Vegan Tarta de Santiago
Tarta de Santiago is the iconic heritage cake from Galicia, Spain — a rich, moist, intensely nutty almond cake marked with the cross of Saint James. This fully vegan version keeps all its classic character: dense yet tender crumb, deep almond flavour, and bright citrus notes, with no eggs, dairy, or animal products. It is naturally gluten‑free if you use certified almond meal, and is traditionally dusted with icing sugar to reveal the emblem.
Shared by katty
Time
55 min
Serves
5
Difficulty
easy
đź›’ Ingredients
- #Cake Base;
- 300 g ground blanched almonds.. 150 g caster sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp all‑purpose flour or almond flour (optional, for extra structure)
- 200 ml unsweetened plant milk (almond or soy works best)
- 60 ml neutral oil or melted coconut oil,, 1 tbsp lemon zest,, 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract,, ½ tsp baking powder,, Pinch of fine salt
- #Decoration;
- 50–60 g icing sugar
- Cross of Saint James stencil (or make your own from paper)
👩‍🍳 Instructions
- 1
Prep: Preheat oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Grease and line a 20–22 cm round cake tin.
- 2
Mix dry: In a large bowl, whisk together ground almonds, sugar, flour (if using), baking powder, salt, and citrus zests.
- 3
Mix wet: In a separate bowl, whisk plant milk, oil, and vanilla until smooth.
- 4
Combine: Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir gently until fully combined — do not over‑mix; the batter will be thick.
- 5
Bake: Pour into the tin and smooth the top. Bake for 35–40 minutes until golden, firm to the touch, and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- 6
Finish: Let cool completely in the tin. Place the Saint James cross stencil on top, then dust generously with icing sugar. Carefully remove the stencil to reveal the traditional emblem.