Vasilopita

Recipe-Ingrediants

The most famous dessert which is the symbol of New Year's Day and the first sweet we eat after the New Year. According to Christian tradition, the governor of Cappadocia asked the residents to collect taxes. The residents were afraid because they were poor, so they asked for protection from the then bishop Basil. He reassured them and told them to gather whatever valuable items they had and to give them instead of the taxes to the Governor, which they did. Bishop Basil spoke to the Governor and convinced him not to accept anything from the poor residents, and thus he did not take anything. However, it was impossible to return to each person the items they had offered, so pies were made where each person's contribution was hidden inside. Miraculously, the pies contained what each person had offered to the Governor! Since then, we celebrate the Vasilopita (St. Basil's pie) with a coin inside, which gave it its name, and it can be found in many variations depending on the local customs of each region. The most popular variations are as a cake or traditional sweet bread (tsoureki). A coin or a small branch of an olive tree or a fruit tree, depending on the region, is placed inside the dough, and whoever finds it is believed to have good luck for the year.

The recipe is provided for a 27cm pan and a 34cm pan.

Ingredients:

For a 27cm pan:

• 200g lukewarm water
• 25g fresh yeast or 2 sachets of dry yeast
• 68g fresh butter
• 180g sugar
• 75g eggs
• 3g mastic
• 3g cinnamon
• 2g Chios mastic gum
• 600g strong flour
• 1/4 tsp salt

For a 34cm pan:

• 400g water
• 50g fresh yeast
• 135g fresh butter
• 360g sugar
• 150g eggs
• 1100g strong flour (maybe a bit more)
• 5g mastic
• 5g cinnamon
• 4g Chios mastic gum
• 1/2 tsp salt

For decoration:

• 1 egg white for brushing
• Dark chocolate for decoration
• Sliced almonds