Tarta de Santiago

[crhutch]

This past spring my wife and I walked the Camino Frances. We met a very nice elderly German fellow that we became good friends with. He has quite a sweet tooth and loved the tarta de Santiago. I would like to send him one for Christmas. Does anyone know of a internet site in Spain that sells them? Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Buen Camino a todos!!

 

[sillydoll]

You could try La Tienda (http://www.latienda.com) advertised on this forum.
Or, the English food shop: http://www.delicioso.co.uk/
Have a look at their special offers http://www.delicioso.co.uk/shop/special-offers/ You could send him a packet or two of the Tarta de Santiago mix and let them make it themselves!

 

[camino-david]

Does anyone have the recipe for Tarta de Santiago. Latienda has a recipe, but they call it Torta de Santiago, and indeed the recipe does seem to be for a cake, rather than a tart. David

 

[Deleted member 3000]

http://www.spain-recipes.com/tarta-santiago.html

 

[Camino2010]

http://www.spain-recipes.com/tarta-santiago.html

Yum, there's a recipe for tortilla there too! Thanks for the link!
http://www.spain-recipes.com/spanish-omelette.html

 

[Tia Valeria]

'Que Aprovache' the CSJ recipe book, sold in aid of the albergue at Miraz, has recipes for Tarta de Santiago as well as Santiago cake, Spanish omlette, Sopa Gallego, Paella etc. Well worth buying for yourself or as presents.
You can find it online at http://www.csj.org.uk/acatalog/The_CSJ_Bookshop_Other_Confraternity_Publications_8.html

Happy eating
Tia Valeria

 

[Camino2010]

I made my first Tarta de Santiago today, here in Canada. It was delicious! Fun to make and my family loved it too. Reminded me of eating pieces of it along the Camino with friends . Happy memories!

Then I remembered that I commented on this thread more than a year ago and I thought it would be fun to share a photo!

Rachel

 

[k1ypp]

As my wife, Jane, has mentioned elsewhere in this forum, we did our own "Welcome Home" party by inviting friends over for a "Pilgrims Menu." Of course the Tarta de Santiago was a requirement. It turned out to be rather easy to make and was delicious.

The most difficult part was the decorative sword. It took me forever to cut out the template to lay on the tarta. I printed it on a laser printer.

 

[Sansthing]

I checked out the tarta recipe on the link (thanks Falcon) and amongst the ingredients it lists "sugar flour". I´ve never heard of it, can anyone enlighten me please? Thanks.
Sandra :arrow:

 

[Camino2010]

Oh, yes... the sugar flour!! I looked all over the internet to try and find out what that is! And came across a few other people who'd asked about that exact recipe as well. I found different answers to the question. I read that sugar flour is finely ground flour, I also read that it is flour mixed with sugar, and I also read that it is actually icing sugar! It was confusing and puzzling. And there are several other recipes for Tarta de Santiago online, quite different from each other, so I didn't find an answer there either. I wondered if maybe something got lost in translation of a Spanish recipe into English. (If anyone knows, please say!)

I ended up making the recipe posted on the Canadian Company of Pilgrims website. The only ingredients in it are eggs, sugar (regular sugar ) and ground almonds. Someone in a discussion of Tarta de Santiago elsewhere online commented that it is more authentic when made without flour. What I can say is that the recipe I made tasted just like I've had in Spain, and it was a happy surprise how much the texture and feel of it in my mouth was the same!

Here is a link to the recipe: http://www.santiago.ca/tarta.html

One thing I did differently was use fruit sugar (finely ground but still similar to granulated sugar) for shaking on top of the stencil. Next time I will use icing sugar instead. I thought it would be fun to experiment but the fruit sugar was too heavy and dense, and the top of the tart ended up looking like the snowstorm we had here yesterday when I was baking, haha! However, practice makes perfect and in this case, practice will be delicious! (Dennis, yours looks beautiful!)

 

[Portia1]

My husband gave me a cookbook this Christmas with authentic recipes from Spain. One of them was the Tarta de Santiago. Used confectioner's sugar "sifted" through a strainer as the "topping" and my husband downloaded a St. James cross from the internet, cut it out and used it as a stencil. Any way, the cake was absolutely delicious and much fresher than anything we had in Santiago. Especially when served with either Port or Kahlua mixed with a little Bailey's Irish Cream (I know it curdles just a little but it is as close as we could come to the after dinner drink we had in Santiago). A note with the Tarta said that its origins were probably Jewish and associated with Passover.

We also made the garlic soup. YUM!

 

[renegadepilgrim]

FYI, if you are using the Canadian Company of Pilgrims recipe, you can get almond "flour" at Trader Joe's in the US, or if you can find Bob's Red Mill products (you might be able to order online), they also sell it, though it is much more expensive than the stuff at TJ's. I usually just buy blanched almonds in the bulk section and food process it down to a flour...but be careful you don't make it a butter!

 

[SaraC]

I know it's been a while since this thread was active, but I thought I'd add that I've seen almond flour (AKA almond meal) in bulk at one of the Bulk Barn stores in my city. I recently bought some (MUCH more expensive) at a speciality kitchen shop, only to see it in a huge bulk bin when I went for something else. Go figure.

If the weather here today wasn't going to be almost 40C, I'd be making Tarta de Santiago today--thanks for the links to recipes!

 

[renegadepilgrim]

Glad you enjoyed the links! I love making Tarta de Santiago and it's such an easy recipe too!

 

[t2andreo]

I arrived in Santiago this morning from my second Camino Frances. On my "to do" list was locate and buy machine washable templates for the St. James Cross used on this iconic cake / tart.

After asking in many baking shops and souvenir shops, one lady told me to go to the Ferreteria on Praza Galicia. That is where the bus stop to go to the train station, bus station, and airport is located.

I located Ferreteria El Horreo on the side of Praza Galicia that faces the old town. The address is Horreos 22, which is on the corner.

Go downstairs to find all the kitchen gadgets. These are hanging on a wall peg directly across from the stairs with other, small baking-related gadgets. The templates come in a set of two. Both are stainless steel. One is about 8 inches long. The other is about 5 inches long. The set costs €5.95.

Of course, you need to be in Santiago to do this. Or, you could ask someone who is or will be here to pick a set up for you.

Bon appetit!

 

[dougfitz]

@t2andreao its great that you found these. I bought mine at a shop a couple of streets from the cathedral, and have now used them a couple of times since I have been back home. It is so much better than working with a template made from paper or cardboard.

 

[peregrina2000]

I arrived in Santiago this morning from my second Camino Frances. On my "to do" list was locate and buy machine washable templates for the St. James Cross used on this iconic cake / tart.

After asking in many baking shops and souvenir shops, one lady told me to go to the Ferreteria on Praza Galicia. That is where the bus stop to go to the carol station, bus station, and airport is located.

I located Ferreteria El Horreo on the side of Praza Galicia that faces the old town. The address is Horreos 22, which is on the corner.

Go downstairs to find all the kitchen gadgets. These are hanging on a wall peg directly across from the stairs with other, small baking-related gadgets. The templates come in a set of two. Both are stainless steel. One is about 8 inches long. The other is about 5 inches long. The set costs €5.95.

Of course, you need to be in Santiago to do this. Or, you could ask someone who is or will be here to pick a set up for you.

Bon appetit!

Thanks, Tom, they are now on my shopping list for when I get to Santiago in July!
And congratulations on finishing your camino, Laurie

 

[t2andreo]

Update to last post on this issue. While walking around Santiago today, I located a second source for the identical, 2-piece St. James Cross template for baking.

There is a shop named "Casa Sole" located at #48 Rua da Caldeireria that carries the identical template set for €5.50. The shop sign is yellow, about 24 inches in diameter, and has black letters. The shop is on the right side of the"street" as you head in the direction of Praza Galicia.

 

[peregrina2000]

Well, that's convenient, just a few doors down from one of my "go to" Gallego cheese stores in Santiago, the Queixeria Prestes, on the same street, Rua Caldeireria 27. Thanks, Tom.

 

[naplesdon]

Tom, I am glad to hear you made it to Santiago. Stay in touch. I depart from SJPdP on Friday 6/6.

 

[tyrrek]

It's taken me three and a half years to attempt it...but here it is!

I used this recipe.
http://invitadoinvierno.com/desserts-pastry/tarta-de-santiago-or-st-james-cake/

 

[Icacos]

It's taken me three and a half years to attempt it...but here it is!

I used this recipe.
http://invitadoinvierno.com/desserts-pastry/tarta-de-santiago-or-st-james-cake/

View attachment 15142

Well done! I am very impressed.

 

[peregrina2000]

It's taken me three and a half years to attempt it...but here it is!

I used this recipe.
http://invitadoinvierno.com/desserts-pastry/tarta-de-santiago-or-st-james-cake/

View attachment 15142

Looks beautiful tyrrek. I've been making them a lot recently, too, it always impresses people when you bring it out with its stencilled and sugared top.

BTW, did you beat the egg whites separately? I've done it both ways, and I have a slight preference for unbeaten egg whites, but they both are yummy. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[CaminoCruiser]

@tyrrek Thank you for sharing the recipe and the photo of your beautiful tart! I used your recipe to make one this afternoon and it was heavenly. I used unbeaten egg whites and am glad of it - I prefer the heavier texture than the light and fluffy version

 

[tyrrek]

Looks beautiful tyrrek. I've been making them a lot recently, too, it always impresses people when you bring it out with its stencilled and sugared top.

BTW, did you beat the egg whites separately? I've done it both ways, and I have a slight preference for unbeaten egg whites, but they both are yummy. Buen camino, Laurie

Yes, I beat the egg whites until quite stiff, but not so far that they were peaking. Frankly it's still pretty dense, so I'm not sure how much difference it made. I also used the zest of an orange and a lemon, which might have been too much to be 'authentic', but all in all it wasn't bad. How do you best store these and for how long?

 

[Tia Valeria]

Store them? That will need strong will power.
We usually keep ours in a cake box with a good seal, or else cling wrap it if I have made it in a glass dish. They keep well, but we make it to eat rather than store so about 7 to 10 days is the most we have kept one.

 

[tyrrek]

Store them? That will need strong will power.
We usually keep ours in a cake box with a good seal, or else cling wrap it if I have made it in a glass dish. They keep well, but we make it to eat rather than store so about 7 to 10 days is the most we have kept one.

Thanks Tia. I also made it to eat, but as I'm on my own most of the time it will take me a day or two!

 

[peregrina2000]

Yes, I beat the egg whites until quite stiff, but not so far that they were peaking. Frankly it's still pretty dense, so I'm not sure how much difference it made. I also used the zest of an orange and a lemon, which might have been too much to be 'authentic', but all in all it wasn't bad. How do you best store these and for how long?

Well, you did a perfect job, then, because when I beat my egg whites, the cake remained higher on the sides and sunk in the middle so that it was impossible to use the larger stencil. Maybe I beat them too stiffly. Maybe I'm just a bad cook. I will try again soon. Buen camino, Laurie