Greek Ravani / Revani recipe (Coconut cake with syrup)

Fluffy, moist, cooling and extra syrupy! A mouthwatering traditional Greek dessert with the flavours and aromas of flaked coconut and oranges (revani or ravani cake). One can find many variations of this traditional Greek ravani recipe, with the most well known being the coconut-based ravani recipe and the semolina based ravani recipe from the region of Veroia. Both are delicious, but my absolute favorite is this extra syrupy Greek coconut cake, a very unique traditional Greek dessert, which stands up with its delicate cooling flavour, texture and amazing smell!

Extra syrupy Greek coconut cake (Ravani cake) – The secret is in the syrup!

Revani or ravani cake (Greek coconut cake) is a traditional Greek dessert which falls under the category of ‘Siropiasta’, which means syrupy Greek desserts. Syrupy Greek desserts are very popular among Greek cuisine and with good reason! From extra syrupy cakes like portokalopita, karidopita or ravani to traditional Greek Christmas desserts, like melomakarona or diples and of course the famous traditional Greek baklava dessert. One thing all these Greek desserts have in common is of course the moist of scented syrup, which makes each one just irresistible!

Prepare the syrup for the Greek coconut cake (ravani) recipe:  To achieve the perfect texture for the syrup of the ravani cake, you should never blend or stir the syrup, while it is boiling. Just bring to the boil, let the sugar dissolve in the hot water and boil for 5-10 minutes, until the syrup thickens a little bit. When adding syrup to the ravani cake, always make sure that the cake is cold and the syrup is really hot. Ladle really slowly the hot syrup over the cold ravani, enabling each ladle to be absorbed, so that the syrup is absorbed evenly. Even though it will be really hard.. you should wait for the ravani to cool before cutting into pieces, or else it will crumble. Ideally serve this Greek coconut cake cold from the fridge the following day.

For the ravani

• 4 eggs (separated into whites and yolks)
• 2 cups of butter (at room temperature)
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups flaked coconut
• zest of 2 oranges

For the syrup

• 1 and 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 and 1/2 cup of water
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. In most recipes for Greek coconut cake, the eggs are added whole in the mixture,  but with this recipe the egg whites are beaten into meringues. This is the secret to a more fluffy ravani cake and to avoid the egg-y smell, which can ruin the flavour of your cake.
3. To prepare the Greek coconut cake, start by mixing the butter and sugar (at high speed), until fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, allowing each one to be absorbed, whilst mixing. Set the mixture aside.
4. Place the egg whites and a pinch of sugar in a clean mixing bowl. Make sure your egg whites, bowl and whisk attachment/s are free of any water. Use an electric mixer or electric hand beaters to whisk the egg whites until the mixture is very thick and glossy, and a long trailing peak forms when the whisk is lifted (meringues).
5. In another bowl, blend the flaked coconut, the flour and baking powder.
6. With a spatula add the meringues and half of the flour mixture into the whisked butter and blend lightly, until the ingredients are combined. Add the rest of the flour mixture and the orange zest; blend lightly with circular movements.
7. To bake the ravani cake, use a round cake tin, approx 30cm in diameter. Use a cooking brush to butter the bottom and sides of the cake tin. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp of flour and shake the cake tin, so that the flour covers the butter; get rid of any excess flour. This technique will prevent the ravani from sticking on the pan.
8. Bake the ravani in preheated oven at 180C for 40-45 minutes, until golden and cooked through. After baking the cake, let it cool down for a while.
9. After the ravani has cooled down, start preparing the syrup. Add in a saucepan the sugar, the water and lemon juice; boil for about 5-10 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup has slightly thickened. Remove the pan from the stove and ladle slowly the syrup over the ravani cake, allowing each ladle of syrup to be absorbed, before ladling again. Allow time for the syrup to be absorbed and place in the fridge.
10. Serve this extra syrupy Greek coconut cake cold with a full spoon of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!