Walnut cake

Name: Walnut cake
Yield: Serves 10–12
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: pinch of salt; 300 g/11 oz/2¾ cups shelled walnuts, coarsely chopped; 150 g/5 oz/1¼ cups self-raising/self-rising flour; 2.5 ml/½ tsp ground cinnamon; 60 ml/4 tbsp brandy; 250 g/9 oz/1¼ cups caster/superfine sugar; 2–3 strips of pared orange rind; 5 ml/1 tsp baking powder; 2 cinnamon sticks; 300 ml/½ pint/1¼ cups water; 4 eggs, separated; 150 g/5 oz/10 tbsp unsalted butter; 115 g/4 oz/generous ½ cup caster/superfine sugar; vegetable oil, for greasing; 30 ml/2 tbsp brandy

Preparation info

Serves
10–12

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Food & Cooking of Greece

By Rena Salaman

Published 2023

About

This luscious cake, karythopitta, is one of the finest Greek desserts of all. On the islands, it is traditionally made for name day celebrations, when any number of guests may drop in during the evening to convey their good wishes and receive a sweet morsel of syrup-drenched cake.

Ingredients

vegetable oil, for greasing
150 g/5 oz/10 tbsp unsalted butter

Europe
Greece
Cake
Dessert
Mediterranean
Summer
Vegetarian

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. Grease a 35 x 23 cm/14 x 9 in roasting pan or baking di