Lifestyle Food & Drink Vasilopita Cake Recipe
Vasilopita Cake Recipe
Vasilopita cake recipe - this cake is traditionally served on St. Basil's day, which is on the 1st January. Vasilopita is served on New Year's Day to bring the house and the family good luck and health for the coming year. Usually, a coin is baked in the cake and it's believed that the lucky person who gets the coin will receive extra luck and blessings throughout the year. Any visitors present at the time will receive a piece of the cake, as well as every friend and family member too. Each person will eat a slice of the cake to celebrate the day together. Why don't you practice making Vasilopita cake recipe and surprise your friends and family on New Year's day!
Ingredients for Vasilopita cake recipe
235ml milk
2 tsps yeast
handful of roughly chopped almonds
zest of 1 medium sized lemon
4 eggs, seperated
1tsp salt
1kg flour
225g melted milk-butter
300g sugar
1 tbsp crushed mahlepi
A coin (if you wish to add a coin to the mixture)
Vasilopita cake recipe instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180'c.
Put half of the milk in to a lage bowl and add the yeast, so that it dissolves. Stir in 165g of the flour and mix together. Cover the bowl of ingredients and leave to rise for about an hour in a warm area.
Meanwhile, beat together the sugar and the egg yolks well. Using the egg whites, in a seperate bowl, make a meringue buy beating the egg whites together. You should now have the yolk and sugar mix in one bowl, the meringue in another bowl and waiting for the dough to rise.
Once the dough has risen, add the sugar and yolk mixture, the butter, the lemon zest, the rest of the milk, the meringue and the mahlepi. Knead the mixture until it is all well mixed together and add in the remainding flour gradually. Once the mixture has been kneaded together well, leave once again in a warm place for 3 hours, so that the mixture can rise.
If you wish to add a coin, you can do so now, by pushing a coin in to the mixture.
When the dough has risen, knead again for about a few minutes. You can now decide whether you can to split the mixture in to two halves or keep it as one piece. Add the dough in to one (or two) and place in to a round tin. Leave to rise once again.
Beat together 1 egg yolk with a teaspoon of water and coat the dough using a pastry brush. Now, using the almonds try to create the number of the new year on top of the Vasilopita cake, using the almonds. Now bake in the oven for about 30-45 minutes or until the cake is golden in colour.