If you lose something important and can't find it, what do you do? If you are Roman Catholic, you might say a prayer to St. Anthony, the patron saint of lost things. But if you are Greek Orthodox, you say a prayer to Agios Fanourious. And when you find the lost item, you'll need to bake a cake. But not just any cake. This must be fanouropita for St. Fanourious (also spelled Fanourios or Phanourios).
Fanouropita is a sweet cake, sometimes served with a dusting of powdered sugar. It contains orange juice, nuts and/or raisins, cloves, and cinnamon. It contains no eggs or milk, so it is vegan and can be consumed during Lent.
In some parts of Greece, mothers bake fanouropita so that their children will "find" spouses. And there is always plenty of it in Greek communities on August 27, St. Fanourious' name day. It occurs to me that if one wants their mother to bake a cake, one could hide an object from her, then "un-hide" it after she says a prayer to St. Fanourious. But that would be mean. You could instead make the cake yourself. The recipe is at Gastro Obscura, as well as the story behind Agios Fanourious.
(Image credit: George E. Koronaios)
