This easy Fanouropita recipe (Greek vegan olive oil cake) is usually made on St Fanourios day. It's a very moist and tender delicious cake!
The optional chocolate-tahini ganache takes it over the top!
Making a delicious, tender and moist cake from scratch doesn’t have to be difficult and frustrating. It should be easy and fun! So why not make this traditional vegan Greek cake known as Fanouropita?
This Fanouropita recipe is one of the most tender, fluffy, flavorful, and moist cakes ever!
I can’t say for sure that it’s the lack of eggs, the orange juice (freshly squeezed if possible!), the olive oil, or the combination of all the above but this cake manages to stay soft and very moist for a lot of days!
You could say this is a Greek sheet cake.
Contrary to most American sheet cakes which are rectangular, most Greek one layer cakes are round, probably because round pans are more popular.
But ultimately, the shape of this cake really doesn’t matter because it’s so easy to make, it almost feels like cheating. In fact, you'll only need a bowl and a whisk!
Fanouropita doesn’t mean olive oil cake in Greek. It comes from the words Fanourios and pita (=cake) and it means a vegan oil cake that is made in the name of Saint Fanourios, a Saint who helps you find lost or misplaced things.
According to the Greek tradition fanouropita is usually made by women when they want to find who their future husband will be, while in other cases it’s made every time someone wants to find something lost or misplaced.
The tradition also dictates that this cake should be made with either 7 or 9 ingredients and it should not contain any animal products such as butter, eggs or milk. In other words, this is a naturally vegan cake and a very cheap one!
For the oil, you can use whatever neutral tasting oil you like, but for the best results most of the times I use a mix of equal parts of olive and corn (maize) oil and some other times only olive oil.
Two more olive oil cakes on the blog are this cocoa and apple cake with caramelized white chocolate and this simple lemon and coconut cake 🙂
As I said, the ingredients should be 7 or 9.
In this recipe, the cake is made with 9 ingredients, however it will benefit a bit more by the addition of a pinch of salt.
And the tahini-chocolate cream which is totally optional and not traditional is made with 7 ingredients (if you don't count the sesame seeds which are mostly for decorative purposes).
How fanouropita is cut and served
Fanouropita is made in a large round pan and after it’s baked and cooled, it gets cut into square or rhomboid shaped pieces.
If you make it because you want to find something lost, then you should share it with your friends, family, and neighbors. Also, everyone who eats a piece should pray for the sins of the mother of St. Fanourios to be forgiven (just don’t ask me why!)
However, this cake is so delicious and easy that you should not wait to lose something in order to make it!
This vegan olive oil cake may be delicious on its own but it pairs AMAZINGLY with the tahini chocolate ganache.
The flavors of the cinnamon, cloves, and orange zest are complemented perfectly by the chocolate flavor and the nutty tones of the tahini ganache resulting in a cake everyone will remember!
I’ve made a tahini chocolate ganache before for this olive oil and banana blender cake, which as the name suggests can be made in a blender or in a food processor.
That ganache was made mainly with chocolate and tahini, but I wanted to experiment a little further and knowing that tahini actually thickens when mixed with water, I decided to mix those two in a try to make an equivalent of heavy cream.
This way I also managed to cut down on the calories!
Some notes/tips:
- This cake is great even without the ganache, so you can also make it plain.
- Test doneness with a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake. It should come out clean, free of crumbs.
- Fanouropita is usually cut into squares and is shared with friends and neighbors.
- For the best flavor use half e.v. olive oil and half another neutral tasting oil.
- For the ganache: If you use a chocolate with less than 65%, you may need to increase the quantity to 8.5 oz (240 grams)
- This cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3-4 days and refrigerated for up to a week (let it come to room temperature before serving).
You may also like these similar recipes:
Vegan olive oil and tahini chocolate cake
Vegan Greek superfood breakfast (or dessert) bowls (Koliva)
Baking with olive oil? Check this article about filtered vs unfiltered olive oil
📖 Recipe
Fanouropita recipe (Greek vegan olive oil cake)
Ingredients
- For the cake:
- 1 ¼ cups (250 grams) sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cups (150 grams) olive oil
- 1 ½ cups 375 grams orange juice, plus the zest of 1 orange
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons (430 grams) all-purpose flour
- 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- For the tahini chocolate ganache (optional):
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (150 grams) tahini
- 2 tablespoons (40 grams) maple syrup (or honey for non-vegans)
- 4 tablespoons icing sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- A pinch of cinnamon
- ⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons (110 grams) water
- 7 oz (200 grams) chopped dark chocolate, 65% cocoa
- Sesame seeds for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and oil and flour a 10-inch baking pan and line it with baking paper.
- Make the cake:Transfer the sugar, the cinnamon and the cloves to a bowl and stir to combine. Add the vanilla, the oil, the orange juice, the zest, and the baking soda and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. In a separate bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder and add them to the liquid mixture. Stir until the mixture is smooth and pour the cake batter into the pan.
- Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes and invert onto a rack to cool completely.
- Make the tahini chocolate ganache: Transfer the tahini, the maple syrup, the sugar, the salt, and the cinnamon to a small pot. Add the water gradually and stir until the mixture is homogenized. Heat over medium heat until steamy, remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let it rest for 1 minute and stir until the chocolate is melted. Let it cool.
- Spread the tahini ganache over the cooled cake and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Notes
Nutrition
If you like this post, Pin it!
Dr Martin Huang
OMG! This looks so good! I seriously need to head to the supermarket for a shopping now.
Makos
Good luck and happy baking!!! 🙂
Akhila@Pepper Delight
This looks simply AMAZING...That Tahini Ganache on top looks divine.
And I will definitely make this when i lose something 😉 lol
Makos
Hahaha! Thanks Akhila! Yes, that tahini ganache is REALLY good!!! 🙂
Vicky
I loved this cake! The texture and the combination of flavors was really good
sheila Lile
could this be made with a gluten free flour?
Makos
Hi Sheila, I haven't tried it so I can't tell for sure. But I have made a similar cake with a 1 to1 GF flour and worked, so the chances are on your side!
Cindy Collins
I was looking for your Pistachio cake that I saw , I think on Google…and was directed to your web site , but I don’t see it here….it was a beautiful cake. Will it be here soon?
Makos
Hi Cindy, if you use the search bar on the menu and type pistachio cake you should be able to find it. I will leave the link here just in case. Have a nice day!
https://www.thehungrybites.com/fluffy-pistachio-cake-with-rosewater-buttercream/
Pavitra
Made this cake today as I stumbled upon your blog. It is absolutely delicious. Even non vegans cannot tell that this is a vegan cake. The combination of the spices, fresh orange juice and zest is divine. The tahini frosting take it to a different level. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe. :>
Makos
Thank you Pavitra, I'm very happy you liked it!
Pola
Hi. That chocolate-tahini ganache! Wow. Absolute perfection! That vegan cake is so good but I loved that ganache. I use it in other cakes too. Whether you’re a fan of Greek tradition or just love a good dessert, this is highly recommended!
Makos
Hi Pola, yes this ganache is highly addictive!
Thanks for the comment!