Almond Flour Cake

Originally called the tarta real, or royal cake, the tarta de Santiago was for those who could afford the main ingredient, almonds. In other words, the rich. Almonds got cheaper and eventually a creative pastry chef from Santiago de Compostela in Galicia used powdered sugar and a stencil to mark the top of the cake with the cross of the town’s namesake, Saint James. Over time, the cake became associated with the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, the pilgrimage