This cake is based on the idea of portokalopita, a classic light and moist cake I made on MasterChef using crushed baked filo which went down very well with the judges. This version uses pineapple and the coconut makes a great partner to the cake.
Ingredients (Serves 10–12)
For the cake
- 200g fresh filo pastry
- 200ml sunflower oil
- 100g sugar
- 35g desiccated coconut
- 50ml coconut milk
- 4 medium eggs
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 175g Greek yoghurt
- 100g tinned pineapple, chopped in small pieces
For the syrup
- 150ml pineapple syrup from the can
- 100ml water
- 175g sugar
- Squeeze of lemon
Method
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 100°C.
Take each filo sheet and scrunch it up in your hands gently. Place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment, leaving some space between the filo bundles (use a second tray if necessary). Place the tray in the preheated oven for 50–60 minutes, until totally dry. Leave the filo to cool, then break it up into the smallest pieces possible.
Turn the oven up to 180C/250F/Gas 4.
Put the sunflower oil, sugar and eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat at high speed for 10 minutes. Add the baking powder to the yoghurt and leave aside for 2–3 minutes. When the egg mixture is light, fluffy and foam-like, fold in the yoghurt and the coconut milk and add the chopped pineapple.
Add the broken-up filo and desiccated coconut to the mixture and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Then pour into a well-oiled cake tin and bake in a conventional oven (a fan oven is not recommended here) at 180°C for 35–40 minutes.
While the cake is baking, make the syrup.
Blitz the remaining pineapple slices from the tin together with the pineapple syrup in a small blender and strain. Add water to make 250ml of liquid. Add that to a saucepan with the sugar and bring to the boil stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Test that the cake is done by inserting a skewer into the middle of it. It should come out dry. Take out of the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes.
Add the warm syrup to the cake with a spoon and leave it to absorb before serving.
The cake goes beautifully with a coconut sorbet or ice cream.