New year´s day cake – King´s cake – Vasilopita – Βασιλόπιτα (gr) – Traditional greek cake

This is a typical cake that we bake the last day of the year and we cut it after midnight, just right after the new year arrives! It is supposed to bring luck to the person that will find the “fluri” (you can see it in the fotos in the end of the post – coin in aluminum foil).

The greek word vasilopita comes from “Vasilis – vasilias” which means “king” and “pita” which means “pie, cake”.

There are similar traditions in Catalunya and in France but keep in mind that the cakes are quite different!

In Catalunya they have the “Tortell de Reys”, which translates to “kings´ cake” and they eat it on the 6th of January. Inside there is something similar to the greek “fluri”, but in this case it is a porcelain king and brings you luck! BUT! You also have a bean inside the cake and the person that finds it must pay the cake!!!

In France is called “galette des rois” and instead of a coin they put small figures (la fève).

Ingredients

• 260gr flour
• 120gr sugar
• 12gr baking powder
• 8gr vanilla sugar
• zest from 1 orange
• 3 eggs
• 65gr sunflower oil
• 60gr milk
• 35gr orange juice (approximately of 1 orange)
• 100gr melted butter
• whole almonds or powdered sugar

Steps

• Melt the butter in the beginning
• Preheat the oven in 170 degrees Celsius
• Shift in a bowl the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla sugar and the orange zest
• Whisk the eggs for a couple of minutes till foamy in another bowl
• Add in the eggs the sunflower oil, the milk and the orange juice
• Add the wet ingredients in the dry ingredients
• Add the melted butter
• Butter your baking pan and then add flour before adding your dough
• Place the “fluri”, which it is traditionally just a coin inside aluminum paper
• The two typical decorations are 1. almonds and 2. powdered sugar. If you follow the almond decoration, you must write with the almonds the numbers of the year that is about to enter! Like in the fotos. If you want to follow the powdered sugar deco, you bake and then you cut with paper the numbers of the year. When the cake is not very warm, place the paper numbers on the cake and add the powdered sugar. Like this the cake will be white and you can see the numbers of the year, where the papers were.
• Bake till gets golden! You can always check it with a toothpick! In our oven is for approximately 60 minutes (depends on your oven).