Vasilopita – Greek New Year’s Cake

Vasilopita is a traditional New Year’s Day cake that has a hidden coin placed into the batter before baking. Whoever is fortunate enough to get the piece of cake with the coin will be blessed with good luck in the coming year.

The history of the Vasilopita traces back to the legend of St. Basil the Great, the Archbishop of Caesarea. One year, during a time of great famine, the emperor levied a large and excessive tax on all the residents of Caesarea. As these people were already very poor and did not want to end up in prison, they gave up whatever little they had such as coins and jewelry, which included family heirlooms.

Once St. Basil learned of what had happened he fearlessly called on the emperor to repent, which he did and returned all the coins and jewelry to St. Basil. St. Basil was then tasked with returning everything to the residents of Caesarea, but he did not know what belonged to who. St. Basil prayed hard to the icons of Christ and the Theotokos/Virgin Mary. He followed by baking the coins and jewelry into a large “pita”.

He called on the people of the town to come to the cathedral for prayer. Then he blessed the pita and divided it amongst everyone. By the grace of God, everyone received their respective coins and jewelry in their piece of pita.

The texture of this cake is very much like a pound cake when baked in a 9 inch cake pan, with the added sent and flavors of orange. The final dusting of confectioners’ sugar on top gives it that extra bit of sweetness. Feel free to decorate your cake with some almonds in the shape of a cross as well. The fun part is seeing who the lucky family member is to receive the coin and be blessed with extra luck in the New Year! Who will get the coin in your family?

Many blessings for a very Happy New Year!

Kali Orexi!

HOW TO MAKE VASILOPITA

1. Prepare and measure all ingredients. Preheat oven to 350°F.
   
2. Butter your baking pan and follow with a light dusting of flour.
   
3. Using a stand mixer on a low setting, cream the 3/4 cup of softened butter and 2 cups of granulated sugar until well combined and creamy in texture.
   
4. Continuing at the low setting, add the 6 eggs, one at a time, until each egg is fully incorporated into the butter and sugar mixture. Once all the eggs have been incorporated into the butter and sugar mixture and continuing at the same low setting, add the 3 tablespoons of Metexa or brandy, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 teaspoon of orange extract and the orange zest. Add the 3 teaspoons of baking powder to the 3 cups of flour and use a whisk to incorporate the two together. Continuing at a low speed on the blender, begin to add 1/4 cup of flour at a time to the butter, sugar, egg mixture. Alternate with a small amount of the cup of orange juice and once both are incorporated repeat until all the flour and orange juice has been added to the Vasilopita batter.
   
5. Pour the batter into the baking pan. Add a coin to batter which has been tightly wrapped with a small piece of foil. Depending on the size of baking pan you use, you will bake the cake between 45 and 60 minutes.9 inch pan – 60 minutes12 inch pan – 45 minutes.
   
6. Remove from oven when baking is complete and allow the Vasilopita to cool completely before dusting with confectioners’ sugar.
   

How do you decide what size pan to use for the cake?

We’ve made this Vasilopita recipe using both a 9 inch and a 12 inch round cake pan. The 9 inch round cake pan results in a smaller but thicker cake which we personally like. The difference is that it often will crack in the center. It creates a more rustic looking cake if that is what you would like to create.

The 12 inch round cake pan is obviously larger in radius and thinner. We like that whenever we bake this recipe in the 12 inch pan, it does not crack in the center. That allows us to more easily decorate the cake as shown in the final photograph.

Should I do anything special when adding the coin to the batter and before baking?

Before placing the coin into the batter, make a sign of the cross over the cake to bless it.

What is the proper way to cut a Vasilopita?

The host or head of the household will create a sign of the cross over the cake three times, without actually cutting the cake, while reciting “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” and the family and guests respond “Amen”. The cake will then be cut in a specific order. Small pieces will be cut in the following order:

• Christ

• The Theotokos/Virgin Mary

• St. Basil

• Your home

• Larger pieces will then be cut for each family member/guest in from oldest to youngest.

Whoever is fortunate enough to receive the Vasilopita coin will be especially blessed with good luck in the New Year!

Who eats the first four pieces?

Anyone in the family can eat the first four pieces!

Vasilopita Recipe