Phanouropita Recipe
Phanouropita (or fanouropita) is a traditional Orthodox cake with a beautiful story behind it. Orthodox Christians often pray to St. Phanourios, the patron saint of lost things, when we’ve misplaced something. We ask for his intercession, and when the lost item is found, it is customary to bake phanouropita, bring it to church to be blessed by the priest, and then share it with the parish community.
Another special time to make phanouropita is on St. Phanourios’ feast day, August 27th. The cake is made with simple ingredients like flour, baking powder, olive oil, and orange juice, and it is naturally lenten, so you can make it throughout the year. And as a family of seven, you can imagine that we have our fair share of lost things around here! St. Phanourios has become a bit of a household name in our home, and he has helped us find countless things over the years. Needless to say, we owe him quite a few cakes! So we’ve made it a family tradition to bake phanouropita every year for his feast day as an offering of thanksgiving. We bring it to church, have it blessed, and then share it with our family, friends, and others in our community.
Little known fact, it is also customary to pray for St. Phanourios’ mother when making the cake. I love traditions like this because they give our children a tangible way to participate in the life of the Church and make the feast days part of our everyday family life. Phanouropita has become one of those simple traditions that we look forward to every year!
Learn more about St. Phanourios and Orthodox celebrations of his feast day here.
Phanouropita (St Phanourios Cake)
St. Phanourios Cake (Phanouropita) is a traditional Orthodox Christian cake associated with St. Phanourios, the patron saint of lost things. Orthodox Christians often pray to St. Phanourios when they have misplaced something and ask for his intercession in finding it. When a lost item is found, it is a special tradition to bake phanouropita, or St. Phanourios cake, as an offering of thanksgiving and to share it with family, friends, and others in the community. It is also customary to pray for St. Phanourios’ mother.
Ingredients
- 2 - ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 - ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 1-¼ cup orange juice
- zest of one orange, walnuts and raisins (optional)
- Candied orange slices (we got ours from Trader Joe's)
- powdered sugar for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of an 8 to 10-inch round baking pan with parchment paper and lightly grease the sides with cooking spray or olive oil.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sifted flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- Combine the sugar, olive oil, orange juice, and orange zest. Mix until smooth and well incorporated.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the orange mixture. Continue mixing just until the batter comes together.
- Fold in the golden raisins and chopped walnuts, mixing only until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- If adding sliced candied oranges, add them to the top of the prepared pan with parchment paper and olive oil. Arrange and cover the bottom.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake on the middle rack for 45–55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Might have to cook longer if using a smaller size pan.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then carefully transfer it to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Once cooled, dust lightly with powdered sugar, if desired.
- Share with others and say a prayer for St Phanourios' mother.
Notes
This simple olive oil and orange juice cake is a delicious way to honor this beautiful Orthodox saint and share the blessing with others. Whether you are making phanouropita for the feast of St. Phanourios on August 27 or after finding something that was lost, this traditional Orthodox cake makes a meaningful addition to your family’s liturgical traditions.
Learn more about St. Phanourios and Orthodox celebrations of his feast day here.
Blessing the phanouropita
Two cakes we baked and decorated this year!
The Prayer of St. Phanourios
Master Lord Jesus Christ our God, the maker of light and source and fount of wisdom and knowledge, the cause of all that is good, the fullness of goodness and the incomprehensible sea of compassion, Who does excellent things and works wonders in His Saints, by whom Your magnificent and All-holy Name is glorified, Who reveals to us the ways of salvation by the knowledge of Your holy commandments, O Good One, and shines upon our souls with Your gladsome and un-waning light, You Whose grace is wondrous through all Your Saints, Your chosen and faithful stewards, to all those who call upon them with their whole heart, who through Your all-working power working awesome and paradoxical wonders, of which there is no number, Who through your Holy Great-martyr Phanourios the newly-revealed, revealed that which was hidden from us and reveals them speedily, Who teaches us to ask faithfully in humility, that richly You may give according to Your compassionate and all-merciful nature, Who wishes that all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, Who said that “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life”. Do therefore now, all-good King and Lord of all, by this Your Holy Great-martyr Phanourios the wonderworker whom we entreat, bestow upon us who faithfully honor him, an intercessor towards You armed with Your strength, and grant to us the illumination of Your grace, make us worthy to walk in the paths of Your commandments, to come to the knowledge of Your good and complete will, reveal to us the paths of salvation, show to us the way of repentance, that pleasing You through these, Who works what is beneficial to our souls, reveal to us the treasures of Your knowledge, that to those seeking these, we who entreat You in faith, make our heart the dwelling of Your bright Holy Spirit and a receptacle of Your grace, so that with all Your Saints from the ages we may glorify You O Light-giving Lord, who in these is glorified and to You do we offer up honor and worship, together with Your beginningless Father and Your All-holy and Good and life-giving Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
-A Prayer to the Holy Great-martyr Phanourios by Nun Isidora
A moving true story about St. Phanourios’s unexpected help in finding a lost wallet and the faith, prayer, and heavenly text message that followed.