There portokalopita, orange cake, is a traditional dessert from the Peloponnese, in Greece, usually prepared for weddings. Simple to make, it has no butter, but Greek oil and yogurt, which gives it a soft consistency. "I always remember the phrase that my mom said:" You have to let it melt in your mouth "," recalls Vasiliki, owner of the Greek restaurant Vasiliki Kouzina in Milan. The orange pie of his childhood was traditionally prepared with dried phyllo dough, blended in the mixer and made into a flour. But it can be replaced with semolina flour.

Recipe

Ingredients for 4 people

250 g Greek yogurt
250 g caster sugar
225 g sunflower oil
230 g fresh orange juice orange zest
4 eggs
500 g re-milled semolina
30 g baking powder for powdered sugar
mint leaves

Method

First, combine all the liquid ingredients in a large bowl: Greek yogurt, sunflower oil, eggs, fresh orange juice and grate the zest of two oranges then with a whisk mix the mixture well.

At this point add the powders: sugar, semolina and baking powder. With a whisk, beat the mixture to make it smooth and homogeneous, free of lumps. Butter a 24-26 cm diameter cake tin and bake the cake at 165 degrees for 20 minutes.

Before enjoying it, sprinkle with icing sugar and garnish with a few mint leaves.