Karidopita: A Traditional Walnut Cake with Honey Syrup

 Karidopita (καρυδόπιτα in Greek) is the name of the traditional Greek walnut cake with honey and syrup. Its name derives from the words "karydia" (walnuts) and "pita" (pie). This happens to be one of my favorite desserts as my mother used to make karidopita to celebrate my name day. So, every time I make this mouthwatering walnut cake, I remember my childhood.

For this karidopita recipe, you need the following ingredients: eggs, sugar, walnut, breadcrumbs, cinnamon, baking powder, ground clove, butter, honey, and cinnamon sticks.   

This traditional Greek karidopita recipe takes 30 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to bake. It gives around 16 pieces.

karidopita (Greek walnut cake with honey syrup)


Karidopita - Ingredients

  • 6 eggs 
  • 250 g of sugar
  • 500 g of walnuts, grated
  • 375 g of breadcrumbs
  • 1½ teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon of ground clove, grated

For the baking pan

  • Butter
  • Breadcrumbs

For Karidopita Syrup

  • ½ cup honey 
  • 250 ml of water 
  • 2 cinnamon sticks 

Karidopita - How to Make

  1. Separate the egg whites from the yolks. 
  2. Beat the egg whites with a whisk until foamy. 
  3. In an electric mixer beat the egg yolks and gradually add the sugar. Beat until sugar is dissolved and you get a unified mixture. 
  4. Mix the breadcrumbs with the baking powder. 
  5. Preheat oven to 180°C. 
  6. Add into the egg yolk mixture the cinnamon, ground clove, and breadcrumbs mixture. Mix.
  7. Pause the mixture and add the walnuts, mix with a spatula and gradually add the meringue. Mix softly to get a unified mixture.  
  8. Prepare a 9-inch round cake pan by greasing and flouring the bottom and sides with some breadcrumbs.
  9. Pour the mixture into the baking pan.
  10. Place in oven and bake for around 40 to 45 minutes until it gets a nice golden color. 
  11. Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool down a bit. 
  12. In a pan, put all the syrup ingredients and boil for around 5 minutes. 
  13. Cur karidopita into square pieces and with the help of a spoon slowly pour the syrup. 
  14. Allow the cake to absorb the syrup before serving.  
 You can enjoy your karidopita with some ice cream! Karidopita is also a dessert you can make for Christmas! Because of its syrup, it falls under the dessert that we call "syropiasta", meaning bathed in syrup. If you like syropiasta desserts, you can also try this authentic baklava recipe. Enjoy!