Easter Lamb Cake I
Submitted by happyzhangbo
Easter lamb cake baked in a two-piece lamb-shaped mold, using classic tender white cake. A traditional European Easter centerpiece that stands upright on the table and frosts into a fluffy white lamb.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
8 minCOOK
55 minREADY
80 minThe Easter lamb cake is an Old World tradition, especially Polish, Czech, and German. A two-piece metal or ceramic mold shapes the cake into a standing lamb, an important symbol of springtime and resurrection across many Easter tables. This version uses a classic tender white cake batter: cake flour, creamed butter and sugar, and four whipped egg whites folded in for lift.
The egg whites are the key to success. They give the cake enough structure to hold its shape when stood upright, but keep the crumb light and tender. Overmixing deflates them and you end up with a dense lamb that collapses under its own weight.
Mold prep is non-negotiable. Oil the surface first, wipe clean, then grease and flour every crevice, ear, tail, and curl. Skipping this step means your lamb loses a face in the unmolding. Bake sealed in the mold so steam does its magic, cool inside the mold for 15 minutes, then patient-release the top half before the bottom. Frost white with seven-minute icing and your centerpiece is ready.
Chef Tips
- Oil-and-wipe the mold BEFORE greasing and flouring. The thin residual oil layer fills the tiniest crevices and acts as insurance against sticking. Skipping this is why many lamb cakes lose ears and noses.
- Secure the mold lid tightly with baking clips or kitchen twine. Rising steam pushes the halves apart and ruins the shape if the seal fails.
- Never stand the cake upright until completely cool. A warm lamb cake will crack at the neck under its own weight. Trust the process.
- Check doneness through the steam vent on top with a skewer. Opening the mold mid-bake collapses the cake.
Variations
- Swap vanilla for a teaspoon of almond extract for a more European flavor profile.
- Use a lemon-glaze icing instead of seven-minute icing for a tangier finish.
- Coat the frosted lamb with shredded coconut “wool” and use currants or raisins for eyes and nose.
Ingredients
Directions
First, prepare your mold.
Coat with vegetable oil, let sit for a few minutes then wipe clean with a paper towel.
Then grease and flour your mold, making sure to get all the little areas.
Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃) F (190 degrees C).
Sift the cake flour, then sift again with the baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk.
Stir the batter until smooth after each addition.
Add the vanilla.
In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
Fold ⅓ of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then quickly fold in the remaining whites.
Fill the face side of the mold with batter.
Move a wooden spoon through the batter gently, to remove any air pockets.
Make sure not to disturb the greased and floured surface of the mold.
Put the lid on the mold, making sure it locks or ties together securely so that the steam and rising batter do not force the two sections apart.
Put the mold on a cookie sheet in a preheated oven for about 1 hour.
Test for doneness by inserting a skewer or wooden toothpick through a steam vent.
Put the cake, still in the mold, on a rack for about 15 minutes. carefully, remove the top of the mold.
Before you separate the cake from the bottom let it cool for about 5 more minutes so that all the steam can escape and the cake can firm up some more.
After removing the rest of the mold, let the cake cool on the rack completely.
Do not sit the cake upright until completely cooled.
Frost with seven minute icing or any other white icing of your choice and decorate to look like a lamb.
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