Greek Walnut Cake – Karydopita
Course: Sweet TreatsCuisine: GreekDifficulty: MediumServings
8-10
servingsPrep time
30
minutesCooking time
40
minutesTotal time
1
hour10
minutesIt was my birthday this week and I was in Corfu so what better cake to celebrate than Greek Walnut cake – Karydopita.
Ingredients
Plain flour, for dusting
5 large eggs
175g caster sugar
100g dried white breadcrumbs
100g walnuts, chopped
½ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 150℃/300℉/gas2. Grease a loose-bottomed round 23cm-diameter cake tin and dust with flour.
- Separate the eggs, putting the yolks into one bowl with the sugar and the egg whites into another. Put the breadcrumbs, walnuts and spices into a third bowl and mix well.
- Whisk the egg whites to a soft meringue consistency. Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the walnut mixture to the egg yolks and sugar and combine thoroughly, using a spatula.
- Now take a large spoonful of the meringue and add it to the cake mix. Whisk to miss we’ll and loosen the texture, then fold in the rest of the meringue slowly and carefully, so as not to knock the air out of it.
- Transfer the scale mix to the floured cake tin and spread level, then bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool, then cut the cake into slices while still in the tin.
Cook’s Tip
- I took this recipe from ‘Under the Olive Tree’ by Irina Tzortzoglou. The full recipe also includes a chocolate ganache and a caramelised banana ice-cream. I prefer it plain though the ice-cream is tempting!
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