Fanouropita (Greek St. Fanourios Cake)

5.00 (3)
⏱ 65 mins 🍽 Serves 12 🌶 greek 🏷 Dessert

This traditional Greek cake, known as Fanouropita, is a moist and flavourful dessert. It combines olive oil and fresh orange juice for a zesty base, enriched with brandy and sugar. The batter is filled with chopped walnuts and raisins, spiced with cinnamon and cloves, then baked until golden. Topped with sesame seeds, it yields a dense, aromatic cake ideal for slicing into 12 portions. The total preparation and baking time is approximately 65 minutes.

Fanouropita (Greek St. Fanourios Cake)

Ingredients

  • 1.375 cups olive oil
  • 1.5 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons brandy
  • 1.5 cups white sugar
  • 5.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1.25 cups chopped walnuts
  • 1 cup Thompson seedless raisins
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 0.5 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Method

  1. Set your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 12-inch round springform pan by greasing it.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, blend the olive oil, orange juice, and brandy. Mix in the sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, then sift this into the wet ingredients. Gently fold in the walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, and cloves until fully incorporated. Transfer the batter to the greased pan, smoothing the surface. Scatter the sesame seeds over the top.
  3. Place the pan in the heated oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake's centre emerges clean, 45 to 60 minutes.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories664 kcal
Fat33 g
Sugars36 g
Protein9 g
Sodium190 mg

Recipe details

CategoryDessert
Cuisinegreek
AuthorDiana Moutsopoulos