Greek Karidopita walnut cake served with a dollop of ice-cream

Karidopita Greek Walnut cake Recipe

60 Minutes
Serves: 8

A traditional Greek Karidopita cake packed with all the flavours of Christmas, walnuts, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. This delicious walnut cake is soaked with an orange, vanilla and brandy syrup till just moist. Serve karidopita warm or cold with ice-cream.

Recipe Ingreds

Walnut Cake

  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 5 tbsp brandy
  • 200 grams butter
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 7 whole egg
  • 0.5 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 whole orange
  • 3 slices brown bread
  • 165 grams light brown sugar
  • 380 grams walnuts
  • 6 scoop icecream(vanilla)

Orange Syrup

  • 3 tbsp brandy
  • 15 ml orange juice
  • 150 grams caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 75 ml water

Recipe with pictures Steps

Step 1

  • using a small amount of the butter, grease the cake tin. cut out a circle of grease proof paper the same size as the tin place in the tin. Cut a strip of paper to line the sides of the tin.
  • zest and squeeze the orange
  • using a food processor blend the walnuts and bread into breadcrumbs size pieces

Step 2

  • chop the butter into cubes and add to the food mixer with the sugar
  • beat the butter and sugar mixture till pale and fluffy
  • add the zest
  • separate the whites and yolks
  • add the egg yolks a bit at a time

Step 3

  • add the brandy to the cake mixture
  • stir to mix the ingredients
  • set a side

Step 4

  • set the oven to 165C 365F or gas mark 3
  • add the breadcrumbs and nuts to a large bowl
  • mix the nut mixture and the creamed butter mixture
  • add the spices and baking powder
  • stir to mix the ingredients

Step 5

  • place the egg whites in a bowl
  • whisk the egg whites till they form peaks
  • fold in half the whisked egg white into the nut cake mixture
  • carefully fold the remaining whisked egg white into the mixture

Step 6

  • fill the cake tin with the walnut cake mixture
  • bake for 35 mins
  • the karidopita is ready when it start to come away from the sides
  • remove from the oven
  • Allow to cool in the tin

Step 7

  • to make the syrup
  • place all the ingredients in a pan
  • stir till sugar has melted
  • cook till the sauce thickens
  • sieve the syrup

Step 8

  • score the top of the Karidopita cake with portion marks
  • pour the orange syrup over the walnut cake
  • leave the syrup to soak in the cake for an hour

Step 9

  • serve karidopita walnut cake in slices with ice cream

Recipe Utensils

  • 2 bowl
  • 1 cake tin (9 inch/23 cms)
  • 1 food mixer
  • 1 food processor
  • 1 grater
  • 1 grease proof paper
  • 1 hand mixer
  • 1 large knife
  • 1 lemon squeezer
  • 1 sieve
  • 2 small bowl
  • 1 small pan

More recipes you might like: Around the World, Desserts

How to make karidopita walnut cake

A delicious traditional recipe, this lovely Greek walnut cake is baked in the oven and then soaked in spiced orange syrup. The cake is unusual in that the sponge is made from breadcrumbs and walnuts blended together in place of flour, these are added to a whipped butter, sugar and egg yolk mix. Air is added to the sponge using baking powder and whipped egg whites. Once cooked it is drenched in a sweet orange syrup  The syrup is made from orange juice, brandy, vanilla and caster sugar, the sauce is thickened and then poured over the cake as it cools,

Recipe Tips

Add just enough syrup to moisten the cake rather than soaking it,  so it remains light and fluffy if you are not sure add a little a at time.  If you accidentally add too much pop the cake back in the oven to dry the cake out a little. If you like your cake extra syrupy then go for it, after all its personal taste!

When to cook Greek walnut cake?

We think karidopita is more a winter dish than a summer one, it is packed full of winter ingredients such as walnuts, oranges, and spices, in fact, it is ideal to add to your Christmas repertoire, as it is full of flavours reminiscent of Christmas and makes a great alternative to a Christmas pudding. You can serve this cake warm or cold, we serve it warm with a dollop of ice cream but you can serve it with whipped cream. If you intend to eat it as a cake rather than a dessert make sure you don't overload it with syrup 

Who will love this recipe

The dish is quite sweet and served with ice cream is perfect for adults and children alike. You can serve it as a dessert or cut it into neat squares and serve it as part of an afternoon tea, especially in the winter.

Greek dinner party dessert

Karidopita is ideal for any authentic Greek themed dinner party, or Christmas dinner party. We serve it as the dessert for our Greek menu with spinach and feta parcels for the starter and lamb moussaka for the meat eaters and chickpea moussaka for the vegetarians for the main course. Take a look at our Greek-themed menu and see if it’s perfect for your next party.

What makes our Karidopita the best?

This walnut cake is a delicious combination of ingredients - nuts, oranges, and spices, without a doubt, the delicious orange, brandy and vanilla syrup that is added to the cake after it is cooked makes this absolutely delicious.

What is Karidopita?

This delicious recipe is a fantastic light spiced walnut cake, moisten with orange, brandy and vanilla syrup, It is a traditional Greek dessert or sweet, its name comes from the Greek word for walnut and pie combined. The syrup can be flavoured with different flavourings, common flavourings are orange zest, cloves, brown sugar and spiced rum or cognac. 

Other Greek Recipes

Greek Herb Pilaf with Prawn and Feta

Greek Lemon & Herb Chicken with Tzatziki & Salad

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