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A plate with three pieces of greek orange phyllo cake utensils over napkin. A pan with cake at the back.
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Portokalopita - Greek Orange Phyllo Cake

Portokalopita - Greek orange phyllo cake is a decadent syrupy Greek dessert. Easy to make with simple ingredients like oranges, phyllo sheets, yogurt and star anise, it is an irresistible treat.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Greek
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Additional time for phyllo prep 1 hour
Servings 16 pieces
Calories 396kcal

Equipment

  • 9 inch square baking pan
  • large baking pan
  • medium sauce pan
  • Mixer (hand mixer or tabletop)

Ingredients

  • 1 package phyllo sheets
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup greek yogurt full fat
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 vanilla bean paste
  • 2 oranges juiced and zested (zest divided)

For the syrup

  • 3 cups sugar
  • 3 star anise
  • zest from one orange

Instructions

Make the syrup

  • Add 3 cups of water, 3 cups of sugar, the zest from one orange and 3 star anise in a medium sauce pan. Boil for 15 minutes. Leave aside to cool.
  • Preheat oven at 250 F (120 C).

Prepare the phyllo sheets

  • Scrunch up the phylo sheets one by one and place on a large pan. Bake them in the oven for about an hour until they are completely dried out and crunchy.
    Turn them over halfway to make sure they dry out all over. 

Prepare the mixture

  • Using a mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, oil, orange juice and zest from one orange, yogurt, vanilla bean paste and baking powder for about 4-5 minutes.

Assemble

  • Turn up the oven heat to 350 F (180 C).
  • Brush your baking pan with some vegetable oil
  • Crumble up the dried phyllo sheets until all are broken up. Add them all in your pan (I used a 9 x9 inch bake pan).
  • Pour the filling all over phyllo. Mix well but gently to make sure filling and crumbled phyllo are evenly spread within the pan
  • Bake for 50 minutes until it is a nice orange golden color on top.
  • Remove from oven and immediately pour the syrup all over cake. Let it cool completely and the syrup gets fully absorbed.
  • Serve as is or with vanilla ice cream. Pour all over some leftover syrup if you like .

Notes

 
Nutritional Info – Please remember that the nutritional information provided is only estimated and can vary based on the products used.

Nutrition

Calories: 396kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 133mg | Potassium: 78mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 52g | Vitamin A: 96IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1mg