Vasilopita Greek Saint Basils New Years Cake Recipes

GREEK NEW YEAR'S CAKE (VASILOPITA)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10" springform pan and set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugar for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Add the orange zest.
• In a medium bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder and set aside.
• Add the flour mixture and the orange juice alternatively to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour.
• Using a hand held mixer, beat the reserved egg whites in a smaller bowl and gently fold them into the batter.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. If the cake starts browning before it is done, cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.
• When finished baking, remove from the pan and put it on a rack to cool completely. Dust with some powdered sugar and serve.

VASELOPITA - GREEK NEW YEARS CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 10 inch round cake pan.
• In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light. Stir in the flour and mix until the mixture is mealy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Combine the baking powder and milk, add to the egg mixture, mix well. Then combine the lemon juice and baking soda, stir into the batter. Pour into the prepared cake pan.
• Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove and sprinkle the nuts and sugar over the cake, then return it to the oven for 20 to 30 additional minutes, until cake springs back to the touch. Gently cut a small hole in the cake and place a quarter in the hole. Try to cover the hole with sugar. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes before inverting onto a plate.
• Serve cake warm. Each person in the family gets a slice starting with the youngest. The person who gets the quarter in their piece, gets good luck for the whole year!

VASILOPITA - GREEK SAINT BASIL'S NEW YEAR'S CAKE

Steps:

• Clean! Silver or gold coin wrapped in aluminum foil (a quarter works well).
• Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 10 inch round cake pan with 1 Tbs butter.
• In a medium bowl, cream the cup of butter and 2 cups of sugar together until light in color. Stir in the flour and mix until the batter resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the eggs one at a time, blending each one in well.
• In a small bowl combine the baking powder and milk, add to the cake batter and mix well. Finally combine the lemon juice and baking soda in a small bowl, add to the cake batter and mix well. Pour the cake batter in to the greased cake pan, insert the foil wrapped coin, and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove the cake from the oven, sprinkle the nuts and 2 Tbs sugar over the cake, then return the cake to the oven and bake for a further 20-30 minutes until the cake springs to the touch. Allow to cool on a rack for 10 minutes then invert the pan on to a cake plate.
• Ideally the cake should be served warm; each person gets a slice of the cake starting with the most senior member. Members of the Greek Orthodox Church believe that whoever gets the coin is blessed.