Vasilopita

Name: Vasilopita
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoons baking soda; 177 milliliters blanched, slivered almonds; 6 eggs; 710 milliliters all-purpose flour; 473 milliliters granulated sugar; 1 Tbsp honey; 2 teaspoons lemon juice; 79 milliliters light brown sugar; 237 milliliters milk; 237 milliliters (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vasilopitan is a vegetarian side dish. This recipe makes 8 servings with 748 calories, 13g of protein, and 34g of fat each. This recipe covers 16% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. Head to the store and pick up lemon juice, brown sugar, butter, and a few other things to make it today. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes around 45 minutes.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan and a 4-inch round cake pan.

Ingredients you will need

Butter

Equipment you will use

Cake Form

Oven

Combine the almonds, brown sugar, and honey in a small bowl, and set aside.

Ingredients you will need

Brown Sugar

Almonds

Honey

Equipment you will use

Bowl

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and mahlab in a medium bowl, and set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.

Ingredients you will need

Granulated Sugar

Baking Soda

Butter

Cream

All Purpose Flour

Equipment you will use

Bowl

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the lemon juice and vanilla.

Ingredients you will need

Lemon Juice

Vanilla

Egg

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk, and mix well.

Ingredients you will need

Butter

All Purpose Flour

Milk

Divide one-third of the nut mixture between the two prepared pans, scattering it in an even layer over their bottoms. Fill the smaller (4-inch) pan two-thirds full of batter, then pour half of the remaining batter into the larger (9-inch) pan.

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Frying Pan

Bake both layers for 20 minutes, until the cakes become a bit firm.

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Oven

Sprinkle half of the remaining almond mixture in an even layer over both cakes, and lay the coin on top of one of the partly baked cakes.

Ingredients you will need

Almonds

Pour the remaining batter on top of each cake.

Bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center of each comes out clean.

Equipment you will use

Oven

Knife

Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10 minutes.

Remove the cakes from their pans, and place the smaller one on top of the larger. Top with the remaining almond mixture, and serve warm.

Ingredients you will need

Almonds

Hazelnut-Anise-Chocolate Chip Vasilopita

Ingredients you will need

Chocolate

Hazelnuts

Anise

Replace the almonds with chopped hazelnuts and the mahlab with anise seed.

Ingredients you will need

Anise

Hazelnuts

Almonds

Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips to the nut mixture.Raspberry-Yogurt Vasilopita

Ingredients you will need

Chocolate Chips

Raspberries

Yogurt

Replace the milk with yogurt.

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Yogurt

Milk

Add 1 cup fresh raspberries to the center of the cakes, along with the almond mixture and coin, during the baking.Seed Wedding Cake

Ingredients you will need

Raspberries

Almonds

In Greece everyone is required to eat sees at weddings to wish the happy couple a fertile life. Replace the nuts with 3/4 cup sunflower seeds or poppyseeds and serve the cake at a wedding brunch.

Ingredients you will need

Sunflower Seeds

Poppy Seeds

Nuts

Excerpted from A World of Cake: 150 Recipes for Sweet Traditions from Cultures Near and Far by Krystina Castella. © 2010 by Krystina Castella. Published by Storey Publishing. Photography © Renee Anjanette Photography, used with permission from Storey Publishing.