Chef Loi’s Greek New Year’s Cake (vasilopites) especially for Hellas Journal [recipes]

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By Maria Loi

“Happy New Year!” is heard in homes around the world on December 31st and January 1st, with many accompanying traditions and customs to welcome the New Year.

Perhaps the most well-known and beloved New Year’s tradition is Vasilopita, the New Year’s Cake (literally translated to ‘King Cake/Pie’), traditionally sliced at the stroke of midnight with friends and family, as one year turns to the next. When cutting the Vasilopita, everyone hopes to find the coin hidden in their piece, as it is considered to be a sign of good luck and a good omen for a wonderful year ahead – the ultimate fresh start, imbued with positivity.

Every country and every culture has its own customs to welcome the new year, but the roots of the pie/cake traditions run deep. The “New Year” has been celebrated since ancient times, as the concept of time cycles was most closely associated with the cycles of nature. Time ‘began’ in spring and was associated with festivals related to agricultural production (Thargilia, Thalisia, and Kronia as examples), whereby making pies and cakes celebrated the bounty of the harvest. Pies are also found as a part of the Roman Saturnalia celebration, which were made in honor of the Roman god, Saturn.

In the early Christian years, New Year’s pies became associated with Saint Basil the Great from Caesarea. The custom originated in Cappadocia and the city of Caesarea when the Prefect of Cappadocia decided to demand and collect taxes from the inhabitants by force.

The citizens of Caesarea were terrified, and called for help and protection from their bishop, Basil the Great.

Bishop Basil decided the best way to appease the Prefect was to offer him a chest full of gold jewelry. He asked the citizens to bring gold and other precious items to put in the chest to deliver to the Prefect. As the Prefect opened the chest and went to grab the treasure, a miracle occurred – a flash appeared, and out of it rushed a fierce horseman with his army and drove out the horrible Prefect, along with his men. The people of Caesarea immediately began to celebrate, but Bishop Basil faced a dilemma: how to redistribute the treasures without wronging anyone?

After praying for a solution, he called upon his deacons, and told them to bake small pies (plakoundes), where in each pie they put a piece of gold from the treasure. He distributed the pies to the people of Caesarea as a blessing, and miraculously every family found their particular gold in the pie. Thus, through this popular legend, the custom of the Vasilopita was established!

In Greece the custom varies according to local traditions, in particular when it comes to the ingredients to make the pie or cake, but the symbolism remains the same. Vasilopites are traditionally made from flour, eggs, sugar, and milk, with the new year’s number written upon the surface, or a wish written out of nuts and pomegranate arils. Today, confectioners and pastry chefs have created many variations of decorations for the Vasilopites. A coin, called a constantinato, is placed inside the cakes or pies, while in various rural areas the bonamas, or bonus present, was often a seed that symbolized a good harvest. In older and more difficult times, the ‘coin’ was substituted with a button, a straw or a piece of red thread to maintain the symbolism.

In big cities, Vasilopita is sweet, with some recipes being similar to cakes and others more reminiscent of buns. In the past, the Vasilopita was a savory pie, made with phyllo and filled with meat.

Some examples:

In the region of Epiros, the traditional pita is made with chicken, coarsely chopped minced lamb or whole pieces of pork mixed with trachana, leeks and eggs. In addition to the coin they bake into the Vasilopita, the people of Epiros add an extra surprise into the pie depending on the profession of the members of the family. For peasant farmers, a small stick for their health, a small pinecone for the woodcutters, a leaf of holly for the shepherds, straw for the field workers, a small cross for the benefit of the house, or whatever other well wishes they wanted for the new year.

In the area of Selino in Chania, the Vasilopita is made with olive oil, flour, sugar, and many herbs, which are considered symbols of abundance. Before baking, a cross was traditionally drawn on the top of the pie using a fork, in order to ward against evil for the coming year.

In Siatista, according to tradition, they make two Vasilopites: one sweet cake and one savory pie with phyllo. The sweet cake is cut at the stroke of midnight, as one year turns to the next, to symbolically bring them sweets days. The savory pie, in which they put a silver coin, is cut during lunch on New Year’s Day, and whoever finds the coin is considered the ‘lucky one,’ and lights a candle on behalf of the whole family to share in their luck.

One of the most famous recipes for Vasilopita, comes from Agiasos in Lesvos, an area well-known for its dairy products. It is made with a spicy cheese filling, and is sometimes called Vasilotyropita.

On the Greek islands there are countless variations. On Crete, they make aromatic Vasilopites with blossom water, while in Rhodes, they roll out a thick sheet of the Vasilopita dough, cut it into a square shape, and draw a double-headed eagle on it, the symbol of the Byzantine Empire. In Naxos we find the so-called Vasilokouloures, and in Lefkada you see Vasilopites that resemble halva.

The traditional Asia Minor Vasilopita is very impressive in both its appearance and taste. It’s large, crispy, and decorated with a two headed eagle, which symbolized the wish and hope for the reconstitution of the Byzantine Empire. The Vasilopita Politiki is sweet, fragrant, and abundantly spiced, and is traditionally decorated with the initials of the head of the household.

In today’s modern age, the tradition of Vasilopita is still upheld, with a particular ritual for cutting the cake that persists. The idea is that the head of the household would turn the cake three times, in the name of the Holy Trinity, and then before cutting the cake, would take a knife or a key and draw a cross three times to stop any badmouthing that may have occurred and prevent any from happening in the future.

However, whatever kind of Vasilopita is made, whatever customs are followed for cutting it, it remains one of the most beloved traditions and certainly everyone – symbolically or not – hope it will bring us a happy, healthy, prosperous new year!

Vasilopita Pontiaki – New Year’s Savory Pie

Ingredients – Phyllo Dough

• ½ teaspoon of baking soda
• 1½ cup full fat Greek yogurt
• 4 cups (500 grams) of AP flour
• 1 cup of water
• ½ cup of olive oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of oregano
• ½ teaspoon of baking powder
• pinch of salt

Ingredients – Meat Filling:

• 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 2 pounds of ground beef
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• ¼ cup of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint, finely chopped
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 6 eggs, hard-boiled and each cut into 6-7 pieces
• Olive Oil, as needed for coating
• AP flour, as needed for dough rolling

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Add the baking soda to the yogurt in a large mixing bowl, and mix until fully combined.
3. Add the remaining ingredients for the dough in the large mixing bowl, and knead together until fully combined into a moist dough. Cover with plastic cling wrap, and allow to rest for approximately 30 minutes.
4. While the dough is resting, over medium heat in a large saucepan, sauté the onions until caramelized; add the ground beef and cook until just cooked through (greyish-white color).
5. Dissolve the tablespoon of tomato paste in 1 cup of water; add the cup of tomato-water, olive oil, mint, and season with salt and pepper to taste; stir and simmer until excess liquids have mostly evaporated.
6. Remove ground beef mixture from heat and allow to cool slightly. Once cooled, add hardboiled eggs, and stir gently to combine.
7. To roll out the dough: cut the dough in half, and place the first half on lightly floured parchment paper. Lightly sprinkle top of dough with additional flour, and place a piece of parchment paper on top.
8. Using a rolling pin, gently begin to roll out the first piece of dough so that it is significantly larger than the baking tray for the pie; reserve.
9. Repeat steps 6 and 7 with the second piece of dough, this time rolling it out to the size of the pan.
10. Coat the baking pan with a light layer of olive oil using your fingers or a kitchen towel/paper towel. Taking the larger piece of dough, gently place it on top of the baking pan, making sure that there is a significant overhang of the dough on all four sides of the pan.
11. Lightly sprinkle the phyllo dough with olive oil, and gently spread to cover the surface of the dough. Add the ground beef filling, and spread gently around to evenly disperse the filling in the pie.
12. Take the second, smaller piece of phyllo and place on top of the meat mixture; sprinkle with olive oil, and gently spread it accordingly. Trim the sides of the overhanging phyllo dough, and fold the over the top to meet the smaller sheet of phyllo.
13. Crimp together both top and bottom layers of phyllo (in the manner of your choosing), and once completely sealed, gently poke the top of the pie with a fork to create some holes for ventilation.
14. Bake in the preheated oven for about 45-50 minutes, or until golden brown.
15. Remove pie from the oven, and allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes; cut into pieces and serve.

Vasilopita Loi – New Year’s Cake

Ingredients

• 4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups of orange juice
• 1¼ cups of granulated sugar
• 1 cup of Greek olive oil
• 1 cup of walnuts, finely chopped
• 1 cup of black raisins
• ¾ cup of brandy
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Method

1. Soak the raisins in brandy for approximately 30 minutes; preheat the oven to 320 F.
2. While the raisins are soaking, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl; divide evenly into two large mixing bowls.
3. Slowly add the orange juice, followed by the olive oil into one of the bowls with flour, mixing thoroughly until fully combined; add the brandy and raisins, and mix again.
4. Reserve 3 tablespoons of sugar, and add the remaining sugar and walnuts to the batter, mixing to fully combine.
5. In the second bowl with remaining sifted flour, add the baking powder and ground cinnamon, and stir to combine.
6. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredient bowl into the bowl with the batter, and mix until combine.
7. Pour cake batter into a parchment-paper lined spring-form cake pan coated with olive oil; bake for approximately 45-50 minutes, then remove to sprinkle the top with the reserved sugar.
8. Return to oven for another 5-10 minutes; remove, and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

Καλή Χρονιά – Happy New Year!