MARZIPAN ALMOND CAKE RECIPES

I love a plain cake. There is something uniquely soothing about the simple, sweet comfort it offers. And there’s a modesty about a plain cake, too: it doesn’t draw attention to itself, or seek to impress with razzle-dazzle. It’s there to be sliced as needed, always delivering more than it promises. To turn the cake into a pudding, just arrange slices of the cake on a non-stick baking sheet, and warm up in a 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 oven for 3-4 minutes a side, until caramelised and golden. Arrange a couple of slices on each person’s plate, add some fresh raspberries and a splodge of crème fraîche.

Provided by Nigella Lawson

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hours

Yield Makes 8-10 slices

Number Of Ingredients 9

• Ingredients

_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