The traditional Greek New Year’s cake with a hidden coin is called vasilopita.
Vasilopita is served at New Year in Greece and in Greek communities around the world. A coin, known as a flouri, is concealed inside the cake before it is baked or placed in it afterward, depending on the recipe. The person who finds the coin in their slice is traditionally believed to receive good luck for the coming year.
The cake’s name is connected with Saint Basil, or Agios Vasilis, whose feast day is celebrated in Greece on January 1. Families often cut the cake in a set order, beginning with symbolic portions for Christ, the household, or the absent, before serving individual slices.
Recipes vary by region. Some versions resemble a citrus-flavored pound cake, while others are made as a sweet yeast bread. Vasilopita is not the same as tsoureki, the braided sweet bread more strongly associated with Greek Easter, or melomakarona, a Christmas cookie.