Portokalopita
A Greek syrup cake built on an idea that sounds absurd: crumbled, dried filo pastry replaces the flour. The result is a texture no flour can produce — ragged, fibrous, absorbing syrup like a sponge. The rest is simple: yogurt, eggs, oil and a great deal of orange zest. And the same iron rule applies as to every Greek syrup cake: hot cake, cold syrup.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Drying the filo 120 min
- Syrup 10 min
- Batter 20 min
- Baking 50 min
- Soaking 30 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneDry the filo in the air
Spread the filo sheets loosely crumpled on trays and leave 2 hours somewhere dry, until brittle. It can be hurried: 10 minutes at 150°C gives the same effect, only watch that they do not brown.
Ingredients: 400 g filo pastry · 4 pcs eggs · 200 g sugar · 250 g Greek yogurt · 200 ml oil · 2 pcs oranges · 2 tsp baking powder · 1 tsp vanilla extract
Loosely crumpled — they must dry right through.Boil the syrup and cool it completely
Simmer the sugar with the water, orange juice and peel, cinnamon and honey for 10 minutes and cool completely. The syrup is made first (ideally while the filo dries) precisely so it has time to go cold before the cake leaves the oven.
Ingredients: 400 g sugar · 400 ml water · 2 pcs oranges · 1 pcs cinnamon · 2 tbsp honey
Crumble the filo by hand
Crumble the dried filo by hand into fingernail-sized shreds, straight into a large bowl. Do not use a processor — it grinds them to dust, and the cake loses the fibrous texture that is the most interesting thing about it.
Ingredients: 400 g filo pastry · 4 pcs eggs · 200 g sugar · 250 g Greek yogurt · 200 ml oil · 2 pcs oranges · 2 tsp baking powder · 1 tsp vanilla extract
Fingernail-sized shreds — not processor dust.Whisk eggs with sugar and add the wet things
Whisk the eggs with the sugar for 5 minutes to a pale, voluminous foam, then stir in the yogurt, oil, vanilla and the grated zest of two oranges. Two oranges for zest alone is not excessive — it carries the entire aroma of the cake.
Ingredients: 400 g filo pastry · 4 pcs eggs · 200 g sugar · 250 g Greek yogurt · 200 ml oil · 2 pcs oranges · 2 tsp baking powder · 1 tsp vanilla extract
Combine with the filo and baking powder
Add the baking powder, tip in the crumbled filo and mix with your hands until every shred is moistened. The mixture looks odd and loose — it should. Transfer to an oiled 30 by 20 cm tin and level it lightly without pressing down. Have the oven heated to 175°C.
Ingredients: 400 g filo pastry · 4 pcs eggs · 200 g sugar · 250 g Greek yogurt · 200 ml oil · 2 pcs oranges · 2 tsp baking powder · 1 tsp vanilla extract
Bake 50 minutes
Bake 50 minutes at 175°C, until deep golden and a skewer comes out clean. The cake must be well baked — underbaked, it collapses once the syrup goes on.
Ingredients: 400 g filo pastry · 4 pcs eggs · 200 g sugar · 250 g Greek yogurt · 200 ml oil · 2 pcs oranges · 2 tsp baking powder · 1 tsp vanilla extract
Pour cold syrup over the hot cake
Take the cake out, score it into squares and pour over the cold syrup, evenly across the whole surface. You will hear it hiss — as you should. That temperature contrast decides whether the syrup soaks right through or sits on top.
Ingredients: 400 g sugar · 400 ml water · 2 pcs oranges · 1 pcs cinnamon · 2 tbsp honey
Hot cake, cold syrup — the hiss means it is absorbing.Leave it half an hour
Let it stand 30 minutes, until it has drawn up all the syrup from the base of the tin. Serve at room temperature with a slice of orange and, if you like, a spoonful of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients: 1 pcs orange · 200 ml whipping cream (30%)
Before you start
Why filo rather than flour
Dried, crumbled filo forms a network of thin layers inside the cake, each absorbing syrup independently. Flour would give a uniform, spongy crumb. The difference in texture is immediate and it is what defines this cake.
Zest with no pith
Grate only the orange layer, avoiding the white — it is bitter and in this quantity would ruin the cake. A fine microplane is best, since it takes off only the surface.
Storing
Covered, somewhere cool, portokalopita keeps 3–4 days and is even better on the second, once the syrup has spread evenly. For longer, keep it in the fridge and take it out an hour before serving — cold, it is firmer and less fragrant.
