Tarta de Santiago

Butter a 28cm round springform tin (the tarta is always cooked in a broad tin and is therefore quite thin). Add about 3 tbsp flour to the tin and shake so it sticks to the butter (do the sides as well as the base). Discard any flour that doesn’t stick. Preheat the oven to 190ºC, gas mark 5.

Put the almonds into a food processor and pulse until finely ground (if you grind without stopping, the oil will come out of the nuts, making the mixture greasy and encouraging it to clump).

Using an electric handheld mixer, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a large bowl until pale and creamy. Add the citrus zests, the almond extract and a pinch of salt. Fold in the ground almonds using a large metal spoon.

Using a clean mixing bowl and clean beaters, beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold a third of the whites into the batter, then fold in the rest, using a large metal spoon.

Scrape this into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes. The centre should feel a little firm in the centre when pressed with your index finger, and the cake should be coming away from the sides of the tin. Don’t overbake, or it will be dry. Let the cake cool, then turn out onto a rack. Turn it right-side up.

Traditionally, this cake is decorated with a silhouette of the Santiago, or St James’ Cross. If liked, find a picture online, print it and carefully cut around the shape – it should be the right size to sit in the middle of the cake. Put the paper stencil on the cake and sift icing sugar over the top, taking it right to the edges of the cake. Carefully remove the paper stencil. Serve the cake with sweetened whipped cream or mascarpone (see tip).