Vasilopita 2016

In preparation for New Years Day, JoAnne baked the vasilopita (dime cake) Wednesday evening.

She has it down now, so it didn't take too long at all.  The dough even cooperated this year as compared to previous years.

The cake was delicious as always!

Uncle Arthur and Emilie were the lucky recipients of the dime. 

Happy New Year 2014

Another year, another vasilopita!  

Once again JoAnne made a delicious dime cake.

We hosted this year and after filling our bellies with Chinese food we moved onto the tradition of cutting the cake.  The luck recipient of this years dime was none other than our own Emilie!!!

Stop in for a sampling a cup of coffee, YUMMY! 

Vasilopita 2011

Well, another year has come and gone - where does the time go? With it, so does another family tradition, the cutting of the Vasilopita otherwise known as the dime cake. As always the cake was delicious. This years winner of the baked in dime - my dad!

Vasilopita 2009

Above is a picture of this New Years vasilopita, Greek New Year's Bread. Once again JoAnne did a fantastic job, as you can see - it was delicious! My cousins wife was the lucky recipient of the dime this year and is considered to be especially blessed for the year. Emilie and Alyssa were also lucky enough to each find a dime in their piece too, hooray!!

Here we are in the midst of cutting the cake and organizing the pieces based on families. Many of these cuttings will also be sent to those who were unable to attend.

Rumor has it that my uncle, who has been the official vasilopita cutter for as long as I can remember, is stepping down and passing the knife over to yours truly in 2010, rock on!

See my previous vasilopita postings:
vasilopita
vasilopita 2008

Vasilopita 2008

In keeping with our family tradition we all gathered at my aunt and uncles house on New Years Day for a nice diner followed by the cutting of the vasilopita (dime cake). My Uncle has been cutting the cake for as long as I can remember. In that time I can't recall if the dime was ever found in any of his pieces over the years. Well, this year it was, well sort of. The dime was actually in the middle of the cut between his piece and my aunts, so they get to split the good fortune for 2008 (five cents a piece hahaha).

Happy New Year!

The picture above is the actual piece showing the location of the dime.

Click here to see last years Vasilopita posting...

Vasilopita

Vasilopita - Greek New Year's Bread

The Vasilopita is a Greek New Year's Bread. It is made in honor of a beautiful act of charity by St. Basil to the poor and needy of his flock. In order to insure that the needy would have money for life's necessities, and knowing that the needy were also proud people, St. Basil had the ladies of his church bake sweet bread with coins baked into them. In this way he could give them money without demeaning them at all. It is therefore traditional to bake a coin into the Vasilopita (St. Basil's Bread). The one who receives the coin is considered to be especially blessed for the year.

Our family tradition is to gather on New Years Day, relax with family and have a nice dinner. After dinner the coffee is put on and the cutting of the Dime Cake begins. My mother always made the cake but with her passing JoAnne now makes it. My Uncle has been cutting the cake for as long as I can remember - since I was a little tyke, and still does it today. The first piece is cut for God, the second for the House and then from oldest to youngest. Although only one dime is baked in the cake my uncle keeps a pocket full of dimes handy and inserts them into the pieces of cake for the kids that are present. It is quite a site to see the kids face light up when they see they're piece has the dime! This is one family tradition that I hope to continue.

Click here for one iteration of the Vasilopita recipe