If you’ve been to Greece, you may have had this. It’s a classic Greek orange filo cake called Portokalopita, often eaten for dessert with coffee. Instead of flour, it's made with dried filo pastry, which is a weird but satisfying process. This is one of Maria Koutsogiannis's recipes (Food by Maria), and it's so similar to what I’ve been served in Greece. Give it a try!

Portokalopita (Greek Orange Filo Cake)

Ingredients

For the orange syrup

  • 200g caster sugar

  • 240ml fresh orange juice

  • 240ml water

  • 1 cinnamon stick

For the cake

  • 300g filo pastry (defrosted if frozen)

  • 3 eggs

  • 100g caster sugar

  • Zest of 1½ oranges

  • 160g full-fat Greek yoghurt

  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

  • ¾ tsp baking powder

  • ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda

  • 160ml olive oil

  • 90ml fresh orange juice (6 tbsp)

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 100°C (80°C fan). Take one sheet of filo at a time, scrunch it up and push it to one end of a large baking dish. Keep going, lining them up, until all the sheets are in. Bake low and slow for 30 to 40 minutes, breaking it up with your hands every 10 minutes, until completely dry and crumbly. Leave to cool.

  2. Put the sugar, orange juice, water and cinnamon stick in a small pan. Bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and it’s slightly syrupy. Leave to cool completely.

  3. Grease a 23cm springform tin with a tablespoon or two of butter, then dust with flour.

  4. Once the filo has cooled, turn the oven up to 180°C (160°C fan).

  5. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar hard for 1 to 2 minutes until frothy and a little paler.

  6. Add the orange zest, yoghurt, vanilla, baking powder and bicarb, and whisk until smooth.

  7. Pour in the olive oil and orange juice and whisk again until combined.

  8. Crumble the dried filo into fine pieces, then add it to the batter a little at a time, whisking as you go so it doesn’t clump.

  9. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden and a skewer comes out clean.

  10. As soon as it’s out of the oven, poke holes all over the cake with a skewer. Ladle the cooled syrup over the hot cake one ladleful at a time, letting each soak in before adding the next, until it’s all used.

  11. Let it cool completely before cutting. Lovely with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.