Portokalopita

Portokalopita is a deliciously moist and unique Greek Orange Filo Cake made with olive oil, oranges, yoghurt, eggs, sugar, shredded filo and cinnamon.  

How to make Portokalopita

This is like an orange drizzle cake but even more moist and delicious. I first heard about it via the brilliant Georgina Hayden and her book Taverna.

For this recipe, I read that Recipe plus this one via My greek Salad and this one via My Greek Dish. This recipes is a combination and adaptation of those recipes.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch tin with Olive Oil.

Firstly you shred the filo pastry and let it dry out for 30 minutes, which is a bit of a departure from how you would usually treat filo (i.e. doing whatever it takes to make sure it never dries out!). Shred it more then is seen in the pics. You want the pieces to be as small as possible.

You then make a really quick frothy batter with eggs, yoghurt, oil, oranges, baking powder and sugar. Which is poured over and mixed in with the filo.

Top with thin orange slices.

Make the syrup by boiling the orange juice, cinnamon, sugar and water for 10 minutes and then leaving to cool.

It is then baked, poked all over with a skewer and soaked with a orange and cinnamon syrup.

It is unbelievably good served with some Ice Cream but perfectly good on it's own too.

Tips/Notes to make the best Portokalopita

• Shred the filo really well. More so then is seen in the pics above. That was my first attempt and trust me shredding the filo as much as possible, makes for an even more delicious cake.
• Let the filo dry out before adding the batter.
• You want to make sure that the batter coats every bit of filo. So you may want to remove some from the tin and cover in some batter, swirl together and then and more filo and more batter and swirl it all together to make sure every piece is covered in batter. You can also add the filo to the batter and mix it in the bowl before adding to the tin.
• You can just add all the ingredients for the batter to a blender and blend rather then using a stand mixer/hand mixer.
• This cake is even better after 3 - 4 hours soaking time.
• Boil the syrup to thicken and then allow to cool completely before using on the cake.

Variations

You can use Lemons or Limes instead.

Try adding other spices such as clove, cardamom, nutmeg.

Storage Instructions 

This cake keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. 

I wouldn't recommend freezing it.

More Recipes you may like:

One Tray Greek Chicken and Potatoes

One Pot Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice

Greek Chicken, Rice and Vegetable Soup

10 Minute Greek Salad 

** if you make this recipe, please comment/tag us. thankyou. xx.

4.34 from 3 votes

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Portokalopita

Portokalopita is a deliciously moist and unique Greek Orange Filo Cake made with olive oil, oranges, eggs, sugar, shredded filo and cinnamon.  

Course Baking/Dessert

Cuisine Greek

Keyword Greek Dessert, Portokalopita, Siropiasta

Cook Time 35 minutes

Filo drying 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 20 pieces

Calories 286 kcal

Author Safira

Ingredients

• 420 g Filo Pastry
• 5 Eggs
• 3 Oranges Zest Only
• 200 ml Olive Oil
• 220 g Greek Yoghurt
• 125 g Caster Sugar
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 Orange Cut into thin slices - For the top

Syrup

• 350 g Caster Sugar
• 300 ml Water
• 2 Oranges Juice only
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

Instructions

1. Grease a 9 x 13 inch tin with Olive Oil. Preheat oven to 180 C/Gas Mark 4.

2. Shred the filo pastry in the tin and let it dry out for 30 minutes. You want the pieces to be as small as possible.

3. Make a batter by combinine eggs, orange zest, olive oil, yoghurt, sugar and baking powder in a bowl and mixing for 2 minutes with a hand mixer.

4. Add the batter to the tin and mix thorughly to make sure every bit of filo is covered. You can do this in stages by removing part of the filo and using half the batter, then returning the additional filo to the tin and adding the remaining batter and swirling through.

5. Top with orange slices. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes.

6. Make the syrup by combining the Orange Juice, Cinnamon, Sugar and Water in a pot. Bring to a boil then boil on medium high for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cook.

7. Remove cake from oven and poke all over with a skewer. Pour over the syrup.

8. Allow to cool in tin for 30 minutes before slicing.

Recipe Notes

Tips/Notes to make the best Portokalopita

• Shred the filo really well. More so then is seen in the pics above. That was my first attempt and trust me shredding the filo as much as possible, makes for an even more delicious cake.
• Let the filo dry out before adding the batter.
• You want to make sure that the batter coats every bit of filo. So you may want to remove some from the tin and cover in some batter, swirl together and then and more filo and more batter and swirl it all together to make sure every piece is covered in batter. You can also add the filo to the batter and mix it in the bowl before adding to the tin.
• You can just add all the ingredients for the batter to a blender and blend rather then using a stand mixer/hand mixer.
• This cake is even better after 3 - 4 hours soaking time.
• Boil the syrup to thicken and then allow to cool completely before using on the cake.

Variations

You can use Lemons or Limes instead.

Try adding other spices such as clove, cardamom, nutmeg.

Storage Instructions 

This cake keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. 

I wouldn't recommend freezing it.

Nutrition Facts

Portokalopita

Amount Per Serving

Calories 286 Calories from Fat 117

% Daily Value*

Fat 13g20%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Cholesterol 42mg14%

Sodium 147mg6%

Potassium 102mg3%

Carbohydrates 40g13%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 28g31%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 154IU3%

Vitamin C 21mg25%

Calcium 52mg5%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.