Vasilopita St Basil’s Cake is a moist round cake that many families bake and serve on New Years Eve for Good luck! This is an easy to make cake with your basic pantry supplies.
The cake is dense yet moist and with a light buttery citrus flavor to it. For example, in our recipe we used orange zest which is a more traditional way to make it.
There is also a yeast bread version that you can make in celebration of St. Basil as well as New Years. However, the Morgan Sisters are still recovering from Christmas!
Vasilopita St Basil’s Cake history
The vasilopita is a traditional Greek New Year’s cake that has a ton of history behind it. The significance of St. Basil and New Years day is, and forever will be, bound together.
In Greece and certain areas of Eastern Europe people bake a Vasilopita Cake to not only honor St. Basil but to celebrate New Years day.
New Year’s Day, also the feast day of St Basil, is a special day on the Greek calendar. Traditionally, you hide a coin inside the cake with the belief is that whomever gets the slice with the coin will have blessings throughout the coming new year.
Nowadays, many families celebrate Vasilopita St Basil’s Cake with each family member eating a slice of cake at midnight for good luck. In addition, some families save a slice of the Vasilopita cake to bless the house.
Safety warning: placing a coin into a cake can present a choking hazard to young children so proceed with caution!
We did not place a coin in our cake. However, If you choose to have a coin then wash the coin very well, wrap in aluminum foil, and insert it into the bottom of the cake after it cools.
Honoring St. Basil
The history of St. Basil is very interesting. Born sometime at the end of 329 AD, Basil was a very educated scholar that turned his life to religion. In a time where Christians were persecuted for their beliefs, Basil stood strong in his faith.
St. Basil fought the belief of Arianism and had great compassion for the poor. For more information check out this site https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02330b.htm.
Like to read? Then check out this book you can order on Amazon about the teachings of St. Basil here: https://amzn.to/380Vc7D.
Rising through the church and ordained as a bishop, St. Basil is often referred to as St. Basil the Great. He passed away on January 1st, 379 AD.
Thus the Vasilopita Cake is not only to honor St. Basil but also to celebrate New Years day.
Wrap up on the Vasilopita St Basil’s Cake
We love to learn about food history as we progress through our blog. We feel this brings more meaning to a recipe because it shows where we have been.
Food is closely tied to the struggles of the human spirit. Therefore we honor history in acknowledging and learning, even if it is through food.
Because it matters.
Learn from the past and you will bring your own good luck into the new year!
We are doing our New Year’s day blog as a way to celebrate all people, regardless of their beliefs. We are all in this together, and as 2021 draws near, we need all the good luck we can get!
Check out our other New Year’s good luck blog and recipe here: Black Eyed Peas Beans and Ham
We wish you all a safe and happy new year!
Love
The Morgan Sisters
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