Greek Portokalopita: Orange Phyllo Cake

Ingredients
For the syrup:

1 and 1/2 cups water
1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
peel of a large orange
1/2 cup orange juice
​For the cake:

1 pound phyllo, thawed and at room temperature
5 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil or light olive oil
1 cup plain yogurt
1 and 1/4 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup granulated sugar
​1 tablespoon baking powder
zest of 2 large oranges
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips/chunks
Optional:

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom seeds
1 cup of dried fruit (cranberries or raisins) instead of the chocolate
Instructions

​Preheat the oven to 350 °F, 180 °C.
​Remove the phyllo from its packaging and keep it rolled up. Thinly slice the phyllo and spread it on a clean work surface to dry up. About 1 hour.

Alternatively, bake the phyllo strips in the air fryer at 300 °F for 5-7 minutes.

In the meantime, make the syrup by combining all of the syrup ingredients together in a small saucepan.
Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook about 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to completely cool.
​Beat the sugar and eggs together until thick and pale yellow in color.
​Whisk in the olive oil, yogurt, orange juice, salt, and vanilla extract.
​Mix in the phyllo slices, a handful at a time. Use 2 forks to mix them in evenly.
Fold in the orange zest and the chocolate.
Pour into a 9 inch by 13 inch baking pan.
​Bake for about 1 hour. The cake will be golden when ready.
As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, poke some holes with a skewer or tooth pick and pour the syrup over it.
Allow to cool completely, about 1-2 hours, before serving.
​This cake is very sweet. It tastes best with unsweetened whipped cream or with dark chocolate ganache drizzled on top. Some bittersweet chocolate curls would also taste fantastic with this cake.
​Enjoy!

Notes
Leftovers can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to a month.

Music Used:
Greek Sun Time (With Intro)
ITEM ID: 66582698
By: tonyanthony

Its All Greek
ITEM ID: 84456733
By: LowNotes

[alexandrasidiropoulos]

Όλες οι συνταγές σου είναι εξαιρετικές.. Βραβο σου ! Σε ευχαριστω !

[christianasocratous]

Φαινεται τελεια σε ευχαριστουμε Δήμητρα!

[dianecatalano]

I love all your recipes ! I never cooked much before but I do now, Thankyou!!

[vickykartsimas]

Dimitroula mou yiasou parta ola dika sou🎶🎵🎼famous greek song it was written for you Dimitroula mou, we love all your recipes. ❤❤

[alexandrasidiropoulos]

HelloDimitra !
That portokalopita looks delicious! I cannot wait to make it. Thank you so much!❤

[sjcp]

Awesome recipe - Looks absolutely scrumptious! Love, love, orange with chocolate. Yum😊 Thank you for sharing 👍

[marche]

Wow, this dessert looks amazing! Thank you for sharing 😋

[yasminmohammed]

Thanks for sharing this. I always get great results with your recipes. Thanks again.

[jacquelinemassinello]

That looks so delicious !!
I love Greek food, my boss Voula is Greek her food and baking was excellent, just like a pro !!
I have some of her recipes, at times I do make them ..
but this your recipe I will definitely make .. thank you for this recipe !! ❤

[iambleu]

THAT LOOKS DELICIOUS! I'LL HAVE TO ATTEMPT TO MAKE THIS! THANK YOU SO MUCH, SWEETHEART.

[tanvav]

TY sweet Dimitroula mou! Sorry for the lateness I was over-occupied with some other things. I'll tr to make this portokalopita with chocolate chunks,

[jamilazainalabid]

Thank you 🙏 as always for sharing your delicious recipes. Is that okay if I use butter instead oil thank you 🙏

[dianeamero]

This looks delicious like all of your recipes do. I noticed that so many Greek desserts have the syrup soak, I was wondering if you can use less syrup or perhaps less sugar in the syrup or leave the syrup out altogether? How much would this affect the texture and flavor of the cake? Thanks for making the recipes look so doable! 😊

[MyLizzie]

My niece made this beauty last week. It was scrumptious!! I love it cool but days later, warmed up the syrup just activates! Yum

[saraabraham]

Hi Dimitria,
since I do not have Air fryer (yet) Approximately how long should I bake the phyllo strips in the oven before combining everything? Please Advise. Thank you for GREAT Recipe as always.

[av]

so in the description it says beat sugar n egg until creamy in video you mix all wet ingredient, which one is it??

[manueldsouza]

Hello.chefDemit.
Always.Excelleen
Chef.Manuel.
Bombay.

[nicholastrypanis]

PORTOKALOPITA DOES NO LOOK LIKE THAT















AND NOBODY PUTS CHOCOLATE CHIPS ON

[parnianahmadimoghaddam]

You did not say when to add the baking soda at all. I followed the instructions and ended up not adding baking soda. Turned out really thick and not fluffy

[ljay]

Can you please talk faster ??? It’s a good thing we can read the transcript. Maybe you’re used to TikTok- getting your video done in a few minutes. WOW IT IS SO ANNOYING