I have made more variations of Simple Cake than I can remember.  Most have been good, and a few have been great, but the only one that ever received yiayia’s gold star seal of approval is this one. It is inspired by Karithopita, a honey-drenched walnut cake flavoured with cinnamon, cloves and allspice.

Prep time: 20 minutes; Cooking time: ~45 minutes

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1 cup orange juice (you can substitute ginger ale – though the ginger ale will cause the cake to rise more, so make sure your pan edges are high enough)

4 cups flour

6 eggs

4 tsp baking powder

2 tsp each cinnamon, cloves and allspice

¼ cup chopped walnuts

1 Preheat oven to 360F

2 Melt butter on low heat

3 In a small bowl combine butter and egg yolks and mix.  Add orange juice and mix.

4 In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and spices

5 Add wet mixture to large bowl, and mix

6 Pour half the batter into a baking pan (or two loaf pans), and sprinkle half the walnuts.  Add remaining batter, and sprinkle remaining walnuts

7 Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife can slide cleanly through the cake

8 Makes 2 small loaves