Portokalopita - Greek Orange and Yogurt Cake

Prepare the flavourful orange syrup 1-2 hours before you actually start cooking the recipe: 

- pour 500ml water in a pot, add in 250g sugar and zest from 1 orange;

- place over heat, stir and simmer for 5 minutes. Then let cool for 1-2 hours at room temperature.

Don't forget to thaw the filo pastry in the meantime!

When the syrup is ready, we actually start making portokalopita.

Combine 4 eggs and 200g sugar in a bowl, whisk well.

Stirring constantly, mix in 200ml oil.

At the end, add the yogurt, baking soda, vanilla extract and the zest from the other orange.

Whisk well and set aside for a while.

Unwrap the filo pastry packet.

First, cut the sheets into 4-5cm long strips.

Then grab them all together and cut into slices, just like some wider pasta.

Toss them all over the egg and yogurt mixture.

Mix thoroughly with a whisk, making sure that all the filo slices are well coated with the egg mixture.

I even like to let them stand for 5 minutes in the bowl, to allow the sheets to moisten better.

Spoon everything into a deep oven dish, greased in advance with a little oil or softened butter.

I used here a deep glass baking dish, 20x30cm.

Bake the cake in the preheated oven to 180 degrees C for 40-45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and pour the syrup we prepared at step 1 right away, while the cake is very hot.

Let stand on the table for the flavours to blend until completely cool.

Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 4-5 hours before serving.

As I said in the description, the cake must be served cold, this is the secret for its fresh taste and perfect texture.

Enjoy!