Greek New Year's Cake
Submitted by steps
Vasilopita, a traditional Greek New Year’s cake with a lucky coin baked inside, topped with slivered almonds and sesame seeds. Rich butter cake with whipped egg whites.
YIELD
1 cakePREP
10 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
40 minVasilopita is the cake Greeks bake to ring in the New Year, with a foil-wrapped coin pressed into the batter before it goes in the oven. Whoever finds the coin in their slice gets good luck for the year ahead. Beyond the tradition, this is a genuinely good butter cake: rich, dense, and fragrant with vanilla.
A full cup of room-temperature butter creamed with nearly two cups of sugar gives the cake its tender, fine crumb. The batter uses both whole eggs and separated eggs. The yolks go in with the butter for richness, and the whites get beaten to stiff peaks and folded in at the end for lift. That fold is what keeps this from being a heavy pound cake.
The batter will be very thick after mixing in three cups of flour. That’s normal. The whipped egg whites lighten it up, but don’t overfold or you’ll deflate them. A few visible streaks of white are fine.
Slivered almonds and sesame seeds scattered over the top before baking toast golden during the long bake and add a nutty crunch to every slice.
Pro Tips
- Cream the butter and sugar until truly fluffy, at least 5 minutes. This step aerates the batter and determines the final texture.
- Use clean, dry beaters for the egg whites. Any trace of fat prevents them from reaching stiff peaks.
- The cake bakes for over an hour in a tube pan. Check at 60 minutes but expect closer to 70. The thick batter needs time.
- Cool completely in the pan before inverting. This cake is fragile when warm.
Variations
- Orange blossom vasilopita: Replace vanilla with orange blossom water and add orange zest for a more traditional Greek flavor.
- Mahlab-scented: Add a teaspoon of ground mahlab (cherry pit spice) for an aromatic, slightly bitter almond flavor traditional in some Greek baking.
Ingredients
Directions
Positon rack in center of oven and preheat to 325℉ (160℃).
Grease and flour 10×4 inch tube pan.
Using electric mixer, cream butter with 1 ¾ cups sugar in large bowl until fluffy.
Gradually beat in 3 egg yolks, 2 whole eggs, water and vanilla.
Combine flour and baking powder in small bowl.
Gradually mix dry ingredients into butter mixture (batter will be very thick).
Using clean, dry beaters, beat egg whites with salt in medium bowl until soft peaks form.
Add remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and beat until stiff but not dry.
Fold egg whites into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Press coin into cake. Sprinkle with nuts and sesame seeds.
Bake until toothpick inserted near center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes.
Cool completely in pan on rack. Run knife around pan to loosen. Invert onto plate. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature).
Comments
