Karidopita: Greek Spiced Walnut Cake

Easy and delicious cinnamon, clove, and walnut cake, perfect for fall!

Watch the Video:

Karidopita is a classic Greek spiced walnut cake soaked in aromatic honey syrup. It’s a moist, not-to-sweet cake perfect for fall and the holidays. The warm spices of cinnamon and cloves make it so delicious. Plus, it’s pretty easy to make. The syrup allows for room for error because it will moisten the cake even if you accidentally overbake it. So, get ready for your house to smell amazing!

Why you’ll make this even after fall

Soft, moist cake

Warm cinnamon, clove spice

Slight walnut crunch

Perfectly spiced sugar-dusted topping

A moist and delicious classic Greek spiced walnut cake that’s easy to make!

Everything you need

Ingredients for walnut cake:

• Light olive oil –or your favorite light vegetable oil
• Eggs –room temperature if you remember
• Whole milk
• Granulated sugar
• Pure vanilla extract –good quality for the best flavor
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Ground cinnamon –I like to add heaping spoonfuls
• Ground cloves
• Salt
• Coarsely ground walnuts plus one tablespoon of flour –finely ground if you prefer

Honey Syrup:

• Sugar
• Honey –Greek honey is the best!
• Water
• Whole cloves –no need to break them us because we’ll strain them out
• Cinnamon stick –whole
• Vanilla extract

Garnish:

• Coarsely ground walnuts –finely ground if you prefer more of a dusting
• Powdered sugar
• Ground cloves
• Ground cinnamon

Baker’s Tips!

We had a bakery for ten years, and I learned a lot of tips along the way. For this recipe, make the syrup first, so it has plenty of time to cool. Start the cake by measuring your dry ingredients so you’ll have fewer things to clean. And measure your honey after measuring the oil for the cake. Doing this makes the honey slide out of the measuring cup much easier.

How to make Karidopita: Greek Spiced Walnut Cake

Make the syrup first 

1. Combine the sugar, water, cloves, and cinnamon in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. As soon as the sugar dissolves, remove the pan from the heat and add the honey and vanilla extract.
3. Stir together and set aside to cool completely.

The spiced walnut cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F, 180 °C, and grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
2. Beat the eggs and sugar together for a few minutes until thick and pale.
3. Then, add the olive oil and milk and beat well to incorporate.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt into another bowl.
5. Slowly add the dry mix to the egg mixture while gently whisking until just incorporated and most of the batter is smooth. **Do not over-mix! Otherwise, your cake will not be light and fluffy. **
6. In a separate bowl, toss the ground walnuts with a tablespoon of flour. This will prevent the walnuts from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
7. Then, fold the walnuts gently into the batter with a spatula.
8. Pour the batter into the already prepared baking dish.
9. Bake it for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
10. As soon as the cake is done baking, remove it from the oven and poke holes all over with a toothpick.
11. Pour all the cooled honey syrup over the cake slowly, allowing it to be absorbed.
12. To garnish, combine the walnuts with the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and cloves and sprinkle over the cake.

Serving

I need nothing but a hot cup of Greek coffee to eat this delicious cake. You can call over some friends to share or try to eat just one piece a day. It will stay fresh for a few days at room temperature or about five days in the refrigerator. I think it tastes even better the day after you bake it, so try not to eat it all in one day. Kali Orexi!

More cake recipes

• Apple Olive Oil Cake: Greek Milopita Coffee Cake
• Chocolate Nutella Cake Slices
• My Favorite Carrot Cake Recipe
• Greek Walnut Cake (Vegan)
• Spiced Pumpkin & Olive Oil Loaf Cake
• 3 Fall Swirl Loaves

Continue to Content

Karidopita: Greek Spiced Walnut Cake

Yield: Serves 12-14

Print

Ingredients

The cake:

• 1 cup light olive oil
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup (220g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/2 cups coarsely ground walnuts plus 1 tablespoon flour

The Honey Syrup:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup honey
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

The garnish:

• 1/2 cup ground walnuts
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 °F, 180 °C and grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

1. *Tip: Begin by measuring out your dry ingredients so that you will have fewer things to clean 😉 Also, measure your honey after measuring the oil for the cake. Doing this makes the honey slide out of the measuring cup much easier.
2. Make the Syrup: Combine the sugar, water, cloves ,and cinnamon in a saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as the sugar has dissolved remove the pan from the heat and add the honey and vanilla extract. Mix together and set aside to cool completely.
3. Beat the eggs and sugar together for a few minutes until thick and pale. Add the olive oil and milk. Beat well to incorporate.
4. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and salt. Slowly add them to the egg mixture while gently whisking just until incorporated and most of the batter is smooth. Do not over mix! Otherwise your cake will not be light and fluffy.
5. Add the ground walnuts with the tablespoon of flour to a bowl and whisk together. This will prevent the walnuts from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
6. Fold the walnuts gently into the batter with a spatula.
7. Pour the batter in the already prepared baking dish.
8. Bake it for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
9. As soon as the cake is done baking, remove it from the oven and poke it all over with a toothpick. Pour all of the cooled honey syrup over the cake slowly, allowing it to be absorbed.
10. Combine the walnuts with the powdered sugar, cinnamon and cloves and sprinkle over the cake to garnish.
11. Enjoy!!

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Saute, Yogurt Maker, Sterilizer, and Warmer, 8 Quart, 14 One-Touch Programs
• 
  COSORI ProII Air Fryer Oven Combo, 5.8QT Max Xl Large Cooker with 12 One-Touch Saveable Custom Functions, Cookbook and Oneline Recipes, Nonstick and Dishwasher-Safe Detachable Square Basket
• 
  KitchenAid KSM3311XAQ Artisan Mini Series Tilt-Head Stand Mixer, 3.5 quart, Aqua Sky Blue
• 
  Traditional Cretan Aprons (heavier fabric)
• 
  Thyme Honey from Crete: Uncle Dimitris Honey (470g/ 1 lb)
• 
  STAUB Ceramics Rectangular Baking Dish, 13x9-inch, Dark Blue