I have been making this lamb cake for years; last year, I had my neighbor Mary and her sister Betty over; Betty lives in New York City. I placed the lamb cake on the table and we were all staring at it when one of its ears, then the other, fell off; then the whole head fell off dramatically in one swoop. Everybody burst out laughing and I must say it was a welcome ice-breaker.
I ordered the mold through the King Arthur Flour catalogue. The instructions are inside the cake mold.
This is a lemon poppy seed pound cake, recipe courtesy of Rose Levy Beranbaum. Mrs. Beranbaum has a very easy and speedy method for making pound cakes.
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 Tablespoons of milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour (150 g)
- 3/4 cup of sugar (150 g)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- salt, pinch
- 13 tablespoons ( 6.5 ounces or 184 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 Tablespoons lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
Syrup: 5 tablespoons sugar, 2 ounces fresh lemon juice: mix and heat until sugar gets dissolved.
METHOD: Grease and flour the mold using a spray; preheat the oven to 350F
- In a small bowl, mix the eggs, vanilla and milk
- Mix the dry ingredients at low speed in a mixer; add the poppy seeds and the lemon zest. Add the butter and half the egg mixture.
- Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened; increase the speed and beat for one minute.
- Scrape the sides, adding the remaining egg mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds each time. Scrape the batter into the lamb mold (the half of the mold that includes his head) until it fills up the mold and the ears. Place along Q-tip or a bamboo skewer on the ears and press down a bit; this will prevent the ears from falling off after baking. Close the mold tightly, bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes; unmold and pour the syrup over the cake, poking little holes so that the syrup gets absorbed better.
To frost the lamb: Melt in a heavy-bottomed pan 6 ounces of whipping cream; as soon as the cream starts steaming, add 16 ounces of candy vanilla wafers or white chocolate. Turn off the heat and stir until melted. Place the lamb flat on a cookie sheet and start pouring the cream gently all over. Repeat the procedure if you wish, waiting a while to let it dry out and then pouring on another coat of cream.
47 Comments
I could imagine how you would have felt then..It’s a beautiful lamb.that I don’t have the heart to cut it..lol
could you please send me the cake recipe
Oh, that cake is too cute!
We’ve bookmarked several recipes from your site already. Love to know more about Lebanese cooking. =)
This is a nice tradition and a pretty cute lamb cake. It’s the best when you can share it! Have a Happy Easter!
Oh dear!! Well at least you all got a good laugh out of it. Happy Easter!
wow this is so cool love it
I am interested in the recipe!!!
Jour lamb looks cute! Sretan Uskrs or Happy Easter!
very cute little lamb
A Blessed Easter to you and your family.
What a cute cake! Love your decoration too!
So cute!
Happy Easter!
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks for visiting my blog and introducing me to yours, there are all sorts of yummy things in here. I’d not seen a lamb cake before but it looks perfect for Easter, sorry to hear it had a bit of a sticky end!!
bravo joumana quelle surprise quand tu amenes ce gateau à table !! Bizz pierre
This cake looks so cute! Happy Easter!
Such a Beautiful lamb cake,….atlast you got it right, very lovely and hats off to you…
Happy Easter. So cute.
Ngaww…this cake is so cute! Happy Easter!
lol@ head falling off!
Sad but silly story you share with us!! Your lamb cake this year is adorable. Looks like a wonder success. Happy Easter!
I’m with Namitha! I’ts too cute to cut into-my heart is pounding just thinking about it…
Happy Holiday Weekend, Joumana! My Warmest, Stella
I don’t mean to laugh and I’m not laughing to be mean. My mom tried for 40 years to get a lamb cake to our Easter table in one piece. It never happened and ours always had skewers poked through to reattach missing limbs and huge amounts of coconut to hide other problems. Thanks for the very fond memory. Fortunately appearance is no predictor of taste and I’m sure your cake was delicious. At least the darn thing held together long enough for you to get a picture. Have a wonderful weekend. Blessings…Mary
Sooooooo cute! Love it. Happy Easter!
I enjopyed this so much…I laughed this side of the computer…I could picture the scene…it is really funny! but now it looks tip top again and it reminds me of the Italian Easter lambs? It is a great mold and it looks great as a cetre piece! enjoy1
ronelle xx
Wat a fantastic cake, love the lamb mould, soo cute..
wow That’s a masterpiece! How vivid it looks!
C’est un agneau très réussi. bravo!!!
Joyeuses pâques.
This looks delicious and I am always partial to anything with poppy seeds. I guess I won’t have to ask which part of the cake you eat first =)
quelle magnifique réalisation!!!!!
bravo tu es très douée
bonne soirée
Awwwww! How sweet! Enjoy your weekend.
Dear Joumana –
I could not stop laughing reading your post. It totally made my day!!!! How fun..sometimes these kitchen disasters are welcome in the company of good friends, no?
Happy Easter!
Ciao, Devaki
PS – I am still recovering from my Easter baking…been up till 2.00 AM & am a bit fuzzy round the edges
It’s a cute cake and sorry to hear that the ears and head fell off! Happy Easter to you and your family.
Is he garnished with a habanero? ?
Very cute.
Happy Easter.
LL
Well that looks exactly like a lamb cake! A yummy lamb cake.
An intact lamb cake would’ve been a conversational piece, but one that falls apart truly gets the conversation started! Your cake this year more than makes up for that one – it’s beautiful, and the cake beneath sounds scrumptious. Instead of meringue chicks, perhaps I should try this next Easter!
Baahahahahahaha! I love it! I thought this was a savory cake actually made of lamb meat. This has to be THE Easter centerpiece.
Wow, that’s awesome. How do you get it to sit up like that? This is the perfect Easter spring cake!
I’m sitting here picturing the head falling off and can’t stop laughing! Making this 3D cake was quite a feat though and it looks awesome. Love the lemon poppy seed filling.
Happy Easter!
oh my, this is so so so adorable! you are so creative!
Your lamb cake looks gorgeous and it really brings back memories. My mom used to make it with an orange chiffon cake, but your lemon poppyseed version sounds incredible! I hope you have a wonderful Easter!
Oh my goodness, that cake brings back so many wonderful memories. My gram always had one for easter… I was crazy about that cake and always tried to get the part around the head that had the largest frosting to cake ratio. Her’s had coconut on it… yours looks adorable… and the falling parts does make for drama!
Man, is this the cutest cake in the world? I would say so. Loved your story about the spontaneous decapitation of previous lamb cake. That was too cute! Morbid, but cute.
Oh, sorry, but I am chuckling at the head falling off. It seems it would make a great ice breaker at my house too! I love citrus cake, and especially lemon poppy seed!
Where in the world did you find a lamb pan? I am thinking a lamb meatloaf might be fun? hmmm…
Joumana that cake is outa this world! holly molly! Well done! I would have been gutted if it fell off LOL but then again it makes it easier on the heart as I would find it extremely difficult to slice through it!
Your lamb cake is so cute. I have always wanted to make one, maybe next year.
Mimi
I love lamb cake even if the head and ears come off! I need to order that mold for next year.
super cute!~
This looks so absolutely cute and such as sweet story.Now i feel like ordering this cake mold just to try and make this adorable cake.Nice pic.
great post as usual!
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