While lamb is
a very traditional Easter dish, today's post is about neither cute little lambs,
nor succulent roast lamb.
No, this is
about a cute little lamb cake.
First, I am
so grateful to Andrea, writer, photographer, and chef at
The Kitchen Lioness,
for her gift of German lamb and bunny molds. What a wonderful friend!
Last Easter,
I made this cake and must admit that it is the furthest out I have ever planned
a blog post. Literally, I planned today's post 358 days in advance.
The cake was
so simple to make, and the flavor is great. (We all know how much I love an
almond cake, right?)
The mold, as
you can see, worked perfectly.
Most lamb
cakes - and you have probably see the "disaster posts" on Facebook -
are frosted to within an inch of their lives, then smothered with coconut.
I didn't want
to frost it. I didn't want to lose the simple beauty of this cake. Besides, the host to whom I took this cake doesn't like coconut.
Confectioner's
sugar is all this cake needs. Cocoa powder, however, might make for a good color
if you happen to be your family’s black sheep..
For those who
celebrate, Happy Easter! (If you are Greek or Russian or Armenia or Syrian,
please don't read this till May 1!)
~ David
Lamb Cake
This recipe
came with the mold that Andrea sent.
100 grams
almond paste
2 eggs
75 grams
butter, softened, plus extra for the pan
50 grams
sugar
1 package
vanilla sugar *
pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon
almond extract
80 grams
flour
20 grams
cornstarch
1 teaspoon
baking powder
confectioner's
sugar
Grease the
mold well with butter, making sure that all crevices are covered. Put mold
together using its pins, and place on a baking sheet.
Preheat the
oven to 350°F.
In a large
bowl, mix the almond paste and egg well. Then add butter, sugar, vanilla sugar,
salt, and almond extract. Mix well, and continue mixing until sugar is well
incorporated.
In a small
bowl, mix the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Add this mixture to the
almond and egg mixture, and stir until dry ingredients are just incorporated.
Don't over mix.
Spoon batter
into the prepared mold, and place in the oven on a baking sheet. Bake for 40
minutes, or until a tester comes out with no crumbs. Let sit for 10 minutes
before unfolding.
To serve,
place the lamb on a serving platter, and surround with fresh berries. Using a
fine mesh sieve, dust the top of the lamb and berries with confectioner's
sugar.
* if you
don't have vanilla sugar, add 2 teaspoons more sugar, plus 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
extract.
Labels: almond cake, Almond paste, butter, easter cake, lamb cake
