Greek Walnut Cake (Karydopita)

For The Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 170°C / 340°F.
2. Chop walnuts in a food processor in two batches. Pulse the first batch to finely ground and the second to coarsely ground. And then mix them together.
3. Mix together all the dry ingredients: walnuts, cinnamon, cloves, melba toast (or breadcrumbs), and baking powder. Set aside.
4. Cream the butter together with half the sugar and orange zest for 6-7 minutes until very creamy using your electric mixer with the whisk attachment on. Stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl.
5. Add the egg yolks 2 at a time and keep beating until fully incorporated into the mixture.
6. Pour in the cognac and mix until uniform.
7. Beat the egg whites in a bowl and once they start to thicken gradually add in the remaining sugar. Keep beating until soft peaks form. NOTE: Make sure both the bowl and electric mixer whisk are clean and dry.
8. Combine everything together. Incorporate the dry ingredients mixture into the butter mixture in batches alternately with the meringue. Do this by folding the batter with a silicone spatula to preserve the air within the mixture.
9. Grease an 11 x 15-inch (26 x 36 cm) pan with butter and sprinkle some powdered melba toast or breadcrumbs at the bottom. Shake to spread evenly.
10. Transfer the cake batter to the pan and spread evenly.
11. Bake for 25-30 minutes or insert a toothpick in the center of the cake to see if it comes out clean.
12. Allow to cool down to room temperature.

For The Syrup:

1. -please see the syrup tips below this recipe
2. Add all of the ingredients for the syrup to a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Then drop the heat to medium-high.
3. Cook for 6-7 minutes or until syrup thickens slightly. Don't stir the syrup while it cooks.
4. Ladle the hot syrup over the cool cake. Waiting for a few seconds between each ladle.
5. Let the Karydopita cool down to room temperature then sprinkle extra ground walnuts on top if you like or see the text above for coating suggestions.
6. Cut into 18 square pieces or fewer bigger ones if you prefer.
7. Refrigerate (preferably) for 5-6 hours prior to serving or serve the cake at room temperature.
8. Keep in the fridge for up to 10 days or at room temperature for up to 7 days.