Here are the ingredients you will need for the cake :

380g chopped walnut

180g breadcrumbs

20g baking powder

1 flat tsp powdered nutmeg

2 tsps powdered cinnamon

1/2 tsp grounded clove

200g butter

165g sugar

7 eggs

75ml cognac

The ingredients for the syrup :

2 cups sugar

100 grams honey

2 cups water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp orange juice

1/4 of a cup cognac

Now let's get started :

1/ Use an electric mixer to mix the sugar and butter; mix at medium-high speed for at least 5 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, whilst continue mixing; wait each time for each egg to be absorbed, before adding the next. Pour in the cognac and the orange zest and mix for 10 more seconds. Set aside.

2/ Into a large bowl, add the chopped walnut, the powdered Melba toast, the cinnamon, the clove, the nutmeg, the baking powder and blend with a spoon. (Chop the walnut, using a blender, but be careful not to powder it; the authentic Greek walnut cake calls for roughly chopped walnuts.)

3/ Combine the two mixtures and blend, until smooth. Place the egg whites into the bowl of the electric mixer, along with a pinch of salt. Make sure your egg whites, bowl and whisk attachments are clean and free of any water. Whisk the egg whites until the mixture is very thick and glossy and a long trailing peak forms when the whisk is lifted (meringues).

4/ With a spatula add gradually the meringues into the mixture and blend with light circular movements from the bottom up.

5/ Butter the bottom and the sides of a round baking tray, approx 30cm diameter and bake in a preheated oven at 170C, for about 35 minutes, until nicely colored on the outside and baked through.

6/ Let the Karidopita (Greek walnut cake) to cool and then prepare the syrup. Add all the ingredients for the syrup into a pot, and boil, until the sugar has dissolved. Scar the cake into pieces, and slowly ladle the hot syrup over the cold cake, allowing time for each ladle of syrup to be absorbed.

7/ Let it cool down for a while, before serving. This Greek walnut cake is ideally served cold with some vanilla ice-cream aside. Enjoy!!