PHYLLO CAKE WITH ORANGE SYRUP

This comes from the Milk Street Magazine, inspired by cake in small area near the island of Crete. It subs phyllo for flour! Worth a look! Read Milkstreet issue May 2022 for the entire story

Syrup:
Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
4  3-inch strips of orange zest, plus 1/2 cup orange juice
3-inch cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods, lightly smashed
3 bay leaves
Method: Combine sugar, orange zest, juice, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves and  1/2 cup water in small sauce pan. Bring to simmer over medium-high, stirring to dissolve sugar. Transfer to measuring cup. You should have almost 2 cups. Cool the syrup to use at room temperature.

Cake:
Ingredients:
8 ounces phyllo, thawed
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup whole milk Greek Yogurt
1 cup grapeseed oil
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
Method:
Pre-heat oven 350 degrees with rack in middle.
Mist a 9 x 2 inch round cake pan with cooking spray; line the bottom of the pan with a round of kitchen parchment and mist the surface of the parchment. set aside.
Roll up the thawed phyllo lengthwise and slice the roll crosswise 1/2 inch thick.
Transfer cut phyllo to rimmed baking sheet, using your hands to unfurl and separate the strips. Distribute in even layer. Bake until brittle and light golden brown, 15-18 minutes. Scrape up and flip phyllo once halfway through. They will break as you turn it.
Cool to room temp.
In a mixer, beat sugar and grated orange zest on medium until fragrant, about 30 seconds. On low, mix in the yogurt, oil, eggs, baking powder and salt. Increase to medium and beat until well combined, about 1 minute. Remove and scrape sides of bowl.  Add half of it to the batter base, folding with spatula, reducing volume and evenly moist. Repeat with remaining phyllo and fold the batter.
Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly without compressing. Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick comes out clean, 45-50 min.
Set the cake in pan on cooling rack and poke holes using tooth pick at 1/2 inch intervals. Slowly pour half of the syrup evenly over the warm cake. Wait the syrup completely absorbs before removing from the pan. 2 hours.

Loosen edges and invert cake to remove paper, then place right side up on to serving plate.