A piece of lemonopita cake on a white plate, and topped with a sprinkle of icing sugar, with a Greek coffee next to it.

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Mia Kouppa

https://miakouppa.com

Lemonopita, Greek lemon cake made with phyllo

Lemonopita is a traditional Greek syrup cake made with phyllo and infused with lemon flavour. Dried phyllo dough is used instead of flour to make this perfectly flavoured and textured Greek siropiasto or syrup-soaked cake.

Prep Time30

Cook Time50

Total Time1 20

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Greek

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 321kcal

Author: Helen Bitzas

Equipment

1 9 x 13 inch baking pan

Ingredients

For the syrup

1 ½ cups water
1 ¾ cups sugar
½ cup fresh lemon juice
zest of one lemon
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp honey

For the cake

454 grams phyllo sheets or 1 lb
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
zest of 3 lemons
1 cup Greek yogourt, plain
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp honey
vegetable oil for greasing the pan
icing sugar for dusting on to cake optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the syrup

Combine the ingredients for the syrup in a small pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
1 ½ cups water, 1 ¾ cups sugar, ½ cup fresh lemon juice, zest of one lemon, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tbsp honey

Dry the phyllo

Preheat your oven to 200 °F
Take each phyllo sheet and scrunch them up, one by one, starting from the short side. After scrunching a sheet, place it on a baking sheet and continue until you have used the entire pack of phyllo. Leave enough space between the scrunched up phyllo and do not pack it together too tightly. You will need two baking sheets to accomodate all the phyllo sheets.
454 grams phyllo sheets or 1 lb
Bake in the middle and bottom racks of your oven for about 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes have passed, remove pans from the oven and flip each phyllo sheet over. At this point rotate the pans so that the one on the bottom rack goes to the middle rack and vice versa. Bake for an additional 8 minutes. Turn off your oven and leave the phyllo in the oven while keeping the oven door slightly ajar; you can use a folded kitchen towel or oven mitt to do this.
Once the phyllo is completely dried out and crispy, use your hand to tear it into pieces. This is not an exact science, and the pieces do not need to be uniform. Set aside.

Prepare the cake batter

Preheat oven to 350 °F
In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the eggs and sugar and beat for 3 to 4 minutes, until a pale yellow colour. Add the lemon zest, Greek yogourt, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix until well combined.
4 large eggs, 1 cup sugar, zest of 3 lemons, 1 cup Greek yogourt, plain, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp salt
Next, to the mixer add the oil, lemon juice and honey and mix until well combined.
1 cup vegetable oil , ½ cup fresh lemon juice, 2 tbsp honey
Using a rubber spatula begin to incorporate your dried out and torn phyllo into the cake batter, a bit at a time. Stir well after each addition, and continue until all the phyllo has been used up.
After you have incorporated all of the phyllo into the cake batter, pour the mixture into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes in the middle rack of your oven until the lemonopita is a nice golden colour on top. Check it after 50 minutes, you don't want it to burn.
When baked, remove the lemonopita from the oven and immediately pierce it in several places with a long skewer.
Pour the cooled syrup onto the hot cake, one ladle at a time. Allow each ladle full of syrup to be absorbed into the cake before adding the next one. Repeat until all of the syrup has been used.
Allow your cake to cool completely before serving. If you like, dust the top with icing sugar prior to serving.

Notes

We usually like to pour the liquid ingredients into a bowl much larger than our stand mixer bowl-this makes folding in the phyllo much easier, but it is not necessary.

Taste your batter, if you find it too sharp, add another 1-2 tablespoons sugar or a bit of honey; if you find it too mild add extra lemon zest (not juice).

This cake is actually better the day after it's made.

Nutrition