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Karydopita
Spiced walnut syrup cake
Karydopita: Greek spiced walnut cake soaked in cinnamon syrup
Karydopita is the cake Greek households bake for name days and Sunday visitors, cut into diamonds and set out with coffee or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Ground walnuts and dried breadcrumbs replace much of the flour, giving a moist, dense crumb fragrant with cinnamon and clove, then the hot cake drinks up a cool syrup. Common mistake: pouring hot syrup over a hot cake, which leaves it soggy at the bottom and dry on top. Chef's tip: let it sit for at least 3 hours after syruping; it slices more cleanly and tastes even better the next day.
- Total time
- 65 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
For the syrup
- 1 ½ cups water
- 12 ½ oz granulated sugar
- 2 strips lemon peel
For the cake
- 5 eggs
- 6 ½ oz caster sugar
- ¾ cup sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 9 oz walnutsfinely ground, plus a few halves to decorate
- 3 ½ oz dried breadcrumbs
- 3 ½ oz self-raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Simmer 1 ½ cups water, 12 ½ oz granulated sugar, 1 cinnamon stick and 2 strips lemon peel for 5 minutes, then leave to cool completely.
6 minStep 2: Heat the oven to 350°F (300°F fan) and oil a 23 × 33 cm baking tin.
Step 3: Whisk 5 eggs and 6 ½ oz caster sugar with an electric mixer for 6–8 minutes, until thick, pale and doubled. Beat in ¾ cup sunflower oil in a thin stream and add 1 tbsp orange zest.
8 minStep 4: Mix 9 oz walnuts, 3 ½ oz dried breadcrumbs, 3 ½ oz self-raising flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp ground cinnamon and ¼ tsp ground cloves and fold them gently into the eggs until no dry streaks remain.
Step 5: Pour into the tin, smooth the top and bake for 40–45 minutes, until deep golden and a skewer comes out clean.
42 minStep 6: Score into diamonds while hot, then ladle the cold syrup slowly over the hot cake, letting each ladle soak in before adding the next. Leave for at least 3 hours before serving.
180 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does karydopita take?
- About 65 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of granulated sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of cinnamon stick?
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon per stick.
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