Saturday 19 February 2022

Fanouropita - Lost and Found

 Lost and found .  I've written about this cake before.  It is called a 'Fanouropita, the Pie of Agios Fanourios' because it is baked in the name of Saint Fanourios who finds lost objects. His name means 'the one who reveals'. It is also baked during Lent and other fasting periods in the Orthodox church because it has no eggs or dairy .


                            


This is a new, to me, recipe.  We were given a piece while having coffee at our favourite T-Cafe on the waterfront and I asked for the recipe.  This one is from Agios Oros,  Mount Athos, the peninsular in northern Greece with 20 Orthodox monasteries where females are forbidden to tread.


First you ask the Saint to open your eyes so you can find your lost object and when it is found, to thank the saint,  you bake the cake and share it with friends and neighbours. Before you eat your slice of cake you must send a prayer so the soul of the mother of St. Fanourios may be saved.  Legend has it that she was sent to hell for living such a shameful life.

   On the fiesta of the saint housewives bake this 'pie' and take it to church to be blessed before being cut up and passed around.  His fiesta is 27th August.


Traditionally the recipe has either *7 or *9 ingredients

1 water glass of oil (180ml) - olive oil or some sort of vegetable oil
3 water glasses (350grams) of self-raising flour 
1 extra tsp baking powder
1 water glass (170grams) of sugar
1 glass of orange juice (200ml) plus the zest
half a glass (100 grams) of chopped walnuts
half a glass of raisins (about 100 grams)
1/2 teaspoon clove (powdered)
1 tsp cinnamon

This can be mixed in a bowl by hand.

Beat the oil and the sugar together . Pour in the orange juice and zest.

Add the self-raising flour, cloves, cinnamon, walnuts and raisins.

Oil a cake baking dish.  It doesn't need to be over oiled because of all the oil in the cake mix.  I also read somewhere to sprinkle sesame seeds over the oiled pan and on top of the cake mix for a change.
Pre-heat the oven to 170oC and bake from 40-60 minutes depending on your oven.  In my oven 40 minutes is fine.

Dust with icing sugar.  When cold, cut and hand around.  It's a crumbly cake so have a spoon ready to scoop up the crumbs.
A monk from one of the Monasteries says to cut it into 40 pieces but this  recipe makes a small cake.  They must have huge baking dishes in these monasteries, big enough to feed all their Male visitors.


*7 for the Holy Sacraments 

*9 for the 9 Angelic choirs 


Whatever your religion give it a try. It's a vegan cake and you never know you might find that elusive 'thing' that disappeared like a sock in the washing machine.




19 comments:

  1. Here is an easier method to find lost things- just turn a glass on the table. I tried it a few times. It did not always work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Much easier and no calories. Ive never heard of this but I will definitely try it!

      Delete
  2. I seem to be finding it easy these days to find all those kilos I lost a while ago...sigh...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's the only problem with this method, specially if you haven't too many people to give it away. The past one I made we ended up eating it all ourselves. Can't remember whether I found whatever-it-was but certainly found a few kilos

      Delete
  3. I love cake. Yours sounds good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a good tasty cake. Nice with custard ☺️

      Delete
  4. Thanks for posting this recipe! How interesting that the ingredients are measured by “water glass” ~ thankfully the grams required are also listed. A water glass could be large or small…must have been written awhile back :-)
    Good timing too, since Lent is right around the corner, and it's always good to have cake at a Lenten luncheon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Here we still use a water glass as a measurement. It's quite normal here . We all buy similar size glasses. I knew it would bemuse anyone else.
      It's a good tasty cake but is crumbly as are all these Lenten cakes.
      I actually wondered if a spoon of vinegar (egg replacement) might make a difference.
      I'll try it next time

      Delete
  5. I love the stories that go with these recipes
    I might have to make this cake

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a good cake, full of taste. But it is crumbly. Excellent with custard or cream 😁

      Delete
  6. I think I need to bake that cake, I'm always losing things.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It usually works....but not always. Give it a try, just out of interest

      Delete
  7. If it's guaranteed to work, it would be very popular with my wife. I've never known anyone to lose so many things, so often.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Try Yaels trick first. But at least with a cake you'll have something good for afternoon tea

      Delete
  8. I lost an earring recently, so perhaps baking this cake might help me find it :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well you could give it a try. If you don't find the eating you'll still have your cake to eat

      Delete
  9. Sounds delicious, thanks for sharing the recipe. My sister, who is a much better baker than I am, converted it to USA measurements and I'm going to give it a try! I'm not looking for any lost items at the moment but will just enjoy the cake anyway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a cake I make quite a lot whether I'm searching for something or not. It's very easy and everyone knows and eats it.
      Good luck with yours

      Delete