Stbasils New Years Cake Recipes

VASILOPITA - GREEK SAINT BASIL'S NEW YEAR'S CAKE

Steps:

• Clean! Silver or gold coin wrapped in aluminum foil (a quarter works well).
• Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 10 inch round cake pan with 1 Tbs butter.
• In a medium bowl, cream the cup of butter and 2 cups of sugar together until light in color. Stir in the flour and mix until the batter resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the eggs one at a time, blending each one in well.
• In a small bowl combine the baking powder and milk, add to the cake batter and mix well. Finally combine the lemon juice and baking soda in a small bowl, add to the cake batter and mix well. Pour the cake batter in to the greased cake pan, insert the foil wrapped coin, and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove the cake from the oven, sprinkle the nuts and 2 Tbs sugar over the cake, then return the cake to the oven and bake for a further 20-30 minutes until the cake springs to the touch. Allow to cool on a rack for 10 minutes then invert the pan on to a cake plate.
• Ideally the cake should be served warm; each person gets a slice of the cake starting with the most senior member. Members of the Greek Orthodox Church believe that whoever gets the coin is blessed.

ST.BASIL'S NEW YEARS CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 10 inch round cake pan,with the butter.
• In a medium bowl,cream the butter and sugar together until light in color. Stir in the flour and mix until the batter resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add the eggs one at a time, blending each one in well.
• In a small bowl combine the baking powder,and milk, add to the batter and mix well. Finally combine the lemon juice and baking soda in a small bowl, add to the cake batter and mix well. Pour into the greased pan, insert the foil wrapped coin, and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove the cake from the oven, sprinkle with nuts and 2 Tabl. sugar over the cake, then return to the oven and bake for another20-30 minutes until the cake springs to the touch. Allow to cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert the pan onto a cake plate.
• Ideally the cake should be served warm, each person gets a slice of the cake, starting with the most senior member! Members of the Greek Orthodox Church believe that whoever gets the coin is blessed.

MRS. LEFFERTS'S NEW YEAR'S CAKES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the sugar, baking soda, salt and egg. Beat until the sugar begins to dissolve and the mixture is very glossy, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
• In another bowl, use a pastry cutter to combine the butter with the flour until it resembles coarse meal. Slowly stir the milk into the sugar mixture and strain it through a sieve into the flour and butter. Add the caraway seeds and zest, stirring until the mixture is just combined.
• Using your hands, divide the dough into 4 balls of equal size. Wrap each in plastic wrap and allow them to chill for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. (The balls may be formed into logs about 2 inches in diameter, wrapped well in plastic and frozen for up to 1 month.)
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Remove one of the balls of dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a thickness of about 16 inch. Using a 2-inch oval or round cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as possible, reworking the scraps as you go. (If the dough is frozen, use a sharp knife to cut the logs into thin slices.)
• Transfer the cookie dough to ungreased baking sheets and bake until they are lightly golden and crisp, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining dough balls, or save, refrigerated, for up to 3 days.

NEW YEAR'S ORANGE AND BRANDY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 10-inch round cake pan.
• In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until light yellow and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the butter or butter and margarine and beat for 1 minute more. Beat in the orange juice and brandy.
• Whisk together the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and the zests in another large bowl. Add to the yolk mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until incorporated.
• In a large clean bowl, with clean beaters, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold them into the batter. Pour the batter into the pan and shake gently to even the top. Decorate the top with almonds.
• Bake the cake for about 1 hour, or until it is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack before removing from the pan and serving.