Vasilopita Traditional Greek New Year's Cake
Healthy New Year's Recipe
By Fitness and Freebies
When the cake is cut on New Years Day, everyone is keen to find the coin as whoever does is meant to have good luck throughout the year. In days gone by, wealthier people would actually use a real gold coin!
Recipe Ingredients
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup brandy
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Chopped almonds
Icing sugar
Royal Icing (optional -- below)
Recipe Directions
Whip eggs and sugar until very light. Add oil, melted butter and vanilla.
Stir in orange juice, brandy, flour and baking powder just until combined.
Place in a greased and floured round cake pan. Place a foil-wrapped coin into cake mixture. Sprinkle almonds around edges. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool and remove from pan.
If desired, write the new year on top with royal icing and sprinkle with icing sugar.
ROYAL ICING
1 egg white
1-1/2 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions:
Whip egg whites, slowly adding icing sugar and lemon juice.
Adjust consistency by adding a few drops of water for thinner icing
or icing sugar for a stiffer icing. Spread or pipe on cake and let dry.
New Year's Fact:
Ring out the grief that saps the mind. For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor; Ring in redress of all mankind.
Ring out a slowly dying cause, And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life, With sweeter manner, purer laws.
"New Year's Eve", a poem written by Lord Tennyson, 1850
