Karidopita

Many Greek cakes are soaked in very sweet syrup, and this is one of them.

If you eat this in Greece, possibility is that it is too sweet, but if you make it at home, you can make it to your taste.

Can be served with whipped cream or ice-cream.

Ingredients

For cake


Butter	100g
Sugar	200cc
Walnuts	400cc (roughly crushed)
Crushed Hard Rasks	300cc
Eggs	4 large or 5 small
All-purpose flour	300cc
Cinnamon	1 tsp
Clove Powder	1/2 tsp
Baking Powder	3 tsps
Baking Soda	1 tsp
Brandy	1 tbsp

For Syrup

Sugar	300cc
Honey	2 tbsps
Water	400cc
Lemon	Juice and zest of 1 lemon





Method


• Shift the flour with baking powder.
• Soften the butter keeping it in room temperature. When it is soft, whip it with sugar until it turns white.
• Mix the eggs one by one while keep on whipping.
• Add walnuts, cinnamon, clove and baking soda desolved in brandy. Then add crushed rusk, and finally flour and mix.
• Bake it in an oiled baking tin in 200c degree oven for one hour or so. If the surface starts to burn, cover loosely with an alminium foil. Stick a folk and if the dough does not come up with it, cake is ready.
• While you bake the cake, prepare ths syrup. Put sugar, water and lemon juice and zest in a pan, and boil for a quarter of an hour. Remove the white foams turning up on the surface.
• When the cake is baked, make holes with folk (or cut into pieces with knife), and pour the syrup over. You should leave it at least for one hour (you can leave it overnight) so that the cake soak up the syrup and becomes moist.

Tips


This recipe is based on a Greek cooking book published by Toubis. The original recipe requires 600cc of sugar for syrup. I reduced the quantity and added some honey to enhance the flavour.


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