Tarta de Santiago – Galician almond cake with chocolate mousse and vanilla cream

Preheat an oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Place the almonds on a baking tray and transfer to the oven, cooking for 5–8 minutes or until golden. Stir the almonds halfway through the cooking time to ensure they’re evenly toasted. Remove from the oven and allow to cool

Place the cooled almonds in a blender and blitz until finely ground, although be careful to not leave it for too long as the oils will begin to create a nut butter

Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl and, using an electric whisk, beat with a tablespoon of the sugar until stiff. Set aside

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until pale and creamy. Fold in the blitzed almonds and stiff egg whites until combined

Line a 22x30cm rectangular baking tray with greaseproof paper, then pour the cake mixture in. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean

Once cooked, turn the cake out onto a wire rack and leave to cool

Meanwhile, make the mousse. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Once melted, remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly

While the chocolate melts, place the cream and sugar into a separate bowl and use an electric whisk to whip the mixture into stiff peaks

Pour the melted chocolate into the whipped cream and whip once more, until stiff. Cover and place in the fridge to cool

Make the vanilla cream by placing the milk, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon and citrus peels in a saucepan. Gently bring the mixture to the boil, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and discard the peel

Once the cream has cooled slightly, stir in the beaten eggs and return to a very low heat (it shouldn’t exceed 60°C). Keep stirring until thickened

To serve, slice the cake in half horizontally to create two large slices. Pipe or spread the chocolate mousse onto one-half, then place the other half on top to create a sandwich. Dust the cake with icing sugar (you can use a cross stencil if you have one, which is traditionally used to decorate a Tarta de Santiago), then carefully cut into 8 portions and serve with the vanilla cream