Vaselopita: Greek New Year's Cake

Recipe by Paul Menikos

Vaselopita is a traditional Greek New Year's Day bread that is often served as a coffee cake for breakfast. A small item such as a maraschino cherry or a small nut is baked inside the cake, and the person who finds it in their slice is said to get good luck for 1 year!

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 1 hrs

Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

1 cup butter

2 cups white sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

6 eggs

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup warm milk

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (orange juice can be substituted, if preferred)

¼ cup blanched slivered almonds, lightly roasted in the oven (don't burn)

2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a bundt cake pan.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light. Stir in the flour and mix until the mixture is mealy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Combine the baking powder and milk, add to the egg mixture, mix well. Then combine the lemon juice and baking soda, stir into the batter. Pour into the prepared cake pan.

3. Bake for 40 - 50 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake springs back to the touch.

4. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes before inverting onto a plate.

5. Remove cake and sprinkle the nuts and confectioner's sugar over the cake. You can also make a simple confectioner's sugar, water, and lemon juice glaze to drizzle over the cake if preferred.

Serve cake warm. Each person in the family gets a slice starting with the youngest. The person who finds the hidden cherry or nut in their piece gets good luck for the whole year!

Alert1 wishes you and your family the happiest New Year!