Greek Orange Syrup Cake (Portokalopita)

First, bring the sugar, water and orange juice to a boil. Then, turn off the heat and let it cool down while preparing the cake.
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Keep the zest of your 3 oranges to the side and mix it directly with the 1 1/4 cup (250g) of sugar from the cake recipe.
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Bring to a boil the 2 oranges with the sugar in a small sauce pan submerged with water. Let it simmer for 1 hour.
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Once ready carefully remove the oranges from the water and slice them in two. Squeeze them well to get all of their juice out because it will add bitterness to your cake. Only keep the skin and pulp. Set aside in your blender or food processor.
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Preheat oven to 200F/100C.
For this, you will need 2 tray racks which go in the oven, as we need to dry the phyllo pastry before using it in the cake.
Using both hands, fold into each phyllo sheet into an accordion. About 5 on each tray.
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Bake for 10 minutes at 200F/100C. Then, carefully flip them over and continue baking for another 10 minutes. Turn off the oven and keep the oven door ajar for about 20 minutes.
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With your hands, crumble the phyllo sheets until they broken up into tiny pieces almost like dust. Set aside.
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Preheat oven to 320F/160C set to fan.
In your blender or food processor which already has the orange skin and pulp, add the zest/sugar preparation. Beat it into a purée. Then, add the eggs, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla bean paste. Finish with the baking powder and baking soda. Beat well until the ingredients are incorporated. Transfer into your mixing bowl.
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Add in 3-4 batches the dried phyllo pastry, ensuring to mix well in between in order to avoid any lumps.
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Transfer the batter into your Flexipan®.
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Bake for 45 minutes at 320F/160C set to fan (Every oven heats differently, monitor your cake from 40min).
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Once your Greek Orange Syrup Cake is out of the oven, pour the syrup right away all over. Once it has cooled down to room temperature and the syrup has been absorbed, refrigerate your cake for 12 hours. I prefer it best this way. Enjoy & Bon Appétit!
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