Orange Pie Recipe
A Truly Refreshing Sweet Pie
One of the most surprisingly refreshing desserts I ever had. Traditional Greek orange pie is a recipe that I recently found out about. Somehow the idea of a syrupy pie with phyllo and orange didn’t sit well in my mind.
A few days ago my brother came home from our farm and brought with him some very ripe blood oranges. Daring me to try them and see how tasty they were. So just to please him, (I was sure I wouldn’t be overwhelmed if I tried them) I squeezed 3-4 of them and made myself a glass of fresh juice.
To tell you the truth they didn’t taste like oranges at all. They were so dark in color (truly blood color) and tasted like wild berries that sweet they were. Having this incredible ingredient in my possession, an idea of what to cook with them came to my mind (a great ingredient is always a chefs mouse). A traditional Greek orange pie I was to make. Only on this orange pie, I would make it an upside down one, using blood orange slices. And what goes better with it than a good scoop of frozen yogurt?
Blood Orange Pie With Frozen Yogurt
Very excited about my idea I proceeded on making it. And I became even more excited when I tried it. Citrus fruits are refreshing just by themselves, imagine adding some creamy frozen yogurt on top. The flavor is simply delirious.
The No-Fail Upside Down Method
As for the recipe, I must admit that I was a bit afraid of making a soft caramel as a base on the pan (for the orange slices to sit on). This pies mixture is a bit more delicate than a usual cake mix. Plus this recipe already contains a syrup and it would be too much if I added more. So as to keep it simple and stress-free, I simply added parchment paper and sprinkled sugar as a base before adding the orange slices.There, no worries about overcooking or burning the top of the pie.
That made this recipe a piece of cake to make. Plus it’s a very fun recipe. Crumbling the phyllo with your hands is a nice playful process than the usual pie making. So, time to preheat that oven and have some fun…!
Greek Upside Down Blood Orange Pie Recipe
Ingredients
For the blood orange base:
- 1 ½ blood orange cut into very thin slices
- 50 grams sugar
- parchment paper
For the pie:
- 4 medium sized eggs
- 70 grams icing sugar
- 200 grams full fat Greek yogurt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 orange zested
- 10 grams baking powder
- 200 grams sunflower or corn oil
- 1 pack/450 grams phyllo pastry sheets
For the syrup:
- 750 grams water
- 500 grams sugar
Instructions
- Take a squared piece of parchment paper and fold. Fold one more time so you will have a small square. Fold the square in half to create a triangle. Fold in half one last time.
- Take an 11 inch round pan. Use folded parchment paper as a dart, to point the radius of the bottom of the pan. Cut off the excess end of the dart. Unfold the dart and add parchment paper to the pan.
- Sprinkle with the 50 grams of sugar and lay the orange slices.
For the pie:
- Lay open the phyllo sheets on your working surface. Let them sit on room temperature for at least half an hour (so they will air dry)
- Preheat oven to 180°C/356°F.
- Beat eggs on medium speed on the electric mixer. Add sugar slowly. Small bits at a time. Beat eggs until they start to become foamy .
- Add the yogurt, vanilla extract, orange zest and baking powder.
- Continue beating and pour in slowly the oil. Once fully combined, remove from mixer and set aside.
- Cut the phyllo sheets to 4 pieces lengthwise. Take each phyllo piece and crumble it with your hand. Add to the pan.
- Add a few more, until you slightly cover the bottom. Pour some of the egg mixture on top of the crumbled phyllo sheets.
- Use the rest of the phyllo sheets exactly the same way. Once you used all the phyllo pour the remaining egg mixture on top. Bake for about 30-40 minutes.
For the syrup:
- Once the pie is in the oven start making the syrup.
- In a small saucepan add the water and sugar.
- Heat over high heat. Once the syrup starts to boil reduce heat to medium.
- Simmer for 5 minutes.
- With a ladle pour the syrup over the pie. Both the syrup and the pie should be hot for the syrup to be absorbed.
- Let it reach room temperature and than refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Serve it with a scoop of frozen yogurt.
Oh I just love this kind of pie… with phyllo sheets and looots of syrup, plus that sweet and sour orange taste. Is this similar to portokalopita? I have no idea why I didn’t try portokalopita when I was in Greece (already been there 5 times, in vacation), but I’ve seen it on the internet and I’m drooling every time I see pictures of it! This one, with blood orange, seems even more amazing, yum!
Yes the base is portokalopita I just altered it a bit with the blood orange 😉