Vasilopita is cut and enjoyed on New Year’s Day with a coin hidden within the cake for a lucky someone to find and celebrates the life of Saint Basil.
This Vasilopita is a simple one bowl cake that comes together so easy, it’s fluffy, full of zesty orange flavour, and subtle earthiness thanks to the olive oil. We enjoy this acake quite often during the year, though no New Years celebration is complete without it.
How to cut a Vasilopita:
Wherever you may be celebrating, the person living where you’ve come together or baked the Vasilopita must do the honours of cutting it. The first piece is dedicated to Jesus Christ, the second to Virgin Mary, third to St Basil and fourth to the poor. The fifth piece is for the home of the person in which you are celebrating, followed by a piece for them, then by order of the eldest to youngest relatives who have gathered together.
The family member who receives the coin in their slice of cake is granted luck for the remainder of the new year. Watching the cutting was always so exciting when we were children & I think it still is. Enjoy, everyone!
If you purchased my Vasilopita recipe tea towel design, this is the recipe you’ll be enjoying.
You can purchase my recipe tea towel here: Vasilopita Tea Towel
Notes:
As all ovens are different, there are a few ways to try avoiding a crack running through the top of the cake. 1) Bake the vasilopita in a larger pan than required that still fits all of the batter. 2) Place the vasilopita at the bottom of the oven to bake. 3) You can turn the cake upside down to decorate. 4) Try adding less baking powder.
VASILOPITA | Greek New Years Cake
Mary PolitisIngredients
- 1 cup fresh orange juice
- Zest of 2 oranges
- 1 cups olive or vegetable oil
- 1 cups caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3.5 cups self raising flour.
- Icing sugar and pomegranate to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 170- 180C fan forced. Grease and line your 25cm cake tin and set aside.
- Combine all wet ingredients including the sugar into a bowl & whisk until everything is incorporated very well.
- Add in the dry ingredients, whisk until combined & the cake batter is smooth.
- Pour the cake batter into your cake tin. Clean a coin & wrap it in aluminium foil then baking paper tightly. Place the wrapped coin casually into the cake batter before baking the cake for approximately 45 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool and decorate with pomegranate.
Notes
Notes:
As all ovens are different, there are a few ways to try avoiding a crack running through the top of the cake.- 1) Bake the vasilopita in a larger pan than required that still fits all of the batter.
- 2) Place the vasilopita at the bottom of the oven to bake.
- 3) You can turn the cake upside down to decorate.
- 4) Try adding less baking powder.