Βασιλόπιττα (Vasilopitta - Saint Basil's Cake) - for New Year's Eve
Ingredients:
240 cc. premium unsalted butter
5 egg whites; 5 egg yolks
1/2 kg self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
240 cc. sugar
120 cc. milk
120 cc. orange juice
Grated peel of an orange
Icing sugar
Unsalted almonds, peeled and cut into halves
A coin
Preparation:
Beat the butter and the sugar until creamy; then add the egg-yolks, one by one, while beating all the time. Still beating, gradually add small quantities of the milk first and then the orange juice. Beat the egg whites until stiff, and fold them into the mixture. Mix the flour with the baking powder; add the orange peel, and then fold the flour gently into the mixture.
Place the mixture in a round baking tin, and bake for about 60 minutes (until the blade of an inserted knife comes out clean).
When baked, let it stand in the baking tin for 5-10 minutes, before removing it from the baking tin; put on a wire rack to let it cool. Into the base of the cake insert the coin. Cover the cooled cake with powdered sugar and decorate with the almonds, putting the number of the New Year in the centre.
