Vasilopita

By Anonymous

This is our family’s New Year’s cake. A coin is baked in the cake, and the person who finds the coin in their slice is has good luck for the year; they also get a prize.

Vasilopita

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cups white sugar
5 eggs
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Instructions

1 Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2 In a large bowl, blend together the butter or margarine and the sugar. Separate 3 of the eggs; add the yolks and the 2 remaining whole eggs to the butter mixture. Stir in the vanilla and water.

3 In another bowl, sift together the baking powder and flour. Add these dry ingredients to the creamed mixture.

4 Whip 3 egg whites until they are foamy. Add 1 tablespoon sugar. Continue to whip the whites until they are stiff, but not dry. Fold whipped whites into batter.

5 Pour the batter into a greased 10 x 4 inch tube pan. Wrap a large coin in foil, and place the coin in the batter. Press the coin down; it should be completely hidden. Sprinkle the nuts and seeds on top of the batter.

6 Bake the cake for about 70 minutes, or until done. Cool on a wire rack.