This is a variation of the Torta de Santiago that I made late last year. The recipe for this tart was actually given to me by a reader named Tony, a guy that seemed pretty chuffed with my previous recipe for this beautiful Spanish cake. I understand it comes from a book named The Spanish Kitchen by Pepita Aris, and to be honest, I couldn’t wait very long before I gave the recipe a burl.

I thought about using the same cross stencil to decorate the top, but when I glanced out of my kitchen doors I spotted some beautiful leaves on my deck beneath our black Japanese maple tree. Perfect!

What makes this tart so special is the addition of quince paste; a layer of which sits between the pastry and the filling. The recipe called for cinnamon or cardamom to be used in the pastry. I went with both. It’s supremely moist and quite sweet and it may sound like a cliché, but I couldn’t stop at one slice. This thing is divine. Thanks Tony!

Print Recipe

Tarta de Santiago

This super moist Tarta de Santiago is filled with ground almonds, aromatic spices and tangy quince jelly. It's so good!

Course

Dessert

Cuisine

Spanish

Servings

servings

Ingredients

Pastry

• 150 g plain flour
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp cardamom
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 100 g cold butter cubed
• 1 egg yolk beaten
• Cold water (approx 4 tbsp)

Filling

• 200 g ground almonds
• 100 g caster sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 lemon zest only, finely grated
• 3 egg lightly beaten
• 75 g butter melted
• 75 ml dry sherry
• 200 g quince jelly
• icing sugar to dust

Course Dessert Cuisine Spanish Servings servings Ingredients Pastry 150 g plain flour ¼ tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp cardamom 2 tbsp caster sugar 100 g cold butter cubed 1 egg yolk beaten Cold water (approx 4 tbsp) Filling 200 g ground almonds 100 g caster sugar ½ tsp cinnamon 1 lemon zest only, finely grated 3 egg lightly beaten 75 g butter melted 75 ml dry sherry 200 g quince jelly icing sugar to dust

Instructions

Pastry

1. Place the flour, cinnamon, cardamom, sugar and butter into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add the egg yolk and pulse to incorporate. Adding one tablespoon of water at a time, pulse until the mixture just comes together. Remove the pastry from the processor, squeeze together, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for half an hour.
2. Dust your working surface with a little flour and roll out the pastry and line a 27 cm tart tin. Refrigerate while you make the filling.

Filling

1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
2. Take 50 g of the ground almonds and mix it with the quince jelly. Set aside.
3. Combine the remaining ingredients and mix well. Spread the quince paste over the base of the chilled pastry base. Spread the almond filling over the quince layer evenly. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 170°C, then bake for a further 20 minutes.
4. Allow the tart to cool in the tin before removing it. Dust with icing sugar and serve at room temperature.

Recipe Notes

Get my recipe for Torta de Santiago here.

 

Share this Recipe