The cake of St. Fanourios - Fanouropita (EN)

Since a lot of friends have tasted and liked this cake, here is a little bit of history of the cake along with its recipe, as I heard it from my grandmother:

Saint Fanourios (Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Phanourios) is the Saint that reveals, coming from the Greek verb "fanerono" which means "reveal". He is the protecting Saint of the city and island of Rhodos. According to the tradition, he helps the people who have lost an item to find it and also young, unmarried women to find love. During his life he was providing food to the poor people and he was often distributing to them a cake that contained nine pure and nutritional ingredients, all of them suitable for the Orthodox fasting. Since that time the cake is called Fanouropita, or the cake of Saint Fanourios.

When you you try to find something you can call for the help of the Saint and once you find it you can bake this cake to appreciate for his help. While eating the cake you need to say "God forgive the mother of Saint Fanourios", because his mother was a sinner. Also, to honor the tradition, you need to distribute some pieces of the cake to friends or neighbors.

Ingredients:

1 cup of olive oil
1 cup of orange juice
1 cup of sugar

1 espresso cup of cognac
1 teaspoon crushed cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon of baking soda

About 400g of self-rising flour or normal flour mixed with 1 teaspoon of baking powder
For better taste (optional): a handful of walnuts or raisins

Mix the olive oil, the orange juice and the sugar. In one espresso cup pour the cognac and mix inside the cup the cinnamon, the cloves, the nutmeg and the baking soda. After mixing, pour it to the other ingredients. Slowly add the flour while mixing the ingredients with a mixer. Put the cake in a round form, add the raisins and the walnuts on top and gently push them inside with a spoon. Bake for around 45 minutes in 180 degrees or until the top gets a dark brown color. Before removing it from the oven, make sure by using a knife that the cake is fully baked inside. If you are not sure, it is better to leave it more time in the oven, than less.

Please leave your comments to this post, if you liked the cake. The Saint is there to help you find lost things or persons, ask for his help, show your appreciation and share your story here!

Enjoy!