Greek desserts are absolutely beautiful and this portokalopita recipe is no exception. With its unique flavours, along with its fluffy and moist texture, get ready to indulge in a slice of Greece.
What is Portokalopita?
Portokalopita pronounced por-to-kah-lo-peeta, is a moist Greek orange cake made with orange zest, Greek yogurt, dried crumbled filo, and soaked in a homemade orange syrup. Portokalopita is also referred to as Greek orange pie.
The name Portokalopita comes from the words portokáli which means oranges, and pita which means pastry. You’ll notice a lot of Greek foods end in the word pita as pastry is commonly used for various cakes and pastries in Greece.
Portokalopita is another member of the siropiasta family, which essentially refers to any dessert which is soaked in syrup. If you enjoy this dessert you should definately try my Diples recipe (Greek pastry with honey)
Portokalopita is delicious on its own but also pairs nicely with some Greek yoghurt, whipped cream, or ice cream. Let’s not forget a nice café with it!
Read on to see how easy it is to make so you can whip it up for you guests at your next dinner party! – But if your looking for an an even easier cake to make, try making my galatopita recipe (greek milk pie)!
What is Portokalopita made of?
There are two main components to making this Greek orange cake. We have the delicious syrup, which we prepare first. While this is cooling down we prepare the sponge cake ingredients. Once cooked, this is when the two components meet, when we pour the cooled down syrupy goodness over the hot cake. As simple as this Greek orange pie is, your friends and family will love it!
Ingredients for Syrup
2 cups water (400ml)
600g white sugar
100ml freshly squeeze orange juice
The peel from 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick
Ingredients for Sponge Cake
1 packet filo pastry (350-400g)
4 eggs
200g white sugar
200g Greek yoghurt
200ml freshly squeeze orange juice
200ml vegetable oil (you can use sunflower or another light oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 tablespoon baking powder
The zest from 2 oranges
Additional Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (to brush in your baking dish)
1 teaspoon of flour (to dust your baking dish)
Optional: this cake pairs nicely with your favourite Greek yoghurt, ice-cream, or whipped cream
Instructions
1. In a saucepan start the syrup by adding the water, sugar, orange juice, peel, and cinnamon stick. Mix it together and bring to the boil. Allow the syrup to boil for 2 minutes then turn off the heat and set aside to cool.
2. Get your filo pastry and depending on how yours comes, roll it up and slice to pieces. Then untangle all the rolls and loosely lay over a baking tray. Place into the oven at 100° for 30 minutes.
Note:
If your filo pile is quite thick, you may want to give it another toss at the 15-minute mark to ensure all pieces are dried out. You do not want to brown the filo, so if you notice yours is browning, lower the heat.
3. Add your eggs and sugar to a mixing bowl and beat them up to a nice creamy texture.
4. Then add in the yoghurt, orange juice, oil, vanilla essence, baking powder, and orange zest. Mix until all is combined.
5. The filo should be nice and crunchy now. Handfuls at a time, scrunch in your hands the filo to the bowl with the batter. Mix after each addition to ensure it’s all evenly spread through.
6. Change the temperature of your oven to 160° as you prepare your oven dish for the batter. To your dish, add a tablespoon of oil and brush it all over. Then sprinkle some flour all over to coat the oil. This will help the cake from sticking and give it a nice crust.
The size of my dish is 32cm long by 22cm wide.
7. Pour the batter into the dish and give it a little shake and tap to get any air bubbles out.
8. Place into the oven and cook until golden brown (roughly 40 minutes) but keep your eye on it.
9. Once the cake is ready, take it out of the oven. You can check to see if the cake it cooked by poking a toothpick into the centre of the cake and if it comes out clean, it’s cooked through. If you see stickiness, it needs a little bit more.
10. Immediately once you remove the cake from the oven, pour over the cooled syrup that was prepared earlier. You want to ensure the cake is hot and the syrup is cool.
11. Don’t be shocked at the amount of liquid, the cake will absorb it all! Give it no less than 30 minutes to soak it all up.
12. Once you are ready to serve, this cake is delicious on its own but also pairs nicely with some Greek yoghurt, whipped cream, or ice cream! Enjoy!
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Eleni
Can’t wait to make this! Thanks for sharing the recipe
Gabi
What a wonderful recipe.
Κώστας Κ.
Το πιο gamato γλυκό!