In a saucepan start the syrup by adding the water, sugar, orange juice, peel, and cinnamon stick. Mix it together and bring to the boil. Allow the syrup to boil for 2 minutes then turn off the heat and set aside to cool.
Get your filo pastry and depending on how yours comes, roll it up and slice to pieces. Then untangle all the rolls and loosely lay over a baking tray. Place into the oven at 100° for 30 minutes.Note:If your filo pile is quite thick, you may want to give it another toss at the 15-minute mark to ensure all pieces are dried out. You do not want to brown the filo, so if you notice yours is browning, lower the heat.
Add your eggs and sugar to a mixing bowl and beat them up to a nice creamy texture.
Then add in the yoghurt, orange juice, oil, vanilla essence, baking powder, and orange zest. Mix until all is combined.
The filo should be nice and crunchy now. Handfuls at a time, scrunch in your hands the filo to the bowl with the batter. Mix after each addition to ensure it’s all evenly spread through.
Change the temperature of your oven to 160° as you prepare your oven dish for the batter. To your dish, add a tablespoon of oil and brush it all over. Then sprinkle some flour all over to coat the oil. This will help the cake from sticking and give it a nice crust. The size of my dish is 32cm long by 22cm wide.
Pour the batter into the dish and give it a little shake and tap to get any air bubbles out.
Place into the oven and cook until golden brown (roughly 40 minutes) but keep your eye on it.
Once the cake is ready, take it out of the oven. You can check to see if the cake it cooked by poking a toothpick into the centre of the cake and if it comes out clean, it’s cooked through. If you see stickiness, it needs a little bit more.
Immediately once you remove the cake from the oven, pour over the cooled syrup that was prepared earlier. You want to ensure the cake is hot and the syrup is cool.
Don’t be shocked at the amount of liquid, the cake will absorb it all! Give it no less than 30 minutes to soak it all up.
Once you are ready to serve, this cake is delicious on its own but also pairs nicely with some Greek yoghurt, whipped cream, or ice cream! Enjoy!