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Karydopita-Recipe
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4.75 from 4 votes

Greek Walnut Cake (Karydopita)

A moist, spiced, Greek walnut cake soaked in syrup. Flavored with cinnamon, cloves, orange, and cognac. Yields enough portions to feed a crowd!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Greek
Keyword: dessert, Nuts, Oven baked
Servings: 18 pieces
Calories: 441kcal

Ingredients

For The Greek Walnut Cake:

  • 120 grams (4.2 ounce) butter at room temperature
  • 1 orange zested
  • 260 grams (1 cup + 6 tablespoons) sugar
  • 8 medium-sized eggs separated into yolks and whites
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 400 grams (14.1 ounce) walnuts
  • 170 grams (6 ounce) powdered melba toast or breadcrumbs
  • 20 grams (4 teaspoons) baking powder
  • 5 tablespoons cognac/brandy

For The Syrup:

  • 550 ml (2⅓ cups) water
  • 500 grams (2½ cups) sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 4 tablespoons cognac
  • 1 cinnamon stick

Instructions

For The Cake:

  • Chop walnuts in a food processor in two batches. Pulse the first batch to finely ground and the second to coarsely ground. And then mix them together.
  • Mix together all the dry ingredients: walnuts, cinnamon, cloves, melba toast (or breadcrumbs), and baking powder. Set aside.
  • Cream the butter together with half the sugar and orange zest for 6-7 minutes until very creamy using your electric mixer with the whisk attachment on. Stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl.
  • Add the egg yolks 2 at a time and keep beating until fully incorporated into the mixture.
  • Pour in the cognac and mix until uniform.
  • Beat the egg whites in a bowl and once they start to thicken gradually add in the remaining sugar. Keep beating until soft peaks form.
    NOTE: Make sure both the bowl and electric mixer whisk are clean and dry.
  • Combine everything together. Incorporate the dry ingredients mixture into the butter mixture in batches alternately with the meringue. Do this by folding the batter with a silicone spatula to preserve the air within the mixture.
  • Grease an 11 x 15-inch (26 x 36 cm) pan with butter and sprinkle some powdered melba toast or breadcrumbs at the bottom. Shake to spread evenly.
  • Transfer the cake batter to the pan and spread evenly.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes or insert a toothpick in the center of the cake to see if it comes out clean.
  • Allow to cool down to room temperature.

For The Syrup:

  • -please see the syrup tips below this recipe
  • Add all of the ingredients for the syrup to a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Then drop the heat to medium-high.
  • Cook for 6-7 minutes or until syrup thickens slightly. Don't stir the syrup while it cooks.
  • Ladle the hot syrup over the cool cake. Waiting for a few seconds between each ladle.
  • Let the Karydopita cool down to room temperature then sprinkle extra ground walnuts on top if you like or see the text above for coating suggestions.
  • Cut into 18 square pieces or fewer bigger ones if you prefer.
  • Refrigerate (preferably) for 5-6 hours prior to serving or serve the cake at room temperature.
  • Keep in the fridge for up to 10 days or at room temperature for up to 7 days.

Video

Notes

QUICK TIPS FOR SYRUP
  1. Poke the cake with a skewer or cut it into portions before adding the syrup to help absorb it better. 
  2. Leave the cake for 2-3 hours to set and absorb the syrup. 
  3. If the syrup has thickened a lot and the cake isn't able to absorb it, place the pan in the oven and heat your oven to 120°C / 250°F. Let the cake warm up and slowly absorb the syrup. Another solution to this is to carefully drain the syrup from the corner of the pan and reheat it again by adding a tiny amount of water. Then drizzle slowly over the cake again. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 441kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 143mg | Potassium: 263mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 281IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 107mg | Iron: 2mg