We honor you, O divine warrior, glorious Phanourios!

Today my wife is making Phanouropita (also often spelled Fanouropita). The explanation is from Orthowiki and the recipe is from the invaluable orthodox.net website.

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The custom of the Phanouropita ("Phanourios" and "pita" for "bread" or "cake") is a Greek and Cypriot tradition, preserved in many regions of Greece and Cyprus and spread to the Greek people of the diaspora. Though it is not a Holy Tradition, it has been welcomed and adopted formerly into the church as a blessing service, that take no more than 5 minutes to complete.

It is offered at Vespers services and/or just before the Liturgy finishes on the feast day of the saint (August 27). Many villagers in Greece believe that they follow this tradition to grant rest to the soul of the saint's mother. The Church does not formally hold this position since there is no evidence from what we know of the saint's life to confirm whether his mother indeed was a fornicator, as this 'hearsay' suggests. Despite the Church having made this statement on many occasions, the common people within the Church will still express the phrase, "May God grant rest to the soul of Saint Phanourios' mother." More on the life of this saint here.

The pita is small and round, like a cake, and should be made using either nine or eleven ingredients. The basic ingredients include sifted flour, sugar, cinnamon and oil.

Easy St. Phanourios Bread

Fasting (with oil)

Preheat oven to 350.

1. 1 cup sugar
2. 1 cup oil
3. 2 cups orange juice
4. 3/4 cup raisins
5. 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
6. 1 tsp. baking soda
7. 4 cups flour

Troparion - Tone 4 A heavenly song of praise is chanted radiantly upon the earth; the company of angels now joyfully celebrates an earthly festival, and from on high with hymns they praise your contests, and from below, the church proclaims the heavenly glory which you have found by your labors and struggles, O glorious Phanourios.

Mix oil and sugar, and beat until it's a creamy yellow. This may take a long time.

Put the baking soda IN the orange juice, and stir until dissolved. [NB: this can be spectacularly dramatic if you use a two cup measuring cup with two cups of o.j. in it. (Please don't ask how I found out.) It might be easier to hold a two cup measuring cup OVER the bowl full of oil and sugar and pour in *one* cup of o.j., mix in 1/2 tsp. baking soda, watch the fireworks, pour it into the bowl, and again mix *one* cup of o.j. with 1/2 tsp. baking soda, stir and pour again. If you don't dissolve the baking soda completely, you get lumps of it in the cake. So, stir well.]

Add the flour, then the raisins and nuts.

Pour the batter into an ungreased 9"x13" pan and bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 minutes (or until a clean toothpick dipped in the cake emerges clean.)

I use a bundt pan instead of one 9" x 13", and my kids prefer this with chocolate chips in the place of the raisins and nuts. It doesn't really need a frosting, but if you wanted to drizzle a stiff glaze made out of, say, powdered sugar and lemon juice and a little water over it, that would be okay, too.

If you wanted to put spices in the batter, I'd go with a tiny amount (1/4 tsp. or less) of ground cloves.



Fancy St. Phanourios Bread (Phanouropita)

Not even close to fasting!

Kontakion - Tone 3 You saved the priests from an ungodly captivity, and broke their bonds by divine power, O godly-minded one; You bravely put to shame the audacity of the tyrants, and made glad the orders of the angels, O great martyr. Therefore, we honor you, O divine warrior, glorious Phanourios.

This recipe originally came from a cookbook for a Greek parish in Chicago, but I've tampered with it, mostly by editorializing.

Doubles well; the recipe given is for one loaf pan worth, but Doubled it makes a bundt pan's worth.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large, heavy bottomed saucepan, combine:

1. 1 cup orange juice
2. 1/2 cup brandy
3. 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 2 cups golden raisins
6. 3/4 cup sugar
7. 1/2 cup honey
8. 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
9. 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for exactly ten minutes -- any longer, and you'll have a good caramelized smelling door stop instead of a cake.

Set pot in cold water to cool mixture completely.

Sift into cooled syrup:

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour
2. 2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
3. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

Beat vigorously for eight to ten minutes (Takes muscles! We use a wooden spoon for this) or until batter is smooth and bubbly.

Stir in: 2 Tablespoons grated orange peel

Turn into well greased 7" fluted pan or 8" loaf pan.

Sprinkle with 1/2 sesame seeds (optional; skip if you like).

Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Sprinkle with 1/4 cup brandy and cool cake in pan.

Bring to church to have blessed, and then share with parishioners or the poor.

Smells amazingly wonderful while cooking.