Vasilopita - Greek New Year's cake

Βασιλόπιτα κέικ με μαχλέπι και μαστίχα

Every New Year’s Eve in Greece, homes are filled with the aromas emanating from the oven as the traditional Vasilopita (Βασιλόπιτα) is baked.

Vasilopita can be a sweet cake or bread, and in some areas of Greece, particularly the North, a savory meat or cheese pie, and is associated with Saint Vasilis (Άγιος Βασίλης), who gives his name to the pie (Vasilopita literally translates to Vasilis’ pie).

What is always the same no matter which Vasilopita a family chooses to make, is the coin that is baked in it.

On New Year’s Eve, when the clock strikes midnight, a single pomegranate fruit is tossed and broken at the entrance of the household and the more seeds that burst out of the fruit, the more luck and good fortune the members of the family will have in the New Year.

We hug, we kiss, we wish one another health and happiness, we feast, extravagantly or not, and then it’s the time for the Vasilopita to take center stage. It is, traditionally, cut by the head of the family and shared among the household members and/or guests. Whoever gets the piece with the coin in it, will have good luck and prosperity for the whole year ahead.

In my family, we always make Vasilopita tsoureki, which is a sweet, yeasted bread made with lots of mahlepi and mastiha. This is where I took my inspiration from as I wanted to make a Vasilopita cake that would remind me of my family’s Vasilopita sweet bread. The result was amazing! And I didn’t have to use a mixer. A couple of bowls and a hand wire whisk was almost all it took.

It is beautifully moist from the oil in the batter, with a dense yet soft crumb, and a pleasant crunch from the walnuts and almonds that are dispersed throughout the cake adding an interesting variety of textures.

It is sweet, nutty, and citrusy from the addition of orange and lemon, luscious and supremely fragrant from the mahlepi and mastiha, with a balance of flavors that is rare not only for this type of cake, but any cake.

I added mahlepi to the icing too, which elevated the overall flavors of the cake even more, making it absolutely intoxicating.

Every single bite was so full of flavor, so special, so undeniably unforgettable, that it brought a smile on the face of every single person who tried it.

A perfectly suited cake to ring in the New Year and bring lots of joy and luck to everyone!

Wishing you all the best for the New Year, friends.

May 2025 bring health, joy, love and lots of laughter to you and your loved ones, and may all your dreams come true. Thank you for being here and for supporting me. It means the world! Happy baking!

Σας εύχομαι μια γλυκιά Πρωτοχρονιά! Ό,τι καλύτερο για το Νέο Έτος! Υγεία, αγάπη, χαρές και πολλά πολλά γέλια. Να γίνουν όλα τα όνειρά σας πραγματικότητα! Σας ευχαριστώ για την στήριξή σας!