Easter Lamb Cake II

I have had my grandmother's lamb pan for over 30 years and have yet to find a recipe that held it's shape and tasted good - UNTIL NOW! Thanks for this wonderful recipe that is now a family favorite. It holds it's shape, comes out of the pan well and looks pretty frosted or unfrosted. I added some lemon extract to mine.

I am so happy to see that other families have this tradition! In my family, we've nicknamed it "Lambie cake" and we've had the molds forever...! We always do a chocolate cake, but I'm excited to try a white cake (especially for my grandma who can no longer eat chocolate) this year. Our traditional way of decorating includes white frosting with coconut for fleece, and sit the lamb in a bed of bright spring green-tinted coconut grass surrounded by jelly beans and chocolate foiled eggs. It looks so adorable! We also use jelly beans for the eyes and nose. Tradition: half of a black jellybean for each eye and half of a pink jellybean for the nose. Black works fine for the nose too. When I was little my mom would also add a flower made of icing or hardened sugar, with or without a slim, pretty ribbon, around the little lamb's neck.

This recipe was really easy and tasty. It baked in the mold perfectly with no problems. It came out of the mold fine. I frosted it using a pastry bag. Frosting it took about 5 minutes!

The best recipe I've tried with my old cast iron lamb mold. It's a firm cake that holds up well. The only modifications I made were 1) I used Baker's Joy cooking spray to "grease & flour" the mold and 2) I flavored the batter with a couple of Tblsp. of finely grated lemon zest. Came out great --Grandma would be proud!

This recipe is very similar to the one that came with our Lamb "heavy formed aluminum" cake pan from the 1960s. It is perfect for that mold, which is 7 3/4" by 11 1/2", by Nordic Ware. I highly recommend the 7 minute frosting for this cake as its brittle, sugary sweetness is the perfect complement. Put coconut on the frosted cake and color some green to go around the base as grass. Don't forget the jelly bean nose and eyes (use just a 1/2 jelly bean for each eye). To make it look more like a lamb and less like a dog, you can put a ribbon or some flowers around the neck. Also keep the coconut off the head so it stays more delicate looking.

This cake tastes wonderful. Next time I will be more careful with greasing the pan - my cake did stick a bit. I added a little coconut extract (1/4 to 1/2 tsp) along with 3/4 tsp vanilla extract to the cake batter and I think it gave the cake a nice flavor.

Great! I've been looking everywhere for a good recipe for my new lamb cake tin, and this one worked really well. I made my lamb ginger flavoured with some ground ginger. The cake is firm enough to stand upright and not droop or break, and very well defined. I could decorate it with icing but it looks really very pretty without it. My family are most impressed!

I made this cake yesterday and it turned out great! I used the aluminum lamb mold and an electric oven at 375 for 55 minutes. Had some batter leftover, enough for a couple of cupcakes. Don't skimp on greasing the pan. Mine came out almost perfect, but cracked a little. The cake tasted great--springy and not too sweet. We don't like coconut, so I made an almond buttercream and decorated the cake with a star tip, a jellybean cut in half for the eyes and pink icing for the ears, nose and mouth that I used a writing tip for. A lemon buttercream would also go great with this cake. My family really loved this recipe!

Made this cake for Easter this year. Very good flavor. Not too sweet, but just sweet enough and the middle cooked as well as the outside. Held it's shape from the mold very nicely. Will make again for sure.

I also used lemon zest. 3/4 lemon's zest worked perfectly. You could definitely taste the lemon in it, but it was not overpowering. No lemon juice was put in. The top of the mold browned very nicely, but the bottom was still too moist and it stuck. Next time, I think I will leave on the cookie sheet for 30 min to catch any overflow batter, but take it out for the remaining 30 min to better brown the bottom of the mold for easier removal.

My mother made this cake every easter and I inherited the pan but never found a recipe that worked. Frosting with the frosting bag instead of a knife is so helpful! I put wood skewers in the batter to support the neck. Thanks for helping keep the tradition alive!

Used this recipe for my wedding cake. Really good. Perfect texture and sweetness. Not to sugary so it was good with the icing. Very easy to handel, held up for stacking three teirs and decorating. Stayed very moist as I baked it thursday night, decorated friday and ate it saturday. YUM!

I have made the Lady Baltimore cake recipe with this mold for years... At Christmas --- turn the lamb into a deer; add twigs for antlers I, also have the rabbit mold...

I made this to bring to the inlaw's for Easter but I chickened out at the last minute and made cookies to bring instead. I was too nervous we wouldn't like the cake part and wanted to try it for the first time with just us and the kids. I'm glad I did. I followed the recipe exactly, I even bought the cake flour just to use for this cake. My family of four all agreed this was just a very dry, flavorless cake. My 5-year old actually gave it one star :( I know the cake needs to be able to hold up so it can stand and be frosted but we just did not care for this. No one finished their slice. It did hold up nicely to being frosted and it's looks got big grins from my kids. We just didn't care for the taste.

Let me start off by saying how much I HATE making an Easter Lamb Cake every year--It falls on me because I have the most baking experience in the house, and I hate doing it because of how delicate the lamb is. This recipe is a godsend, however, because it comes out as a nice dense pound cake like lamb that is perfect for frosting and decorating. It just got out of the oven and was unmolded PERFECTLY. Maybe, one year, doing a Lamb cake will be fun again! Until then, I am very pleased to have this recipe to work with.

This was so much fun for the kids, and it's so much better than eating a real little lamb.

I have the lamb cake mold that was my grandmother's I also have one that was my mother's... Made this for a party for my granddaughter's birthday and it came out great... I frosted it lightly and added coconut right away... (I added a little green food coloring to some of the coconut and spread it around the base of the cake to look like green grass).

Pay no attention to those who say this is a dry, flavor-less cake. They just didn't get it right. You can't disregard sifting, nor forget the vanilla. You must beat the butter and sugar until LIGHT and fluffy. Respect the egg whites, and don't get them too stiff. Fold carefully, and don't over-bake. All that said, Lamb cakes are a tradition in my family for birthdays. I have always been a little dissatisfied with the heirloom recipe that my mother gave me along with my grandmother's 1900 era lamb mold (with no vents). I made this today, and the ears over-baked a bit, which was probably my fault. Aside from that, it was great. The cake is has a home made angel food flavor. If you don't care for that, by all means consider adding some of the flavorings suggested. I used the recipe to make a 13x9 base upon which the lamb rests...it's not enough cake for a large family on its own. It's absolutely perfect for my granddaughter's first birthday!

Thank you for the recipe! I made it in a lamb mold and also in a bunny mold. My son even gave one bunny to his teacher for Easter!

I had lost the recipe that came with the cake mold ( I've had it 20 years), so I was pleased to find this. My finished cake was somewhat collapsed in the back, so I may not have got all the air bubbles out. I put nutmeg in batter and glazed it and put coconut on it with Jelly bean eyes. It made a great center piece for my Easter table.

I prefer this recipe to the one that was handed down with the mold, which used Crisco instead of butter and 3 egg whites instead of 2; I added 2 tsp lemon zest which came out very mild in flavor; might experiment with other flavors next time, like orange zest and Grand Marnier! I actually made two, one right after the other (twins!) and they both came out of the mold perfectly. It is a somewhat dense cake and not too sweet, which is fine with me, but needs something liquid to drink or eat (like milk or ice cream) along with it! The eyes are raisin ends, the nose an end cut from a pink jelly bean. Statice flowers form the collar. I used an egg-white based frosting with corn syrup whipped and cooked in a double boiler. Now I've got to figure out what to do with all these egg yolks!!

I had lost me favorite recipe for my lamb cake and for this. Not the same but really close second. Everyone loved this cake and that is all that counts. When I brought it to church for our coffee and session no one wanted to cut it, it was so pretty. I then took it to my friends for dinner and they loved it. I beat the egg whites a little too long but it did not effect it too much. This makes a nice solid cake, hou need that so the Lamb can stand errect. Thanks for sharing.

The cake was really moist.

It was an ok cake. It did hold it shape nicely, but it was just too dense and tasted like flour.

it made too much batter for my lamb mold. the taste was ok

My 4-year-old son and I made this for Easter with rave reviews. Just like Grandma's - thanks for bringing back the memories. I made it witih the recommended 7 minute frosting. It was absolutely delicious. Making this cake and getting it out of the mold was "a piece of cake." A+ Recipe.

I have had my lamb pan for years but lost the recipe book. This is the first recipe I've tried that actually worked. I followed it exactly and didn't change anything. My pan must not be as large as it made the lamb and 8 cupcakes but it worked terrifically. Thank you so much for posting this.

Great tasting cake. I used this recipe to make a layer cake. Worked great. Here's how to adjust this recipe to fill 3 9" rounds: Click on adjust the number of servings. It says 12. I changed it to 24 to make 3 9" rounds. I would like to try it at 27 and fill them a little higher. 27 uses exactly 9 egg whites. Adjust the oven temperature and baking time. The temperature I used was 360F and baked them for ~35 minutes. Basically, you just need to check them to see when they are done. Use the toothpick test. To prep pans for layers: Grease the bottom and sides, add parchment rounds to the bottom, then grease the parchment rounds, dust over rounds and sides with flour, and tap out the excess. Other tips: Have milk and egg whites at room temp. butter should be soft but cool. Beat the butter and sugar till white ~ 5 minutes. For even layers: distribute batter evenly between pans and the batter in each pan s/b even & spread to the sides. Let cool in pans 15 min., then on racks till completely cool. To make the cake look professional (flat, even, perfect) wrap in plastic wrap and freeze 1/2 hour, then cut off the domed tops and carefully slice each layer into two thin layers. If you love frosting, this is the way to go. Frost between layers as you assemble and crumb coat the whole cake. Refrigerate 30 mins, then frost. I used butter cream. Last tip: if you want yummy butter cream that holds its shape when piped use 1/2 butter 1/2 regular Crisco. Tastes like butter, holds like Crisco.

Wonderful cake. Not too sweet or buttery to the point of nausea. I've tried many recipes for the lamb cake but this is definitely the best!

came out very well!

Perfect. First time I ever tried this cake and had a brand new mold. It was perfect. Thanks

Perfect recipe for the mold! Highly recommend it.

Came out of the mold perfectly, but was a little crusty on the outside. Next time I will reduce the cooking time a bit. Very fun to actually use the mold that is usually just a decoration!

I made this recipe in an antique mold that does not have a vent or clips. I tied it closed with kitchen twine but the batter still leaked out a little but I was able to trim the excess and the cake was adorable when decorated. I did not use coconut but covered the lamb by making rosettes with a number 16 cake tip.

I inherited a Baker's Coconut lamb cake mold from my husband's grandmother who recently passed away. I wanted to make the cake in her honor, but did not have her recipe. This recipe was fantastic. The cake came out perfectly and tasted delicious. The cake is perfect for the mold because it is very dense. I was really surprised that it came out of the mold with no breakage. I used vegetable oil, shortening and flour to coat the mold, and the cake did not stick at all. I baked it for the full hour, but I think it was slightly overcooked. Next time I will test it at 55 minutes.

I made this for the first time this Easter. It was pretty easy and turned out well. I had a problem with it leaning way over, but that was just from being a first timer and not a problem with the recipe! I used tinted frosting (just a drop of food coloring) to get the blue eyes and pink nose. The family loved it and look forward to having it next Easter!

its a great recipie but mine did not turn out that nice, I will have to try again

I followed this recipe to the "T" and it came out beautifully. We haven't tasted it yet, but it smells divine! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.

I made this recipe last night after church using an old cast aluminum mold I have. I had a little batter left over so I made a few cupcakes so I could test it before spending time on making the frosting. Very very good. Not dense like a pound cake but denser than a typical yellow cake so it can stand upright. The only issue I ran into was that it stuck a bit on one side of the mold. I thought I greased/floured it sufficiently, but either I didn't or I didn't let it cool long enough before unmolding. Nothing extra frosting couldn't fix though. I finished frosting it about a half hour ago and is looking good!

The recipe was perfect.

I followed the recipe exactly and the cake was perfect. I've tried other cake recipes and my Mom & Mother-in-law's recipe but this was much better. I am a beginner cook and shied from this recipe due to the egg white whipping part - afraid that I would mess up. But it was perfect and my husband loved it! I made it again, doubling the recipe to use my bunny and lamb mold and had enough for a small test cake, I also added a small amt of lemon juice. Perfect again! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!

I have been looking for the "perfect" lamb cake recipe as I lost my grandma's recipe several years ago. I followed the directions exactly and it came out absolutely perfect. I had a little extra batter and made six cupcakes with it. I freeze the lamb on a foil lined baking sheet and then frost it while frozen with boxed Jiffy Fluffy frosting and use a knife to make the lamb look "fluffy". I put tinted green coconut around the base of the lamb and then make little egg nests in the "grass". I use small jelly beans for the eyes and nose. Thank you so much for an awesome recipe.

I have taken over preparing the lamb cake every Easter from my 89 year old Polish mother-in-law. She always used a pound cake mix for the batter so I have continued that tradition. I follow the rest of the directions as listed. Turns out every time. We frost with whipped fluffy white frosting and decorate with raisins for the eyes and a piece of maraschino cherry for the mouth, finishing it off with a red ribbon tied around its neck representing the blood of Jesus.

My young teenage grand daughters made this cake as written. After they left, and the cake was nearly cool I used a thin paring knife to free the edges ; the cake popped out perfectly. We used 7 minute icing to frost and sprinkled coconut over the lamb and green coconut on the plate. She's a beauty. I did bake the cake 60 minutes. ( we hd an additional 6 cupcakes) . Preparing the pan is key! Tomorrow ( Easter) we eat. ( 4/15. 2017)

It was my first time Easter lamb cake ever. It was easy to make mix. I greased mold generously with the butter and floured it pretty well. The mold filled up perfectly during the baking, following instructions the cake went easily out of the mold. I let it cool well over night before I let it stand vertically. Without any support the head held up very well. We liked the taste of the cake: it's light, slightly moist and not too sweet. Will use this recipe again. Thanks.

Great

Followed the directions to a T but my cake turned out very dry, dense, and bland. I realize it has to be stiff to hold the cake shape so I just got rid of my lamb pan. I discovered I prefer moist flavorful cakes instead.

Best recipe. The cake raised perfectly. I was so excited after 2 fails last year to find a recipe that works (even here in Colorado).

Cake was too dense. :( I canola oiled my lamb mold with a paper towel, crisco'ed, floured with a sifter until NO bare spots, and chilled the pans in the freezer. Once the batter was ready, I filled him face down, to just under the rolled edge of the pan, and carefully used a spatula to fill the ears. I added a couple of toothpicks, laid across his ears, and a "cake pop" bamboo stick from his head to his neck (like making a letter T) to add structural support. I tied him tightly together with baking twine, and placed him on a cookie sheet for baking. My aluminum lamb mold only has one steam vent, am going to add one. It was hard to tell when he was done with only one whole to poke a straw into. Laid him face down, steam vent side up, to cool. Cooled for 15 minutes, then took off the back "butt" side of the mold. Cooled for another hour and a half, cut all around the edge with a sharp knife, and carefully took his face side out of the other half of the mold. Cut the bottom ridge of his belly off, so he would sit flat, brushed off his loose crumbs, frosted my cake plate for an adhesive, using the allrecipes.com "Special Buttercream Frosting", which I only modified slightly by swapping a half cup of the shortening for a half cup of unsalted butter, and just dumping a full bag of powdered sugar (bag says approximately 7 1/2 cups), rather than measuring out the 8 cups that the recipe calls for. Slathered him up with a solid coat of white, then added thin squiggles. No face. :)

This recipe is firm enough to retain the lamb shape without falling apart. Because it is not as sweet a recipe as some pound cakes, seven-minute icing and coconut on top do not overwhelm the cake with their sweetness. I rubbed both molds with Crisco shortening and baked them at 300 degrees for half an hour; then I poured off the excess grease and let the molds cool. Then I rubbed both molds with shortening again and floured them. I cut a wooden kebab skewer the length from ear tip to ear tip. I cut a second piece of skewer the depth of the nose to slightly above the top of the face mold. After I poured the batter into the face mold, I placed the skewers, one across the ears and the other down to the nose tip, before placing the back mold on top. After baking, I allowed 15 minutes before removing the back mold, and another 10 minutes before unmolding the face mold. This was the first time my lamb has come out perfectly.

Perfect for this mold. Thank you for sharing!

This recipe was perfect! It held up beautifully to the mold and was a great buttery pound cake flavor. Dense in texture but moist!

Love this recipe!