VASILOPITA: GREEK VEGAN PIE FOR THE HOLIDAYS
The holiday season is upon us once again and we look forward to all the traditional Greek foods and desserts! Greeks love to celebrate the holidays by gathering and dining with friends and family. They make the holidays more special by cooking and sharing traditional Greek holiday recipes. One of my holiday favorites is Vasilopita, a pie baked for the New Year, which is also known as St. Basil’s Day. Our version of this traditional Greek pie contains no eggs or milk, and is completely vegan! It’s not only healthier but is also more delicious. Give our Greek vegan Vasilopita recipe a try for yourself!
Origins of Vasilopita
Although there are many variations of Vasilopita, traditionally, it is not a vegan recipe. It is typically made in the form of cake, sweet bread, or pie. The recipe came from Caesarea and is associated with the legend of its Bishop, St. Basil. It is said the city was once under siege and the Bishop asked its citizens to donate valuables as payment to bribe the enemy from attacking. According to the story, the enemy was so embarrassed by this act, he left without collecting the payment. Since the payment was gathered by the citizens in the form of jewelry and gold, the Bishop decided to return everything back to the citizens. He order hundreds of loaves of bread baked with all the gold and jewelry, and distributed them to the citizens. Some say the Bishop simply wanted to share the city’s fortune with the poor, so he ordered these loaves of bread to be stuffed with coins.
Whatever the reason, the tradition of baking during celebrations and holidays continued, as well as, hiding some sort of coin or trinket inside the Vasilopita pie as a surprise gift . The one who finds the coin in their slice of pie is said to have good luck for the upcoming year!
Greek Vegan Vasilopita Recipe
Ingredients
240 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
250 gr powdered sugar
1 tbsp. sugar
7 gr mahlab
½ tsp. nutmeg
2 tbsp. all purpose flour
Orange zest (from 2 oranges)
1 vanillin
2 mashed bananas
⅓ cup water
350 gr all purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
powdered sugar for topping
Directions
Vasilopita Greek vegan pie won’t take you longer than an hour to make. It’s pretty easy in fact! Start by preheating your oven at 180° C. Use an electric blender to mix together the sugar, mahlab, nutmeg, vanillin powder and 2 tbsp. of flour. Put aside. Use an electric mixer, whisker and a deep bowl to mix together the extra virgin olive oil with powdered sugar for about 8 minutes. Add the mix from the blender along with the orange zest and mix everything at a low speed. Use the electric blender to make a mash from 2 bananas and add it slowly to your mix, along with ⅓ cup of water. In a smaller bowl, mix the rest of your flour with baking powder and add slowly to the rest of your mix. Use a silicone spatula this time, as it will be easier to handle the dough this way.
Oil a round 26 cm cake mold and dust it with flour. Pour your mix into the mold and spread evenly with a spatula. Foil a well washed coin and hide it inside your poured mix. Bake for 45 minutes. Once your Greek Vegan Vasilopita is ready, let it cool down a bit and remove it from the mold. Dust some powdered sugar on top. You can decorate by cutting Christmas-related shapes on a paper and placing them on top of your pie before dusting with powdered sugar, then remove the paper shapes. Enjoy!
We hope you’ll try our yummy traditional Greek Vasilopita pie this holiday season! Our Greek Vegan St. Basil’s pie will be a fun surprise to share with your beloved friends and family. They’ll enjoy the story of St. Basil, while trying to see who the lucky sliver of pie went to. Remember, whoever finds the coin or treasure will have good luck all year-round!
For more authentic Greek products, visit our shop for the holidays!