Every New Year my family and I celebrate with a Greek tradition, the Vasilopita Observance. This custom began in the fourth century when a bishop, Saint Basil the Great, wanted to distribute money to the poor members of his flock. To avoid demeaning this proud people, St. Basil commissioned the ladies of his church to bake coins into a sweet bread, thereby hiding his offerings. When the families cut into the nourishing bread they surprisingly found gold coins as well, and the New Year’s tradition of baking coins into a sweet yeast-risen cake-like bread was born. While my mother never baked a traditional vasilopita, nor ever baked the coins directly into the cake, she would, true to custom, hide a variety of coins into a finished cake—whatever cake she felt like making that year. Today, the head of household divides the cake equally for each member of the family, and in traditional households, in commemoration of St. Basil’s love and concern for the poor, an additional piece of cake is cut to represent the unfortunate of the world. The one who receives the piece containing the special coin—a silver dollar in my home—allegedly will have an especially lucky year. Since leaving home I have introduced many friends to this Greek tradition and each year I am reminded of the fun generated by anticipating and hoping to receive that lucky coin. This year, in an effort to avoid sharing a whole cake with my husband, I have baked mini Rum Bundt Cakes, the preferred New Year’s cake in my family, and will give the extras to friends. While I cannot promise that partaking in the Vasilopita Observance will bring health and happiness to all who participate, as hoped by St. Basil the Great, I can attest that the ritual of making New Year’s resolutions is more fun while eating a rum-soaked coin-filled cake. Happy New Year!

Mini Rum Bundt Cakes
Yield=6 mini cakes Serves 12

For Cake:
10 tablespoons (5 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature plus more for the pan
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 yolk
2 eggs
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (5.5 oz) all-purpose flour plus more for the pan
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons rum
¾ teaspoons vanilla extract

For Glaze:
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter
½ cup sugar
¼ cup rum

For a fun touch, or a festive Valentine’s Day dessert, add a pink glaze:
1¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons brandy
3 tablespoons rum
1-2 drops pink food coloring

Position oven rack in center of oven and heat to 350˚F. Butter the mini Bundt pan and lightly dust with flour, shaking out excess.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the yolk, and beat until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, blending after each addition. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In another small bowl combine the milk and rum. Add half the flour mix to the mixer and blend until just smooth. Add half the milk mixture and blend until smooth. Add the rest of the flour and again blend only until just combined. Add the rest of the milk mixture and blend until smooth. Finally add the vanilla and blend until smooth.
Divide the batter evenly among the six molds and place in oven. Bake the cakes for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare the glaze. Gently heat butter, sugar and rum until butter has melted and sugar has dissolved. Set aside.
After the 25 minutes, remove the cakes from the oven and test for doneness. It may look wet and spongy but still test with a paring knife. If the inserted knife emerges clean, the cakes are done. If not, return pan to the oven, checking every 2 minutes.
When cakes are done, remove from oven and spoon about 1 tablespoon of rum glaze (the first glaze listed above) on top of each cake. Let cakes cool in pan for 20 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Brush a layer of glaze on top of each bundt cake, let harden (about 10 minutes) and then paint another layer on. Repeat until all of the glaze is gone.

Cut a small slit in the bottom of the cake and insert a saran-wrapped small coin into the slot. When ready to serve, divide the cake equally between the number of participants (hopefully no more than 2 per cake), enjoy your small portion and discover who is the lucky recipient of the coin. Make New Year’s resolutions and enjoy!

At this point, if desired, the pink glaze can be added on top of the first rum glaze. Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Spoon glaze into center and gently push out with the back of the spoon so that the glaze falls down the sides of the cake.

Note: To make a normal sized Bundt cake, just double the ingredients for the cake, not for the glaze.
For more information about the Vasilopita Tradition visit: http://www.stbasil.goarch.org/about/vasilopita.asp

I love when I go out to eat and am inspired by something I have ordered. It could be as simple as the herbed butter that was served with the table bread or as complicated as the Burgundy-thyme reduction sauce that smothered the short rib. Whatever it may be, the challenge of recreating is always fun. A few nights ago I met two friends for dinner at Mercato, a great BYO on the corner of Spruce and Camac. The meal was excellent–butternut squash risotto, pumpkin fettucini, striped bass with cipollini onions–but the big hit was the pumpkin panna cotta we all shared for dessert. It was light, not too sweet and paired with a delectable pumpkin seed toffee. I’ve fiddled with my favorite buttermilk panna cotta recipe and have created something similar. It couldn’t be easier to make and I’m happy to have found one more recipe to add to my seasonal dessert repertoire. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Panna Cotta
Yield=5 martini glasses

2 tsp. gelatin (powder form)
½ cup half and half
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp. cinnamon
freshly grated nutmeg to taste
pinch of salt
1½ cups buttermilk
¾ cup canned pumpkin purée
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
1 tablespoon bourbon

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over ¼ cup water. Let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. In a saucepan heat the half and half, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and pinch of salt until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot but not boiling, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in gelatin mixture, buttermilk, pumpkin purée, vanilla and bourbon. Strain mixture into a clean bowl or, ideally, a pourable Pyrex measuring cup. Pour mixture into martini glasses or ramekins and chill until set, 3 hours. I garnished mine with some candied pecans and store-bought hazelnut pirouette cookies, which is totally unnecessary, but complements the pumpkin flavor nicely. Also, if you don’t care about presentation, it is much easier to chill the panna cotta in ramekins: the martini glasses take up a lot of room in the refrigerator and are quite unstable.

I was surprised not to see one recipe for pumpkin ice cream this year in any of the ten cooking magazines I subscribe to. When one of my mother’s former students suggested bringing a batch to our Thanksgiving dinner, we thought it was a wonderful idea. And wonderful it was. We served one scoop to each guest in an orange-flavored tuile bowl and the combination was delectable. If you have an ice cream maker and are maybe in need of a change from pumpkin pie, I think you and your guests will not be disappointed. If you dare not break tradition, but have the time and energy to make some ice cream as well, I think a scoop of pumpkin ice cream next to pumpkin pie would not be bad either.

Pumpkin Ice Cream
Yield=1 quart

1 8-oz can pumpkin puree
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
5 egg yolks
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
a few gratings fresh nutmeg
1 T. bourbon

In a small bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree and vanilla. Set aside.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan combine the cream, brown sugar and salt. Heat until sugar is dissolved and liquid is hot to the touch. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yolks, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Slowly ladle small amounts of the hot cream into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. (I place the bowl on a kitchen towel to steady it while I whisk.) When the yolk mixture is tempered, or at about the same temperature as the cream mixture (after 3-4 ladles of cream have been added), pour it into the saucepan. Over medium heat, stir with a wooden spoon until custard thickens slightly and coats the back of the spoon, about 3-5 minutes longer. When custard is at the right consistency, immediately strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Stir in reserved pumpkin mixture. Transfer mixture to a storage container, cover with plastic wrap–press the wrap directly on the surface of the custard–and chill for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
When custard is chilled, transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. Add the bourbon during the last minute of churning. Serve or store in freezer immediately.
Note: Adding the bourbon is important: it allows the ice cream to maintain a soft texture even after several hours spent in the freezer. The taste is virtually undetectable, so if you desire a stronger bourbon flavor, add more than one tablespoon.

Orange Tuile Bowl

1 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp. finely grated orange zest
7/8 cup orange juice
14 T. melted butter, cooled slightly

Whisk together sugar, flour and orange zest. Drizzle in orange juice and whisk until thoroughly combined. Drizzle in butter and whisk until smooth. (I use a stand mixer or a hand-held mixer to make this, but you could definitely whisk it by hand.)
Refrigerate mixture for at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a sheet pan with a Silpat. Spoon tablespoon-sized dollops of batter onto prepared pan. (I only make about 4-5 at a time. This takes a little bit of practice, but the recipe yields more than enough batter to allow for mess-ups. You will ultimately develop your own system) With the back of a wet spoon, gently smooth out the dollops of batter. Bake until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit on silpat until slightly hardened but still pliable, about 1-2 minutes. With a narrow spatula, remove tuile from silpat and place in custard cup or ramekin. Let sit in mold until completely hardened, 3-4 minutes longer, then transfer to a cooling rack. Store in an air-tight container until ready to serve. When ready to serve, place tuile on plate, place one scoop of ice cream in tuile and serve. Enjoy!

Happy
Thanksgiving!