Fanouropita (Greek Spiced Raisin Cake)

evelyn/athens's Note:

Aghios Fanourios (Saint Fanourios) is the saint of revelation - that is why he is often depicted carrying a candle. Also, he had a sinful mom. In Greece, we bake this delicious raisin cake for his saint's day and offer it to guests. It is traditional to say 'God forgive Saint Fanourios' mom' before eating it (what DID this woman do?). I'm sure my kids will create a similar cake for me (it will contain chocolate, I'm sure) so that people can ask for me to be forgiven of my sins. ;-) BTW, there are no eggs in this cake, and no butter, making it suitable for the Lenten fast.

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 12

• 4 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 cup sugar, plus
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 oranges, juice and zest of, plus enough extra
• 2 cups fresh orange juice, in total
• 1/2 cup brandy (but the brandy tastes better!) or 1/2 cup water (but the brandy tastes better!)
• 1 cup golden raisin
• 1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped, toasted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Butter and flour a 12-inch, round cake pan or a 9x13x2-inch baking dish.
3. Mix the flour with the spices.
4. In a bowl mix the oil, sugar, orange juice, brandy and the orange zest.
5. Mix well.
6. Add the flour, the raisins and the walnuts.
7. Mix well.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan.
9. Bake the cake (it is called a'pie'- pita' in Greek) for 45 min to an hour (tester inserted comes out clean).

Reviews

[SandwichQueen]

This was, in short, FABULOUS. I made it when my grandmother came to dinner and she asked for the recipe! Can you believe it!? So easy to put together and wonderful flavor. I didn't use brandy and used regular raisins. We served with a dallop of fresh whipped cream on the top. Will definitely make again!

[Glori-B]

The cake was awesome; I received lots of compliments when I took it to a Greek night pot-luck. I did play with it a little though. For the oil I used a combo of olive oil and coconut oil to take advantage of those wonderful medium chain fatty acids that are supposed to cure just about everything. Instead of brandy, I used "Sabra" an Israeli chocolate-orange liquor plus I added a 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips besides the raisins and instead of walnuts, I used pecans. Evelyn, you may not recognize your cake, but it was yummy none the less. Thank you for posting!

[Irmgard]

Oh, Ev! This cake is to die for!!! The richness of the olive oil totally makes up for the fact that it is egg and dairy free. This will be a great item to bring to work for Friday treats.