So I bet you didn’t know that today is a popular day amongst Greeks who have lost things.
What’s that you say? Is it Greek National Lost Things Day? Oh no, no. It’s Greek National Find Lost Things Day. Better known as Saint Fanourios Day, the patron saint of finding lost things. His name means “to reveal” and so we bake a cake to have him reveal to us lost objects.
Why does this surprise you? Greeks bake cakes with lucky coins in them for the New year, why wouldn’t we have a cake for helping us find lost things? Makes perfect sense to me…right? No? Right.
Here’s how it works: Have you lost something? Your keys? Your glasses, even after checking the top of your head? Maybe you have lost your sanity? Have no fear, Saint Fanourios can help. All you have to do is bake a very special olive oil and orange scented cake in honor of his mother. You don’t even have to be Greek to enjoy this cake (which is more like a sweet bread) or to help you find lost things.
I don’t know very much about this Saint except that he was a Roman soldier and that an icon of him was found in a ruined church on the island of Rhodes. I also know, or so I have been told, that his mother was not exactly a very nice person, so in exchange for making a cake and saying a prayer for the forgiveness of his mother’s sins, Saint Fanourios will help you find something you have lost. Or better said, he will reveal something to you…dramatic pause here. Yes i am foreshadowing. Please read on.
The cake is made with a very specific number of ingredients. They must number only 7 or 9. What’s so special about 7 or 9? Well I suspect it’s something mathematical in nature. It must be because they are not evenly divisible. Or that 7 is a prime number and that 9 is 3 sets of 3 of which the number 3 is also a prime number. So 3 sets of 3 is like a super, magical woo-woo thing.
But much of the symbolism in numbers can be found in ancient lore which many times gets translated to religious beliefs. For example, the great religions believe that God created the the universe in 7 days. As I mentioned before, the number 9 is three sets of 3. And 3 is a holy number symbolic of the Trinity in the Christian faith. In Greek mythology there are 9 muses and it took 9 days for a soul to cross the River Styx. Whatever it is, ancient peoples, cultures and religions love odd numbers. And odd things…
I have to confess, that I don’t think this cake can only help you find lost things. I think Saint Fanourios might even send messages via the cake to reveal things to you. Let me explain:
I first made this cake with my girlfriend about 11 years ago. We were training for the marathon and spent every Friday night carbo-loading for our long runs on Saturday mornings. My friend noted that it was Saint Fanourios Day and that we should make the cake related to him. Great! I like cake and maybe he can help me find something, like a faster running time. Seemed like a fair exchange.
We went shopping for the ingredients and brought them back to her boyfriend’s (at the time) studio to make the cake. The problem with the studio however was that space was at a premium and that meant a small kitchen. And a small kitchen meant it had a really small oven. If it were any smaller it would be an easy bake oven. Anyway, we dutifully made the cake with the prescribed number of ingredients and put the cake in the oven to bake. And about 45 minutes later we took it out of the sad little oven. And exactly half the cake was burned. The other half was perfect.
“Your oven is very uneven.” I noted.
“That’s very peculiar,” my girlfriend said. “This has never happened before.”
“Do you think the saint is sending you a message?” I asked.
“Maybe St. Fanourios doesn’t want his cake baked in my boyfriend’s oven. Maybe he is saying ‘lose this guy!'” We chuckled and ate the good side of the cake.
Well, not long after that my friend broke up with this guy and ever since then we have had luck making this delicious cake. True story. Just saying…you come to your own conclusions.
Here is how to find lost things:
Fanouropita
serves 7-9 LOL
Ingredients (9 is my favorite number, so I use 9 of them):
3/4 cup olive oil
1 cup sugar
1 and 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2.5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon clove
1/2 cup walnuts roughly chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins roughly chopped if needed
2 and 1/2 cups of all purpose flour (gluten free works too)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Place the olive oil and sugar in a mixer and beat for about 5 minutes to dissolve the sugar.
Add the orange juice, cinnamon, clove and baking powder. Next add the flour in thirds and mix.
Right at the end add your walnuts and raisins and give it one more spin.
Place batter in a 9 inch round or square pan and bake for 45 minutes. Or you can use a bundt cake pan if you like special patterns on your cake like me. Also, I like busting the big fat Greek wedding myth that somehow Greek people don’t know what a bundt cake is. So i use this cake shape. All. The. Time. Click here for proof.
Let the cake cool and remove from the pan. Share with friends or family and have them say a little prayer to St. Fanourios’ mom and to help you find your lost things. Watch for things to be revealed in the days to come. Woo-woo.
Enjoy.
-Kallie
