An easy vegan cake with warm fall spiced flavors!
Watch the Video:
Greek Fanouropita is known as the cake for lost things. It’s made every year on August 27th to celebrate “the saint for lost things,” St. Fanourios. This moist and aromatic cake is usually small, round, and made with simple ingredients. It doesn’t have eggs or dairy, so it’s naturally vegan, but it does have warm cinnamon and clove spices. You can put anything you want in it, like nuts, dried fruit, and even chocolate. I make it throughout the year because it is so delicious and comes together in just a few minutes. Let me know what you put in your Fanouropita!
Why you’ll make this cake all through fall
- Soft, moist spiced cake
- Citrusy orange
- Warm cinnamon and clove spice
- Chewy, sweet raisins
- Slightly crunchy walnuts
- Everyone will love this quick and easy vegan warm fall no-fuss spiced cake!
Greek Fanouropita ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground cloves
- Zest of an orange –always zest before juicing
The Wet Ingredients
- Light olive oil –or light vegetable oil
- Granulated sugar
- Orange juice -two clementines or one orange
- baking soda
- Pure vanilla extract –not traditional, but I always add it
Baker’s tip! Adding the baking soda to the orange juice helps it dissolve and prevent bitterness in your cake.
Optional add-ins
At this point, you can bake the cake as is, but there are endless possibilities for add-in combinations. I’ve added walnuts and raisins for this recipe, but you can leave them out and just add chocolate pieces. Or you can add your favorite nuts and dried fruit. Here are a few suggestions:
- Ground walnuts –pecans, almonds, or pistachios
- Raisins –cranberries, dried cherries, dates, or figs
- Confectioner’s sugar for garnish
How to make Greek Fanouropita, aka The Cake for Lost Things
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F, 180 °C.
- Grease and line a 10-inch (25 cm) round baking pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and orange zest in a bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil and sugar.
- Mix the baking soda with the orange juice, and then add it to the oil mixture.
- Whisk together and add vanilla extract.
- Next, add the flour mixture and whisk together until incorporated.
- Place the walnuts and raisins in a bowl with 2-3 teaspoons of flour and toss to coat.
- Add the nuts and fruit to the batter and fold in until incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake on the center rack for 55-65 minutes. The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached.
- Run a knife around the border of the cake to release it from the pan and allow it to cool.
Serving
Once your cake is cool, transfer it to a serving platter or cake stand. You can serve it as is or dust a pretty pattern on top with powdered sugar. A doily stencil or any stencil you like will create a beautiful design. I like to use one of my actual doilies. Place the stencil or doily on top of your cake and dust it with powdered sugar. Then, carefully remove the doily leaving the beautiful design behind. Don’t forget the hot Greek coffee when you serve it. Kali Orexi!
More Vegan Desserts:
- Tahini Chocolate Coconut Cake
- Moustokouloura: Grape Molasses Cookies
- Tahini Cookies
- Vegan Brownies
- Roxakia
Greek Fanouropita: The Cake for Lost Things (Vegan)
This moist and aromatic Fanouropita is made every year on August 27th (St. Fanourios Day) to honor the patron Saint of Lost Things. I make it throughout the year because it is so delicious and comes together in a few minutes.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (410g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (10g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- the zest of an orange
The Wet Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup light olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 and 1/2 cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Optional:
- 1/2 cup (70g) ground walnuts
- 1/2 cup (75g) raisins
- confectioner's sugar for garnish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 °F, 180 °C.
Grease and line a 10-inch (25 cm) round baking pan with parchment paper.
Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and orange zest in a bowl and whisk everything together.
In a large mixing bowl combine the olive oil and the sugar amd whisk together. Mix the baking soda with the orange juice and add it to the oil mixture. Whisk together and add vanilla extract.
Add the flour mixture and whisk together until incorporated.
Place the walnuts and raisins in a bowl and add 2-3 teaspoons of flour and toss to coat. Add to the batter and fold in until incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake on the center rack for 55-65 minutes. The cake is ready when a toothpick that is inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached.
Run a knife around the border of the cake to release it from the pan and allow to cool.
Transfer the cake to a serving dish and dust with confectioner.
Kali Orexi!
Notes
Substitute the walnuts and raisins with your favorite dried fruit and nuts or with chocolate chips.
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do you ever do glten-free recipes?
Almost all cake recipes that call for all-purpose flour are improved by using cake flour in the cakes where I’ve done the comparison. I’d be curious for you to try that substitution here.
This was an absolutely delicious cake! I made it for St. Phanourios Day, and followed the recipe exactly. I used the suggested vegetable oil (not olive oil), and the cranberries instead of the raisins. It has the perfect balance of everything – especially the cinnamon and cloves! Our family loved it so much! I brought it back from church after having it blessed, and we devoured the cake! I will definitely be making this again! Thank you!
Hi Dimitra,
I’ll be making St. Phanourios cake this week. My story, I found 4 items of my Mother today after looking and praying to find them for over 2 years. By the grace of God and of course St. Phanourios I found them.
Thank you for the recipe ingredients ☦️🙏🕯️
Theo
Thanks! Hope you enjoy it:)
I’ve already made this twice, and everyone loves it! The flavors blend over the days after baking and become even more delicious. Even my 99 year old mother-in-law loved it, and she used to make something quite similar to it. Thank you for a delicious and easy recipe.
I’m so happy to hear that everyone, including your mother-in-law, enjoyed it! It’s great to know the flavors get even better over time. Thank you for sharing your experience, and I’m glad the recipe was a hit for you!
Hi Dimitra!
Can you substitute almond flour in this recipe?
I don’t recommend that. A better substitute would be King Arthur’s gluten free mix. The texture will be a bit different but that mix works well as a substitute in this recipe. Enjoy! xxD
The recipe said 3/4 cup of oil which you also said in the video but the text on the video said 3.25 cups which is 3 cups and a quarter. Is that a mistake? Also my cup measurements of 3 cups of flour came to much more than 410g. Is it best to go by grammes if there’s a discrepancy? I did the grammes but my mixture still appeared stiffer than yours. Not sure what I did wrong.
Thank you for pointing that out! Yes, the correct measurement for the oil is **3/4 cup**, not 3.25 cups—I’ll make sure to fix the video text so there’s no confusion. As for the flour, it’s always best to go by weight (410 grams) rather than cup measurements since the way flour is scooped can vary greatly. If your mixture appeared stiffer, it could be due to slight differences in how the flour was measured or the type of flour used. You can add a splash of orange juice or water to loosen the batter slightly if this happens again. I hope the cake still turned out delicious! 😊
Excellent recipe! I went by grams rather than cups and it was perfect. Deliciously moist and flavourful.
By the grace of God, Agios Fanourios did indeed show what I’d lost.
Thank you, I’ll definitely be making this again.
That’s wonderful to hear! Measuring by grams always gives the best accuracy, and I’m so glad it turned out perfectly for you. Wishing you many more delicious bakes ahead. Thank you for sharing! 😊
Hi Dimitra, I made the cake yesterday it was delicious. I have tried other St. Fanourious recipes, this one is the one I will use from now on. Thank You for sharing it.
Thank you so much! I’m honored you chose my recipe and even more touched that it’s now your go-to. I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake—it means a lot to me that you took the time to share! 💛
what would the directions be for baking in a bundt pan? would this work? also; what other pan besides a round pan would work and baking times please
Yes! You can absolutely bake Fanouropita in a bundt pan. Here’s how I recommend adjusting the recipe:
Grease and flour your bundt pan well so the cake releases easily.
Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top.
Because bundt pans are deeper than a 10-inch round, the baking time will be longer. Start checking at 60 minutes, but it may take up to 70-75 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center; it should come out clean or with just a few crumbs.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes, then carefully invert it onto a cooling rack.
Other pans that work well: a 9×13-inch baking pan (baking time: 45-50 minutes), or an 8-inch square pan (baking time: 50-55 minutes). Keep an eye on the cake, as oven temperatures can vary.
The key is to make sure the center is fully cooked and a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy baking!
I found it interesting that you did not use any eggs in this cake recipe. I always thought eggs were needed to bind the cake ingredients together. This is a good recipe to know in case we ever have another egg shortage and looks delicious too. Thanks Dimitra.