Easter Lamb Cake Decorating Ideas

Have you thought about baking a cake with that cute lamb cake mold for Easter? Have you tried, and it didn't turn out quite the way you thought it would? Yep, I've been there too. After lots of trial and error, I've got all the tips and tricks you need to get that cake to come out perfectly.

3D stand-up cake mold, spring lamb

Easter Lamb Cake Mold

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This cute little lamb cake has been a part of my family's Easter tradition as long as I can remember. When I started my own farm family, I knew that I wanted to continue the tradition. While this cake is super-adorable, there are a few tricks to making it that you need to know before you get started.

3D stand-up cake mold, spring lamb cake

While I've got the cake part figured out, I do not have the decorating part down. I mean, really… look at the pictures from the first time I posted about this little guy. Clearly, cake decorating is not my strong suit. To help with that, I've enlisted the help of my friend Liz from The Farmwife Cooks. She is a whiz at cake decorating, and she has some great ideas for you in this post: 3 Ways to Decorate an Easter Lamb Cake.

decorated 3D stand-up spring lamb cake from The Farmwife Cooks

Cake design and photo by Liz from The Farmwife Cooks.

Let me give you a heads up. This is a long post. I've got a lot of little tips that will help you make this cake right the first time. Read them all, print the recipe, and go for it!

First we need to talk about the cake recipe. This is a pound cake recipe, but it has to be a bit of a… special recipe. If the cake has too much flour, it's pretty dense, gets a bit dry, and doesn't have the best flavor. Too much liquid (and not enough flour), and the cake doesn't release from the lamb cake mold very well, and doesn't hold the details from the mold. Trust me, there is more than one headless Easter lamb cake in my kitchen that will attest to these problems!

So. Please follow this recipe exactly!

3D stand-up cake, spring lamb cake

If you are looking for a truly fantastic pound cake recipe, check out this Million Dollar Pound Cake from my friend Cris at Goodeness Gracious. If you want to make the lamb cake mold, keep reading, and print out this recipe!

Your electric mixer is going to get a workout with this recipe, so take a few minutes to give it a pep talk and make friends before you get started.

You need to start with softened butter. If you forget to take the butter out of the refrigerator (like I do, almost every time), you can soften butter in the microwave. My microwave has a "soften butter" setting, so I just use that. To soften 2 sticks of butter, it runs for a minute and a half on low power.

decorated 3D stand-up spring lamb cake by The Farmwife Cooks

Cake design and photo by Liz from The Farmwife Cooks.

Cream the butter and sugar together in the mixer, on medium speed, until it's light and fluffy. Scrape the sides down as you need to, so everything gets incorporated. It will take 4-6 minutes to get the right consistency. The butter will lighten in color, and it will look very fluffy when it's done.

Then start adding the eggs. Scrape everything down to the bottom of the bowl and turn the mixer back on medium-low. Add one egg at a time, and let each egg fully incorporate into the sugar mixture before you add the next one. When all the eggs are incorporated into the sugar mixture, do the same with the vanilla and milk.

3D stand-up cake mold, spring lamb cake

Next up is the flour. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. When the liquid ingredients are all mixed together, stop the mixer. Add half of the flour mixture, and turn the mixer back on low. When the first part of the flour is mixed in, add in the second half of the flour mixture. Keep the mixer going until everything is just mixed together. You'll probably need to stop the mixer a couple of times to scrape the sides down. This batter will still be pretty thick when you're done.

decorated 3D stand-up spring lamb cake by The Farmwife Cooks

Cake design and photo by Liz from The Farmwife Cooks.

Now we need to have a conversation about the Easter lamb cake mold. You need to make friends with Crisco for this cake. I mean, best friends. If you haven't met Crisco yet, this is the perfect time to make an introduction. This lamb cake mold needs to be greased within an inch of its life.

And I am so not kidding about this.

When you think you have it greased enough, go back and add more. I'm not talking about a thin, light coating. I'm talking about digging in with your fingers, and smearing that stuff all over the inside. Pay close attention to the ears (they cook fast, so the cake will stick) and the nose (it's deep enough that it's hard to reach).

Check out the photo below. The mold on the left has no Crisco. The mold on the right is ready for cake batter. That's the look we're going for. Let's call it…. frosted.

greased 3D stand-up cake mold, spring lamb cake mold

Once both halves of your lamb cake mold are greased as if your life depends on it, it's time to fill it with the cake batter. Place the front half of the lamb on a lipped cookie sheet. Fill the mold with the cake batter. Use a spatula to get it evenly spread through the mold, gently filling in all the nooks and crannies. You want the batter to be even with the top of the mold. If you don't fill it enough, it won't rise and fill the other half of the mold. If you fill it too full, it will spill out between the sides of the mold. So fill it level.

If you have extra batter left over (I did), you can make some mini pound cakes! I used a brownie bar pan to make a few mini cakes. Just bake those at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes for an individual-sized treat.

When the cake is done, the top of the mold (the back of the lamb) should lift off. If you greased it well enough, it will lift off easily. The back of the cake won't be very golden brown, but the front will be! Take the top half of the mold off, and let the cake cool inside the mold for 15-20 minutes. Then gently turn the cake out of the bottom half of the mold. You may need to use a knife to loosen the cake right around the edges. Stand the cake up on a wire rack to cool, or you'll get wire imprints on the poor little lamb. Let the Easter lamb cake cool completely before frosting.

3D stand-up cake mold, spring lamb cake

Now that you've got this Easter lamb cake baked and cooled, it's time to go check out Liz's post to see 3 Ways to Decorate an Easter Lamb Cake!

Enjoy!

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Printable Recipe Card for Easter Lamb Cake Mold

Easter Lamb Cake Mold

Have you ever wanted to bake a cake with that cute lamb cake mold for Easter? Check out these tips and tricks for getting that cake to come out perfect. Plus, get ideas for decorating, too!

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 30 mins

1 cup 2 sticks salted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup whole milk
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In an electric mixer, beat softened butter on low for 1 minute. Then add sugar, and beat on medium until light and fluffy, about 4-6 minutes. Scrape down sides as needed.
Reduce mixer speed to medium-low. Add eggs, one at a time, letting each egg completely incorporate into sugar mixture before adding the next egg. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
Add vanilla, and let incorporate.
Add milk, and let incorporate.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
Turn off mixer. Add half of the flour mixture. Turn mixer on low, then gradually increase speed to medium-low. Mix until first half of flour mixture is almost completely incorporated, scraping down as needed. Then add the rest of the flour mixture. Mix until the flour mixture is just mixed into the batter. Batter will be thick.
Heavily grease the inside of both halves of the lamb cake mold with Crisco.
Pour the cake batter into the front half of the lamb cake mold. Using a spatula, spread the batter out to fill every corner. Fill the mold level, do not over fill.
Place the back half of the lamb cake mold on top. Place the mold on a lipped baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes, until the back half of the mold lifts off easily, the cake is golden brown, and a toothpick in the center of the cake tests clean.
Take back half of mold off the cake. Let cool, inside the front half of the mold, on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes.
After cooling for 15-20 minutes, turn the cake out of the front half of the mold onto the wire rack. To avoid wire impressions in the cake, let cool standing up.
Cool completely before icing.