Ingredients

• 1 cup olive oil, virgin is best
• 1 1/4 cups orange juice, preferably fresh
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 cups self raising flour
• 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
• 1 tsp baking powder

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line the base and sides of a 23cm round cake tin.
2. In a bowl stir together the oil, orange juice, sugar and cinnamon until the sugar dissolves some a little; it will not all dissolve.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder into the liquid ingredients, add walnuts and stir all the ingredient together. Pour into the prepared cake tin.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes then turn down to 130 °C – 120 °C and cook a further 40-45 minutes. Cool in tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a cake rack to cool.
5. Serve warm with cream. Or pour a syrup over the warm cake, while in the tin , made from 1 ½ cups water and 1 cup sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon.

Cooks Tips

This cake is named after Saint Fanouropita or Phanouropita who is a Great martyr as opposed to your average every day martyr. His day in the Greek Orthodox church is the 27th August. The cakes are taken to the church on the day where they are blessed. The recipe comes from Maria Benardis in her book My Family Greek Table, a lovely inspiriring recipes.