This is the plain, simple cake that is made in many households in Greece and Cyprus on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day. Whoever finds the coin hidden inside will have good luck during the coming year.
I took ours this New Year’s Day to my Brother and Sister-in-law’s house, where my lovely Sister-in-law was fortunate enough to choose the lucky piece! She really deserved it too, after cooking up a storm for us all and seeing we were constantly (and I mean, constantly!) watered and fed.
Vassilopitta (New Year’s Cake)
1 cup flavourless vegetable oil
200g Greek yoghurt
1 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups of self-raising flour
5 eggs
1/2 cup chopped almonds
rind of 1 orange
2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of cinnamon
1tsp Vanilla extract.
1. Mix together the oil with the sugar.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
3. Place in a lined and greased 9 inch round cake pan.
4. Cover a pound coin with foil and push into the cake mix.
5. Bake at 150 deg C (fan oven) for 50 mins- 1 hr.
6. Decorate as you wish, usually with the numbers of the New Year.
No cheating now! No turning the cake upside down to see where the coin is…….
At Anna’s Kitchen Table 
That's a lovely, simple New Year cake. It's strange how that tradition of hiding a coin or token in a cake, tart or pudding turns up in so many countries. And, of course, I've hurt myself by biting hard on a coin in the past – I should be more careful. Happy New Year.
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Anna this cake looks wonderful and I love the tradition of finding the lucky coin 🙂 Wishing you and your lovely family a very happy new year xxx
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