Revani

Revani, a traditional Greek cake, flavored like flaked coconut and oranges, is one of Greece’s numerous syrup desserts and can be found in various forms. If you want to bake one yourself, just follow our instructions.

 Ingredients for the cake

•  4 eggs (separated into whites and yolks)
• 2 cups butter (at room temperature)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups flaked coconut
• zest of 2 oranges

Ingredients for the syrup

• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 ½ cups water
• Juice of ½ lemon

The first step towards your home made Revani is preheating the oven to is to 180°C.

Now start mixing the butter and sugar at high speed until it has a fluffy consistency. Set the mixture aside after you add the egg yolks, one at a time, still whilst mixing.

Continue with putting the egg whites and a pinch of sugar in a clean mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer or hand beater to whisk the egg whites until the mixture is thick and glossy and a long trailing peak forms when the whisk is lifted (meringues).

Use another bowl to blend the flaked coconut, flour and baking powder.

With the help of a spatula add the meringues and half of the flour mixture into the whisked butter and blend lightly until they are properly mixed.

Add the orange zest and rest of the flour mixture and blend, using lightly circular movements.

For baking use a round cake tin with approximately 30 cm in diameter. To prevent the Revani from sticking to the pan, use butter and brush it to the bottom and sides of the tin, then sprinkle with 2 tbsp of flour and shake the tin, so that the flour covers the butter. Make sure to get rid of the excess flour.

Bake the Revani in the preheated oven at 180°C for about 40-45 minutes, until it has a golden color. After you take the cake out of the oven let it cool down for a while.

When the cake has cooled down, you can start preparing the syrup. For that add the sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan and boil for 5-10 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup has slightly thickened. Remove the pan from the stove and slowly start to pour the syrup over the cake, allowing the cake to absorb the syrup, before ladling again. Once all the syrup is absorbed, place the cake in the fridge.

The cake tastes the best if served cold with a spoon of vanilla ice cream.

Additional information

To achieve the best texture for the syrup, never stir or blend while boiling. Just wait till the sugar is dissolved. When adding the syrup, make sure the cake is cold and the syrup really hot. Wait until the Revani is fully cooled down before cutting, as it will crumble otherwise.