Vasilopita, the Greek New Year's cake

Name: Vasilopita, the Greek New Year's cake
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 250 g sugar; 300 g flour; 150 g butter; 150 g cold milk; 3 eggs; 2 tsp cream of tartar; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 60 ml brandy; 1 vanillin (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract); orange zest

Stella T @Stella_T

Greece

In Greece we celebrate New Year maybe even more than Christmas. Everyone gathers with family and eats a festive dinner. We don't have particularly traditional dishes for this, every family has their own favorite dishes, but one thing is constant across Greece: the New Year's cake.
You prepare a cake (and again every family has their own favorite recipe to use), put a coin inside and then, when the clock strikes 12, the house owner cuts the cake in as many pieces as there are people in the house, plus (at least) 3. The first piece is for Christ, the second for the poor, the third for the house and then each piece goes to each person. Whoever finds the coin in their piece gets a small present and they will have luck all year round. If the coin goes to Christ or the poor, the present (or better some money) goes to the church or charity.

This recipe is the New Year's cake that my mother in law makes every year. It's a very simple but fluffy cake.
You can watch a video of this recipe (me and my mother in law making the cake) here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au-ba0GMg_g It's in Greek, but you will understand if you read the recipe.

Happy New Year!

Stella T @Stella_T

Greece

Happy New Year!

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Ingredients

250 gsugar
300 gflour
150 gbutter
150 gcold milk
3eggs
2 tspcream of tartar
1/2 tspbaking soda
60 mlbrandy
1vanillin (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
orange zest

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Steps

1

Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites in a nice meringue.
2

Beat the butter untill it's properly creamed and then add the sugar and beat again.
3

Add the yolks one at a time. Then add half of the milk, the orange zest, the vanillin and slowly all the flour. Beat until you have a nice dough
4

Add the cream of tartar in the rest of the milk and add it to your mix. Continue beating. When everything is incorporated, start adding the add the meringue slowly. Make sure that you are beating at a small speed. Maybe even better do it by hand.
5

As a last step, add the baking soda in the brandy and then add it to your dough. Mix again until you have a perfect cake dough.
6

Place in a buttered pan (or lined with parchment paper) and bake for about 1 hour at 180°C - preheated oven.
7

Every oven is different and baking time also depends on the pan and its size, so do the test with the knife and leave it in the oven till the knife comes out clean.

Is my cake ready to eat?? 😋 🍰
8

After it's cold, turn it over and place a coin (wrapped in foil) somewhere in the cake.
9

Decorate as you wish. You can cover it with buttercream, or fondand or just plain icing sugar. But you should always write the number of the year.
My mother in law always covers with icing sugar and makes the number of the year with melted chocolate.
10

This year I was the lucky person to get the coin!

Tips

Is my cake ready to eat?? 😋 🍰

Insert a small knife inside the cake.If there is no dough once removing the knife, you are good to go!You can also do this with a toothpick

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Cooksnaps

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Stella T @Stella_T

on January 03, 2022 08:53

Greece

I live in Greece but I love to try and experiment with food from all over the world! I have 2 children that are grown up now and off to the University, but I consider it my great success that they both love to try new things, they can cook and actually love to do it! It is my firm belief that everyone can cook and the only thing to do is get in the kitchen and try it!