Vasilopita – Greek New Year’s Cake
Greek vasilopita is a delicious cake prepared at New Year’s eve to celebrate the arrival of the new year! The cake is flavored with orange juice, cinnamon and nutmeg and it has a hidden lucky coin.
The Greek Custom of New Year’s Cake
Vasilopita is a New Year’s bread or cake and every family usually have their own recipe. Today, I’m sharing my grandma’s cake recipe. What makes this cake special besides its rich taste, is the lucky coin hidden in it. At the midnight of New Year’s Eve families cut the Vasilopita to bless the house and bring good luck. A slice of cake is shared to every family member by order of age from eldest to youngest. Moreover, we cut slices for symbolic groups or people like Saint Basil and other saints, the newborn Jesus, the household, the poor etc. The receiver of the lucky coin is blessed with good luck throughout the year!
The Origin of Vasilopita Cake
Vasilopita Greek: Βασιλόπιτα, Vasilópita, literally means (St.) Basil’s pie or the King’s pie. There are different theories about the origin of the lucky cake but the most popular is associated with Basil the Great later Saint Basil from Caesaria of Cappadocia, Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). When a tyrant attacked Caesaria, all residents gave away their gold and jewelry. After the city was saved by a miracle, Basil the Great had to return back to the residents their belongings. Since he did not know who gave what, he baked the gold and jewelry into loaves of bread and distributed them around the city. Surprisingly, everyone received their exact share.
Another theory, according to some sources, is that Saint Basil gave away all his possessions to the poor, the underprivileged, those in need, and children. For Greeks and others in the Orthodox tradition, Basil is the saint associated with Santa Claus.
Why Vasilopita is so special to me!
As a child, this was one of my favorite things about the holidays along with lots of food and presents! Family members would gather around the table just before the clock strikes 12 and my mother would cut each person a slice of the New Year’s cake. I remember everyone’s excitement while cutting Vasilopita. The first thing my brother and I would do was to check the bottom of our cake slice to see if we won the lucky coin! Even if we didn’t win we still got to enjoy cake late at night. The leftover Vasilopita makes an excellent breakfast with milk or coffee.
Ingredients for Greek Vasilopita Cake
- Milk: You can use whole milk or any dairy-free milk (almond milk is my favorite.) Milk moistens the cake and maximize the flavor of the warm spices and orange juice.
- Spices: Ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg bring out the best aromas and compliment the cake. You may use ground cloves or ginger for a more complex flavor.
- Orange Juice & Zest: Always use fresh orange juice if possible. Store bought orange juice will still work but it will lack of taste. Freshly squeezed orange juice and zest add flavor and a nice citrus kick which balances out the overall sweetness.
How to make Vasilopita Cake
Combine the dry ingredients and set aside. Beat together the butter and sugar until creamy and light in color. Continue by adding the rest of wet ingredients and mix well. Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and mix until combined. Pour the cake batter into a lined springform pan, add the lucky coin and bake until golden brown for 50 minutes. Allow the Greek vasilopita cake to cool down and top with dusted powdered sugar. Write the number of the year on top using almonds/chocolate ganache etc. Add any extra decorations you wish. Slice the cake right after 12am and announce out loud the person who won the lucky coin!
Storage Instructions:
Vasilopita Cake will keep fresh for up to a week, stored in an airtight container. You may wrap the sliced pieces individually with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. You may freeze undecorated vasilopita cake for up to 3 months in a freezer safe container. Defrost overnight the day before serving.
Vasilopita (Greek: Βασιλόπιτα, Vasilópita) is pronounced vah-see-LO-pee-tah.
The options are endless. Dust with powdered sugar or cover with chocolate ganache. You can also use royal icing, dried fruits, dried nuts or even non edible festive decorations such as miniature christmas trees etc.
Traditionally the host/hostess of the dinner or the eldest person of the family cuts the Vasilopita.
Vasilopita cake is prepared morning of the 31st of December.
The ritual of Vasilopita is without a doubt, one of the traditions I will forever cherish. It is fun and brings the family together! Give this recipe a try and it might become your family’s tradition as well. Don’t forget to leave a comment below sharing your feedback. Happy baking and cheers to many more sweet moments!
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More Recipes to Try:
Vasilopita – Greek New Year’s Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups Self Rising Flour sifted or 3 cups all-purpose flour + 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 4 Eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 tbsp Cognac
- 1 cup Milk lukewarm
- 1/4 cup Orange Juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tsp Orange zest
- 1 Lucky Coin
Garnish
- Powdered Sugar
- Almonds
- Pomegranate Seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180C).
- Grease a 10 inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl stir together the sifted self rising flour, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and salt. Set aside.3 cups Self Rising Flour, 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg, 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
- On a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with sugar on high for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bottom of the bowl using a spatula when necessary.1 cup Unsalted Butter, 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- With the mixer running on medium speed add the eggs one at a time. Each egg should be incorporated in the mixture before adding the next one.4 Eggs
- Pour the pure vanilla extract, cognac, milk, orange juice and zest and beat on medium speed until fully incorporated. The mixture will look curdy.1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract, 1 tbsp Cognac, 1 cup Milk, 1/4 cup Orange Juice, 1 tsp Orange zest
- With the mixer running on low speed add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Pour the batter into the lined baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. You can add the coin now- wrapped in aluminum foil or after the cake is baked (see step 11).1 Lucky Coin
- Bake for 50 minutes or until the cake is golden brown on top and an inserted toothpick comes out clean with little to no crumbs.
- Remove from the oven and let it completely cool down before releasing from the pan.
- If you haven't added the coin yet, turn the cake upside down and insert the coin at the bottom.
- Dust the cake with powdered sugar and write the number of the year on top using almonds/pomegranate seeds/chocolate ganache etc. You can add any extra decorations you wish!Powdered Sugar, Almonds, Pomegranate Seeds
- Slice the cake right after 12am and announce out loud the person who won the lucky coin!
- Happy New Year!
Notes
- Ensure butter and eggs are at room temperature and milk is lukewarm.
- If you do not have self rising flour handy, you can use the same amount of all-purpose flour and 3 teaspoons of baking powder. Combine them before adding to the to wet mixture.
- The wet mixture will look curdy. Do not worry about it, it comes together when you add the flour mixture.
- When you add the flour mixture, do not overmix as it will result in a very dense cake.
- Note that all ovens bake differently, so yours may take a little less or a little more time to bake.
- If the cake has cracks on top the dusted powdered sugar will cover them. The taste will still be the same!
- Instead of dusted powdered sugar, you can coat Vasilopita with chocolate glaze. Let your imagination free when it comes to toppings. You can use royal icing, fresh fruits or nuts to create your own designs or write Happy New Year on top of the cake!
- Storage Instructions: Vasilopita Cake will keep fresh for up to a week, stored in an airtight container. You may wrap the sliced pieces individually with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
- You may freeze undecorated vasilopita cake for up to 3 months in a freezer safe container. Defrost overnight the day before serving.
- Have any questions about the recipe or want to ask for substitutions? Please contact us.