Tarta de Santiago
Makes one 9-inch round
Ingredients
- Butter (for the pan)
- 6 Eggs
- 1 Yolk of an egg
- 1¼ cups Granulated sugar
- 1 Lemon rind, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon Almond extract
- ½ pound Almond flour (about 2¼ cups)
- Powder sugar (for sprinkling)
Directions
Set the oven at 350 degrees.
Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper, and butter the paper.
In an electric mixer, beat the eggs and granulated sugar on high speed for 5 minutes or until thickened and pale yellow.
Beat in the lemon and orange rind and almond extract. With the mixer set on its lowest speed, beat in the almond meal and mix to blend.
Pour the batter into the pan.
Bake the cake for 35 minutes or until it is golden, a little darker around the edge, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs.
Cool in the pan; unlatch the sides and lift off the ring. Use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cake to a platter. (Please see Notes of an alternative that I like better)
Notes:
However much batter you have, DO NOT fill the pan to the top. Leave at least one to two inches of space. Springform pans not only come in various diameter sizes, but also heights.
I use pre-cut parchment 'round' to line the bottom of the pan. If you cannot find them at a local cooking store, you can order them online. If you make your own from a roll of parchment, use the detachable bottom of the springform pan as the template.
If you don't have fresh lemon available for it zest, then you can substitute with lemon extract. About 1 teaspoon. The fresh and vivid taste imparted by the zest makes it worthwhile to have lemons on hand
Flavorings can be adjusted in measurements, so that it is to your preferred taste.
I prefer to add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the batter when the almond flour is added. I find that it adds a bit more depth to the flavors, and it takes away the 'flatness' of the taste.
When detaching the cake from the bottom of the springform pan, I place a flat plate onto the top of the cake, then while holding the plate to the top, flip the whole thing. This makes removal of the bottom pan easier, and allows easy and steady detachment of the parchment sheet.
I will place a fresh round of parchment onto the cake's bottom, and lay the serving platter or cake dish on top of the parchment, and invert the entire thing again.
I do this because I have found that cutting and removing slices of tarta to be easier. Sometimes when the parchment is left on after baking to use for serving, slices can be adhered to the parchment and be messier to remove for a serving.
This is similar to the template I use.
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