Tarta de Santiago — Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Tarta de Santiago is a dense, flourless cake built almost entirely from ground almonds, eggs, and sugar, finished with a striking dusting of icing sugar. It is one of the best-known Spanish pastries, sold in bakeries and served in cafés across the region. The cake is reported from Santiago de Compostela and is closely tied to the pilgrimage routes leading to the city, where it is sold to travelers as a portable, long-keeping sweet. It remains most closely associated with Galicia, where almond-based desserts have a long-standing place. Eggs are beaten with sugar until pale and fluffy, then ground almonds, lemon zest, and a touch of cinnamon are folded in to form a thick batter, which is baked in a round tin until set with a slight give at the centre. Once cooled, a stencil is laid over the top before a generous dusting of icing sugar is applied. What distinguishes this cake from other almond pastries is its finish: lifting the stencil reveals the Cross of Saint James traced in the plain cake beneath the white sugar, a symbol drawn from the pilgrimage rather than an ingredient or technique unique to the recipe itself.