Portokalopita

AKA Greek Orange Cake

This is one of my favourite Greek desserts. It’s extremely easy to make and the taste is incredible. Like most of the classic Greek desserts it’s soaked in syrup but the most interesting fact is that it’s not made with flour. It’s made with dried and crushed Filo sheets! If you look closely at the picture above you can tell it doesn’t have the consistency of a regular sponge cake.

It’s so delicious and quick to prepare that you’ll be surprised! We normally serve it with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. I normally opt for whipped cream without sugar so I can balance a bit the sweetness of the orange syrup.The colour of this cake is so intense and bright that it reminds me of a warm, sunny Summer day.

Portokalopita originates in Crete and like most Greek recipes there are not many facts around it. It was probably born when someone tried to find a clever way of using filo pastry scraps. Whoever did that is simply a genius!

Ingredients

450g filo pastry
200g greek yoghurt
180g sunflower oil (or other neutral seed oil)
180g sugar
Zest of 1 orange
4 eggs
1.5 tsp baking powder

for the syrup
360g of sugar
600g of water
Zest of 1 orange

Step by Step

• In a deep pan mix the water, sugar and orange zest for the syrup. Bring to boil and let simmer for 10 min. Set aside to cool completely

• Preheat the oven at 100C fan

• Take your filo sheets and crinkle them all one by one and put them in a non stick tin (see picture below)

• Bake them in the preheated oven for an hour or until they have completely dried out and became crispy

• Crumble the filo sheets with your hands into tiny pieces. It’s very satisfying!

• In a bowl add the oil, sugar, eggs, yoghurt, orange zest and mix with a wooden spoon or a whisk

• Now add the baking powder in the bowl and the crushed filo

• Mix everything vigorously until combined

• Butter a 9x9 tin (you can use a different shape if you prefer) and preheat your oven at 175C

• Pour the batter in the tin and level it with a palette knife

• Bake for 35-45 min roughly (it depends on the oven and on how big your tin is)

• To check if it’s ready insert a skewer and if it comes out clean it’s time to take it out

• Pour the syrup on the cake immediately and let is rest a few hours

• Serve with whipped cream or ice cream

Tips & Cheats

If the cake is hot always poor cool syrup.

You can also do this this other way around: Hot syrup on cool cake.

Because this cake is covered in syrup it will last perfectly at room temperature for at least a week.

Cooking time will depend on the oven and on the tin you are using. A larger tin will take less time to cook as the cake will be thinner. Equally a smaller tin will require a slightly longer baking time as the cake will be thicker.

You don’t need to use all the syrup if you don’t want to. Just bare in mind that it will take some time for the cake to absorb it. This means that initially it might look like you’ve flooded your cake but don’t worry, it will all be absorbed!