Greek New Year's Cake - Vasilopita

4.11 from 19 votes

Greek New Year's Cake - Vasilopita

Vasilopita (Greek New Year's Day cake) is airy and buttery, with sweet flavors of vanilla, orange, brandy, nutmeg, and a hidden coin inside for good luck!

Prep Time25

Cook Time45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: christmas, Oven baked

Servings: pieces

Calories: 307kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

250 grams (8.8 ounce) butter softened
250 grams (8.8 ounce) icing sugar + extra to add on top
⅔ orange zested
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Mahlep powder
3½ tablespoons brandy or scotch
5 medium-sized eggs
125 ml (½ cup) milk
100 ml (⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons) fresh orange juice
425 grams (3 + ½ cups) all-purpose flour
4½ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1 small coin

Instructions

Preheat oven to 175°C / 350°F.
Combine flour and baking powder. Set aside.
Beat butter with icing sugar. Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment on cream butter and sugar for at least 10 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go. Beat until very airy and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time. The mixture will look slightly curdled but that's ok.
Add the orange zest, vanilla extract, ground nutmeg, and Mahlep powder.
Combine brandy with orange juice.
Add the flour (with a flour sifter) alternately with the milk. When the milk is finished add the orange juice mixture alternately with the flour.
Add the batter to a lined 10-inch Springform pan.
Bake for about 40-45 minutes. Test with a toothpick to see if it's baked in the center.
Let the cake cool down to room temperature.
Add the coin. Remove the pan ring. Slice off the top of the cake to flatten it. Press the coin inside the cake. Then overlap the cake on a serving plate with its bottom side facing upwards.
Decorate. Place paper decorations or numbers (see Notes below) and dust with icing sugar. See alternative decorations in the post above. Carefully remove the paper decorations and you're ready to serve!

Notes

Decorate with the icing sugar on the day you're serving the cake. If the icing sugar sits for a while, it can become moist and any shapes you have made will disappear.
I used cookie cutters to make shapes on paper then cut them and use them to decorate the top of the cake.

Nutrition