grams, SaturatedFatContent 19 grams, SodiumContent 326 milligrams, SugarContent 49 grams, TransFatContent 1 gram