Karydopita (Greek Walnut Cake) (2024)

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Karydopita (Greek Walnut Cake) is a traditional syrup cake, loaded with crunchy walnuts and tantalizing spices. This is an easy to make syrup-soaked cake and so delicious!

Karydopita (Greek Walnut Cake)

Karydopita is a Greek walnut cake, but the amazing thing about this dessert is that there’s no flour in it! Topped with a simple syrup and loaded with crunchy chopped walnuts, this cake is the perfect balance of flavor and texture.

• Easy To Make
• Simple Ingredient List
• Delicious & Unique

Karydopita can be found at Greek bakeries, but it is such a nice treat to make at home! The syrup soaked cake, mixed with the crunchy nuttiness of the walnuts is to die for. This walnut cake is rich, decadent and perfectly spiced. If you’ve never tried Karydopita before, you’re in for a real treat!

Ingredient Notes

Cake

• Sugar – Plain granulated will do the trick!
• Butter– I used unsalted to control the sodium level. Make sure it’s at room temperature.
• Eggs– I always use large eggs when I’m baking! The eggs need to be separated and at room temperature.
• Cognac – This adds a nice hint of flavor to the cake. We are using the cognac in both the cake and the syrup to ensure we get a cohesive flavor throughout.
• Walnuts –Since this is a “walnut cake” walnuts are a must! Roughly chopped.
• Breadcrumbs– Plain or ground rusk. Use gluten free breadcrumbs, for a gluten free cake.
• Baking Powder – This will act as our leavener and give us a super moist cake.
• Spices – We are using a combination of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves.
• Salt – Salt is imperative when it comes to baking

Syrup

• Sugar
• Water
• Cinnamon
• Lemon Juice
• Cognac
• Whole cloves

How To Make Karydopita

1. Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F and generously grease 9×13″ baking pan. Set aside.
2. Mix Wet Ingredients: Add the sugar and butter to a large bowl and mix on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, while continuing to mix. Add the cognac and mix until blended in.
3. Mix Dry Ingredients: In another large bowl, combine the walnuts, breadcrumbs, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.
4. Combine Wet & Dry Ingredients: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth.
5. Add Egg Whites: Add the egg whites to another bowl and mix until stiff peaks form. Fold in the egg whites into the cake batter, a quarter at a time, with circular movements until finished.
6. Bake: Pour the cake batter into the greased pan and transfer to the preheated oven. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the cake is nicely browned. Test with a toothpick to make sure it’s baked through.
7. Make Syrup: While the cake is baking, make the syrup. Add all the syrup ingredients together to a small saucepan and boil until the sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally, over medium heat. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer the syrup for 5 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick and cloves. Let the syrup cool while the cake is baking.
8. Finish: As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour the cooled syrup over the entire cake. You could also pour hot syrup on a cool cake. Allow the cake to absorb all the syrup.
9. Serve: Cut the cake into diamond shaped pieces and serve with walnut half on top and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Tips

1. Make sure you use eggs that are at room temperaturebecause they mix better with the batter and rise more easily.
2. Traditionally for this cake, whole walnuts are shelled are chopped. Nuts still in their shell tend to taste fresher and are usually cheaper. While you can use this method, purchasing a bag of walnuts at the store will certainly be easier.
3. Once your cake is cut, make sure tocover it airtightimmediately because it can dry out quickly. I like to use a cake plate covered with a dome, or simply wrap it with plastic wrap.
4. Use fresh baking powderin order to ensure your cake rises nicely. Totest if baking powder is still good, spoon 1/2 teaspoon in a bowl and pour 1/4 cup of boiling water over it. Right away it should bubble up violently.Ifit does, it’sstillgood.Ifit doesn’t, discard it and open a new tin.

Storing

Karydopita will last up to3 days at room temperature, in an airtight container or wrapped tightly with plastic wrap. Stored in thefridge, it will last up to1 week.

Freezing

You can also freeze this walnut cake! Wrap it tightly with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, place it in a ziploc bag and store it in the freezer for 2 to 3 months.

More Great Recipes To Try

• Arugula and Walnut Pesto Pasta
• Pumpkin Cheesecake
• Coffee Cake
• Banana Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
• Walnut Cookies
• Carrot Cake
• Sticky Toffee Pudding