Greek Lemon Phyllo Cake

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or 175 degrees Celsius. Next, lightly coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with oil to prevent the phyllo from sticking.

Next, take the phyllo sheets out of their packaging and tear each sheet into small pieces. Place these shredded phyllo pieces in the prepared baking dish, allowing them to air dry for a short while as you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Meanwhile, create the syrup by combining sugar, water, and the grated zest of 2 lemons in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring this mixture to a boil and then simmer for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the saucepan from the heat source and stir in the juice of all 4 lemons. Allow the syrup to cool down while you prepare the cake.

In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder, and the remaining lemon zest until well combined. Use a blender or food processor to blend these ingredients together on high speed for about 2 minutes, resulting in a frothy mixture. Pour this lemon-egg mixture over the shredded phyllo in the baking dish, stirring gently to distribute the egg mixture evenly and ensure that there are no dry spots of phyllo.

Place the baking dish in a preheated oven and bake until the top is golden brown and the filling is set, approximately 45 minutes.

Remove the lemonopita from the oven and immediately pour the cooled syrup over the hot cake. Set it aside to allow most of the syrup to soak in for at least 1 hour before serving. Finally, slice the cake into squares and serve.