New Year's Pie (Vassilopitta)
8 servings
120 minutes
In many countries, the main family celebration, when everyone gathers at the same table, is Christmas, and much less is prepared for the New Year. But not in Greece: here there is enough appetite for both holidays at once. The Greeks lure happiness in the coming year with vasilopita, or St. Basil's pie. The history of this treat goes back (like everything in Greece) to ancient times, and now no one knows for sure whether a similar orange pie was served at pagan saturnaliya , or whether that same holy bishop of Caesarea Basil the Great distributed pies to his faithful parishioners, hiding gold coins in them. Be that as it may, now vasilopita is baked on the eve of the festive night, and cut on January 1 after the morning service, be sure to give the first piece to the head of the family, and only then to the children and household - to whom "Whoever gets a coin will have good luck in the coming year.
1
Before starting to knead the dough, you need to prepare the ingredients.
2
Grate the zest of half an orange and squeeze the juice.
- Oranges: 1 piece
3
Soak almonds in boiling water, drain after 2 minutes and remove the outer shell. Then dry in a dry pan and grind into fine crumbs in a mill.
- Almond: 50 g
4
Sift the flour into a separate bowl and mix it with a teaspoon of baking powder.
- Wheat flour: 300 g
- Baking powder: 6 g
5
In another container, cream the butter with sugar. Continue mixing with a mixer for 10 minutes. Then add the yolks and continue mixing for another 10 minutes.
- Butter: 100 g
- Sugar: 250 g
- Egg yolk: 3 pieces
6
Add orange juice, 2 tablespoons of brandy, zest, and continue to whisk.
- Oranges: 1 piece
- Cognac: 40 ml
7
Add ground almonds to the mixture, then gently fold in the flour with the baking powder.
- Almond: 50 g
- Wheat flour: 300 g
8
The last ingredient is egg whites. They need to be whipped well until a dense, stable white foam forms. This may take about 5 minutes. Then, gently fold them into the batter. It is important to combine all components well without letting the whites deflate. Usually, it is advised to stir with a spoon or a special spatula in one direction.
- Egg white: 3 pieces
9
Place the dough in a greased baking dish and put it in a preheated oven at 200 degrees. Bake the pie for about 30 minutes, check readiness with a match - if the match inserted into the pie comes out dry, the pie is ready.
10
Remove from the oven and let it cool. Before the holiday, wrap it in foil and put it in the fridge, so its aroma will become even richer.
11
Sprinkle powdered sugar on top; you can use a stencil for this, which is easy to cut from regular paper.
12
To make the topping stick better, coat the surface with water, syrup, or cognac. By the way, if the cake's surface is uneven (like in my case), you can turn it upside down.
- Powdered sugar: to taste
- Cognac: 40 ml