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    Home » Recipes » Traditional Greek Food Recipes

    Vasilopita (Greek New Years Cake)

    Published: Dec 8, 2022 · Updated: Dec 21, 2022 by Peter G · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

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    a Pinterest pin with graphics showing vasilopita.

    Enjoy this buttery, soft, traditional Greek cake called vasilopita and bring in the new year with a bang! This cake also comes with a hidden coin inside! If you find the lucky coin - congratulations! You'll have good luck for the rest of the year!

    Greek vasilopita cake dusted with powdered sugar on a stone table.
    CONTENTS
    • What is Vasilopita?
    • Why you'll love this recipe
    • Ingredient Notes
    • How to make vasilopita
    • Bakers tips
    • Recipe FAQs
    • Video- how to make it
    • More Greek cakes
    • 📋 Recipe

    What is Vasilopita?

    • Vasilopita is a traditional Greek cake served midnight on new year's eve to welcome the following year.
    • It's steeped in tradition and honours the life of Saint Basil. The cake is named after him - "Vasili" is Basil in Greek, and "pita" can refer to cake, pie or bread.
    • It has a "lucky coin" inserted into the batter, and whoever receives the piece with the coin is said to have good luck for the following year.
    • In certain regions in Greece, vasilopita is also prepared as a brioche-like bread (this bread version is similar to my tsoureki).
    • It's pronounced "va-see-lo-pee-tah". 

    Why you'll love this recipe

    • It's traditional. Like a lot of traditional Greek recipes, making vasilopita is a must.
    • It's the perfect coffee cake. It's a great recipe to serve with tea or coffee - delicious!
    • It's fun! There's a lot of anticipation about who will win the hidden coin and the person who finds it! They're definitely in for a happy new year!

    Ingredient Notes

    ingredients to make vasilopita on a stone table.
    • Butter: I'm using unsalted butter. Make sure it's at room temperature.
    • Sugar: white granulated sugar or caster sugar (superfine) works perfectly.
    • Eggs: my eggs are medium-sized and weigh 60 grams.
    • Vanilla: I'm using vanilla extract to add flavour and aroma to the vasilopita.
    • Orange: the orange juice and zest are the signature flavours for this recipe. You can also add a little lemon zest for an extra citrus hit.
    • Baking powder: acts as the leavening agent.
    • Flour: I'm using regular all-purpose flour.
    • Brandy: nothing like a bit of alcohol in the new year!
    • Powdered sugar (not pictured!): is used for dusting the vasilopita.

    How to make vasilopita

    For the full vasilopita recipe, see the recipe card below.

    greasing and lining a cake pan.

    Line and grease a 25cm (10") cake pan with baking paper.

    folding a coin in foil to place in Greek vasilopita cake.

    Wrap a coin in a small piece of aluminium foil and set it aside.

    mixing baking powder into a bowl with flour.

    Combine the all-purpose flour and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.

    creaming butter and sugar in a stand mixer.

    Mix the butter and sugar in a large bowl of your stand mixer until pale and creamy.

    adding eggs to a bowl with cake batter.

    Turn the speed down to low and add the eggs one at a time, ensuring they are well incorporated.

    adding brandy to cake batter.

    Add the vanilla extract, orange juice, orange zest and brandy and mix well.

    adding flour to cake batter.

    Add the flour mixture in two parts until you end up with a thick cake batter.

    adding coin to Greek vasilopita cake batter.

    Finally, add the coin and fold through the batter.

    smoothing out cake batter in cake tin with a spatula.

    Pour into the prepared round cake pan and bake for one hour.

    cooling a baked cake on a wire rack.

    Allow the vasilopita to cool in the pan completely before inverting it onto a plate and dusting the top of the cake generously with powdered sugar.

    Bakers tips

    Follow these tips for the best results.

    • Use unsalted butter - this will allow the flavour of the vasilopita to come through. Also, ensure the butter has come to room temperature and is soft.
    • Use room-temperature eggs - this allows the cake to hold its structure. Cold eggs can also impact the butter, making it firm and hard to cream.
    • Scrape down the sides occasionally when mixing the cake. This helps the batter mix evenly.
    • Try not to use orange juice form a carton.
    • Refrain from over-mixing the batter, as this will make the cake rubbery.
    • Use a kitchen scale and weigh your ingredients for the best results.
    • Store the cake in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

    Decorating the cake

    • I've kept things simple by using a generous coating of powdered sugar.
    • You can make a simple glaze with powdered sugar and milk for something extra special.
    • Greeks traditionally use almonds on top of the cake and shape them to form the new year's numbers.
    • You can also cut out a stencil of the numbers and dust the powdered sugar over that. It looks fancy and is an excellent activity for the kids. 

    Recipe FAQs

    How do you cut the vasilopita?

    The head of the house will cut the cake and offer the first pieces to Christ, then Virgin Mary and finally to Saint Basil. Then a portion is provided to the host, his family, senior relatives, and the younger children.

    Can you freeze vasilopita?

    You can store the cut portions in plastic wrap for up to 3 months. After that, allow them to thaw at room temperature and then reheat them in the microwave or an oven preheated to 325°F (160°C) for a few minutes.

    serving vasilopita cake on a stone table.

    Video- how to make it

    More Greek cakes

    • Milopita - Greek Apple Cake
    • Karydopita - Greek Walnut Cake
    • Melopita | Crustless Greek Honey & Cheese Pie
    • Portokalopita - Greek Orange Cake

    If you've made this recipe or any other recipe on the blog - don't forget to rate it and leave a comment below. You can also follow the blog on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest OR sign up to the Newsletter for the latest delicious recipes.

    📋 Recipe

    Greek vasilopita cake on a stone table.

    Vasilopita (Greek New Years Cake)

    Author: Peter G
    Enjoy this buttery, soft, traditional Greek cake called vasilopita and bring in the new year with a bang! This cake also comes with a hidden coin inside! If you find the lucky coin - congratulations! You'll have good luck for the rest of the year!
    4.91 from 10 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 45 mins
    Cook Time 1 hr
    Cooling Time: 2 hrs
    Total Time 3 hrs 45 mins
    Cuisine Greek
    Servings 16 serves

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 500 grams flour, all-purpose
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 250 grams butter, softened (see note 1)
    • 450 grams sugar, granulated
    • 3 eggs, room temperature (see note 2)
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    • 300 ml orange juice, freshly squeezed (see note 3)
    • 1 tablespoon orange zest, (approx. 3 oranges)
    • 60 ml brandy, or cognac
    • 120 grams powdered sugar
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    • First, preheat your oven to 160 deg C (320 F).
    • Line and grease a 25cm (10") cake pan with baking paper.
    • Wrap a coin in aluminium foil and set it aside.
    • Combine the all-purpose flour and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.
      500 grams flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • Mix the butter and sugar in a large bowl of your stand mixer until pale and creamy. (see note 4)
      250 grams butter, 450 grams sugar
    • Turn the speed down to low and add the eggs one at a time, ensuring they are well incorporated.
      3 eggs
    • Add the vanilla extract, orange juice, orange zest and brandy and mix well.
      1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 300 ml orange juice, 1 tablespoon orange zest, 60 ml brandy
    • Add the flour mixture in two parts until you end up with a thick cake batter. (see note 5)
    • Add the coin and fold through the batter.
    • Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for one hour. Insert a toothpick into the centre to test if the vasilopita is ready. If it comes out clean, the cake is cooked.
    • Allow it to cool in the pan completely before inverting it onto a plate and dusting the top of the cake generously with powdered sugar.
      120 grams powdered sugar

    Notes

    1. Use unsalted butter - this will allow the flavour of the cake to come through. Also, ensure the butter has come to room temperature and is soft.
    2. Use room-temperature eggs - this allows the cake to hold its structure. Cold eggs can also impact the butter, making it firm and hard to cream.
    3. Try not to use orange juice form a carton.
    4. Scrape down the sides occasionally when mixing the cake. This helps the batter mix evenly.
    5. Refrain from over-mixing the batter when folding through the flour, as this will make the cake rubbery.
    6. Use a kitchen scale and weigh your ingredients for the best results.
    7. Store the cake in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1 serve | Calories: 396 kcal | Carbohydrates: 62 g | Protein: 5 g | Fat: 14 g | Saturated Fat: 8 g

    This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

    © Souvlaki For the Soul

    Made this recipe?Let me know how you went and tag @souvlakiman on Instagram!

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    Peter Georgakopoulos owner of Souvlaki For The Soul

    Yeia sou! I'm Peter! I consider Greek food to be the best food in the world. Let me show you how easy it is to prepare traditional and modern Greek recipes in your kitchen. And bonus points if you like baking too!

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