The way I see it, we need a little spring. As they say, reality is something you rise above, so let’s do that today! Let’s rise above! Get a cup of tea Girlfriends, turn on the MUSICA, put your face close to the screen so even your peripheral vision is enveloped in bloom and enjoy your. . .
It’s spring fever. You don’t quite know what it is you want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so bad. ♥ The Adorable Mark Twain who knew.
Can you smell the fresh ocean air up from the harbor, still cold, filled with flowery scents of spring? Whoosh! The wind blows through the petals. Wrap your sweater a little tighter. Mmmm, we are so lucky. Don’t you just love the internet?!
We can see last year’s weeping cherry trees in full bloom even on a snowy day . . . makes you want it so bad, your heart just aches for it. It’s coming Girlfriends. The waiting is what makes it so wonderful. ♥
Right now we are still having our most delicious dinners of deep dark and delicious homemade Chicken Soup — but today we are looking for COLOR and so it’s time out for . . .
We love to do the chicken dance — here’s my recipe for Carrot Cupcakes which I think you will want to save. SO good, filled with fruit and nuts, lots of shreded carrots, pineapple and coconut. Cream Cheese frosting. The recipe will also make a three-layer cake ~ with so much batter you will have extra cupcakes, enough for your spring-starved girlfriends, chicken hearts and wolfmen too.
We just got in a new batch of these festive easy-to-make kits for darling dancing chicken cupcake toppers in case you’d like one.
And we still have the Cupcake Garlands that Janie made for us. It’s these happy colors I love to see. But you know, I’m on a lamb kick right now.
They are just so darn cute. They baaaa “Spring.”
And here’s my newest concoction. We found perfect old-fashioned Lamb Cake Molds for our web store . . . I made the cake using my Grandma’s homemade Lemon Daisy Cake recipe because it makes a firm cake, almost a pound cake but not quite, a cake that isn’t too crumbly and holds together. But a box cake and frosting will work too and I’m not against anything that makes a lovely smell come from the oven (there’s one boxed white cake I’ve used that has confetti colors in it that I think might be perfect for lamb cake) ~ the directions that come with the pan tell you to make it using less liquid. ~ in case you feel a need for speed. I’ll show you how to make the Lemon Daisy Cake, and I’ll put the full recipe at the end of this post so you can print it out.
So here we go. First tip: Successful unmolding of your cake is paramount. The way to do that (for any molded cake) is this: Melt a couple tablespoons of Crisco and brush it into ever nook and cranny of your mold. The mold should be cool when you do it so the oil will stick.
Also, take the time to flour your pans. Just shake flour over the oil until it sticks everywhere and shake out any extra. Notice we have kitchen twine, toothpicks and wooden skewers? You will need these … as you’ll see later. Put your prepared pan on a cookie sheet with the lamb face down. Preheat your oven to 375º ~ feel your kitchen getting warm and cozier by the minute. Pop an old movie into the player . . . I watched/listened to Gosford Park while I cooked — here’s the MUSICA from it …
This recipe and lamb cake is really so easy! All ingredients should be at room temperature. Two sticks of butter and two cups of sugar go into a large mixing bowl.
Put four roughly measured cups of flour into your sifter and sift three times . . . then measure out 3 cups. You want to measure after sifting. Any extra flour goes back into your container. Put the sifted flour back into the sifter, add one TBSP baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt and sift again two more times. Use my waxed paper method for sifting unless you have a method you like better.
Allow all petty pets to watch your every move.
Now cream the softened butter and sugar together with an electric mixer . . .
. . . until light colored and fluffy
Then, one at a time, add the yolks of four eggs (save the whites in another bowl), beating well after each.
Once the eggs are incorporated, sift in dry ingredients by thirds alternating with buttermilk ~ little bit of flour, a little bit of milk, repeat~ beat until smooth after each third.
I like the old-fashioned tangy flavor the buttermilk gives this cake, but if you are at home and all you have is regular milk, that will do just fine.
Stir in the grated rind of two lemons . . . so easy to do with the wonderful Microplane Graters (← let me demonstrate!) . . . Miracle things no kitchen should be without. Like little razor blades for fast easy no-more-knuckle-in-the-food cooking.
Beat your reserved egg whites until stiff, then fold them into the cake, and voila, Daisy Cake batter is done.
Fill the face side of your mold (you’ll be able to tell which side to fill because the other side has a tiny steam-hole in it). Big tip #2: Head-falling-off can occur, it’s a possibility you will want to avoid from the get go. Because if it does, you’ll try to glue it back on with frosting. Which puts a wide messy crumbly lump around the lamb’s neck. While you’re busy sticking the head back on, the ears fall off. It’s terrible. I’ve made that mistake, but no more. Now I am stick woman. Toothpicks for the ears and wooden skewers for the neck.
Then I tie the mold together with kitchen string, just in case. If, for some reason the batter tries escape out the sides, I’m ready. We want a perfectly molded little lamb here, on the first try. Pop the cake in the oven an let it fill your toasty kitchen with fragrance of lemon-baking heaven.
Set your timer for 55 minutes and take a look outside and see what’s going on.
There’s bound to be something.
After the cake comes out and is cooling, you can pull out your Summer Book and find my recipe for Old-Fashioned Boiled Frosting on p. 109. But just in case you don’t have that book, here’s the recipe . . .
This is another easy recipe that’s like science magic. You need a candy thermometer like you see here. I have it hooked on the side of a small heavy-bottomed pan that already has a third-cup of water in it . . . I’m adding a cup of sugar.
Then 1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar and a pinch of salt gets stirred in ~ put the pan over high heat and boil without stirring until mixture reaches 240°.
While that’s going on, beat two egg whites until stiff.
When the sugar liquid is hot enough, pour it in a thin stream into your egg whites beating all the while, and watch it get thick, white and fluffy . . .
Just like this! Look at that! You are a genius!
When the buzzer goes off, Ta-Daaa your lamb cake is done. Pull it out of the oven, and now is where your patience must never come to an end. You have to wait until he is totally cool before you set him up to frost. You can cut the string, take off the top part of the mold, let him sit like that a while. Put the mold piece back on, turn it over, and do the same thing. Until he is completely cool.
Meanwhile you’ll have made your frosting . . . swipe the middle of your cake platter with a wide swath of frosting so the lamb has something to anchor him in standing position.
This is what we’ve waited for. He’s up! He came right out of the pan with no help. Look at him! He’s perfect. I didn’t have to do a thing but turn the pan into my hand and set him into the frosting smear. But then, how to frost him was my next question. I wanted to see if I could come up with something a little bit different than the way I usually did it (with raisin nose and chocolate chip eyes), make him more real. I needed inspiration and I knew just where to get it.
I pulled out the little book we bought in a bookstore in Ambleside in England filled with lamb pictures, all the different breeds.
I thumbed through it and chose this guy. That’s what I wanted my lamb to look like. Within reason.
So I started applying the frosting. I couldn’t hold the camera and frost at the same time, but there is no real trick in the frosting ~ it all goes pretty easily. For the corners like under his chin or around the ears, just put a good lump of frosting on the very end of your spatula or wide knife and plunk it right where you want it, spreading from there. You can wipe off the plate with a damp paper towel when you are finished.
Hello just-born lamb. Of course Lemon cake and coconut go together perfectly, and lambs need wool, so here is. If you press the coconut in a little bit, it keeps him from looking too hairy.
Just as sweet from the back. In the past I’ve decorated the plate with green-tinted coconut (like Easter grass) and jelly beans, and egg-shaped frosted cookies . . . but I was taking this cake to friends for dinner and it isn’t Easter quite yet, so I decided to leave it plain and my version of homemade-elegant.
So darling, always the cutest thing on the table at any party. (Just pulled out my lamb vase too — almost time to fill him with forsythia cuttings! I collected a few more lamb vases when I could find them on our cross-country trip in case you “need” one too . . .)
I wrapped him up, lamb cake-to-go-go. So that’s about it. I hope you enjoyed our springtime retreat and are all inspired to make a lamb cake of your own. And if so, you might need a lamb pan, and that is what I can help with.
Because I washed my lamb cake mold, dried it and tied it with a ribbon, and here it is, all freshly imbued with successful lamb-cake baking DNA ~ and I hope you will leave me a comment at the bottom of this post, because if you do, you will be entered in my drawing, and he can be your very own. In the next few days, our darling girl Vanna will pull one of your names out of her Easter Bonnet (the one with all the frills), and one of you will be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade. Or, at least you will have a new, slightly used, lamb cake mold. ♥
Now one other thing I wanted to ask you. Do you have this book? Because if you do, you will know how inspiring it is. I found this one years ago in a used bookstore and have loved it ever since. It’s my go-to, never-gets-old classic; a small, 
inviting garden book, where every word is a pearl. Planning a garden takes a little time, and this book will help you get in the mood. You feel as you should when you read it, as part of the earth, part of the ebb and flow of the seasons and the ancient practices of sowing and reaping from the precious green earth that God has given us. You can smell the warm dirt, taste the crisp, still-warm-from-the garden organic vegetables, hear the bees buzzing in the rosemary. That’s how you feel when you read this little book. ♥
The charm doesn’t end with the wonderful words of Mary Mason Campbell, it continues with darling drawings by Tasha Tudor. Kitchen Gardens was published in 1971 and describes the art of gardening as the simple and wonderful thing that it is.
And this book is for you too. I have two, and you get one. I signed it and when I find out the name of the winner, I will put their name in this lovely old book and off they will go, Lamb Cake pan and Kitchen Gardens, hopefully to make someone’s day. I have to say, you deserve to win after reading all this! It’s getting long — I’m so sorry!
And now, one last thing, just so you can see ~ this is where we were going for dinner the night I made the lamb cake . . . Isn’t it pure fairy tale? Our friends Arnie and Paula live here. When I see visions such as this, I think maybe winter’s not really that bad! Here’s your recipe:
LEMON DAISY LAMB CAKE
You will need melted Crisco and flour to prepare mold, plus two wooden skewers and two toothpicks for lamb.
- 2 sticks butter (1 c.), room temp.
- 2 c. sugar
- 3 c. sifted cake flour
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 4 eggs, separated, room temp.
- 1 c. buttermilk
- zest of two lemons
Grater, in case you need one . . .
Preheat oven to 375°. Paint the inside of your mold with melted Crisco, sprinkle with flour and shake out extra. Cream softened butter and sugar together with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Measure your dry ingredients: sift approx. 3 c. flour three times before measuring out three cups and putting them back into the sifter (any extra flour just goes back into your container) ~ add baking powder and salt to sifter with flour in it and sift two more times. Set aside.
Add egg yolks, one at a time, to butter-sugar mixture; beat well after each ~ put the egg whites in another bowl.
Sift in flour mixture by thirds, alternating with buttermilk, beating until smooth after each addition. Stir in lemon zest. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold them into the batter.
Fill face part of lamb mold (the side that doesn’t have the hole in it) full and put it on a cookie sheet. Lay toothpicks in centers of lamb ears, put clipped wooden skewers or a popsicle stick in center of neck down to body for support. Press them down slightly into batter. Put on the top of the mold and tie it together with string. Put the cookie sheet with the lamb cake into preheated oven and bake 55 minutes. Remove from oven, cut string, allow lamb to cool 15 min; remove top, cool longer, turn it over, remove other side of mold, allow it to cool competely before frosting.
You will have extra batter — enough for one 8″ single layer cake, or several cupcakes. With my extra batter, I made a bunny cake… with a vintage bunny cake mold I found somewhere on my travels. Lambies and chickies and bunnies . . . oh my!
CLASSIC OLD-FASHIONED BOILED FROSTING
You will need a candy thermometer for this. Pour 1/3 c. water into a small, heavy-bottomed sauce pan, then stir in 1 c. sugar, 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar and a pinch of salt. Hook the thermometer on the side of the pan making sure the tip of it is in the mixture. Boil until the mixture reaches 240°. Meanwhile beat 2 egg whites until stiff. Pour the 240° syrup over the whites in a thin stream, beating constantly until thick and glossy. Lay a wide strip of frosting down the middle of an oval serving plate. Tip the lamb cake out of the pan into your hand and set it in the strip of frosting to anchor it. Frost the lamb; pat and sprinkle coconut onto sides. Press coconut in slightly to keep the lamb from looking too hairy. Voila, he is done, and you are amazing! Happy Spring Girlfriends! I think I have delighted you (in the immortal words of Jane Austen) long enough! ♥
Oh darling lambkins. I do hope I win.
How generous of you to share these recipes and offer the giveaway!
I am in the middle of reading A Fine Romance as we plan our trip to England, The Netherlands and Belgium this summer. You’ve convinced me that the Lake District is a must.
We are currently living on our small 32′ Island Packet sailboat, which we sailed from Georgia to Martha’s Vineyard the summer before last. Being frugal sailors, we decided to look for a place to anchor rather than taking a mooring and ventured into the anchorage in Lake Tashmoo. It was so delightful we ended up staying 10 days instead of 2.
I am so glad I discovered your blog after getting the book. Thank you for all the inspiration. I am a quilter too – I even have a small sewing machine aboard our boat. I just wish I could say I am an artist as well. There I can only dream.
I’m not surprised, what a pretty spot you found! One of my dearest friends lives on her boat, mostly in Mexico. She is always talking about keeping things small … she writes a blog, maybe you would like to meet her. Her name is Sarah …she sews on board too!
Hi, Susan~
Thank you, you generous soul, you, for doing all you can to lift up our spirits. And it’s working! One by one, I can feel the heavy blanket of winter being rolled off of us…we’re breathing in the hope of Spring…and color…and warm breezes and gardens full of buzzing bees and chirping birds….aaaahhhhh.
You’ve managed to hit on 2 of my most favorite things in life today: baking and gardening. How much fun would I have baking a little lamb cake with my sweet Izzy? There are no words.
You, dear girlfriend, are a delight all right….:)
xoDebbie
So ready for spring here in Michigan! Thank you, former neighbor, for this wonderful post and yummy-looking lamb cake! And I love the photos of your Vineyard home in both winter and spring! I lived just west of you at the next corner – the house with the picket fence – for 20 years but a job change drew me to Michigan. The Vineyard is still home to me in my heart though my roots are going down strong in this community, too.
I think I went to a yard sale there!
I love your lamb cake. What a neat idea for Easter! Thank you for sharing with us. 🙂
I love your lamb cake – it is just adorable! I cannot wait til Spring. My birthday is in March after Spring has come in and I relate my birthday with lambs, rabbits, and fresh flowers! I’ve never had a lamb cake, but I’ve celebrated with many bunny cakes over the years! And I think my family will celebrate with that Lemon Daisy cake this March (my Mom’s birthday is the day after mine then my Dad’s is three days after mine!) Thanks for reminding us that Spring is just around the corner!
Oh Susan! That lamb cake is the cutest thing EVER!! I really really want him!!❤️❤️❤️
~Melissa
Wish you lived closer so I could have you over to our house for a dinner party. Thanks for sharing all the fabulous recipes and book recommendations! Spring isn’t too far off now…a little faith, trust and pixie dust♡
Hi Susan,
I love Lazy Daisy Cake…It has been a favorite at our house for decades. I would love to win the lamb cake pan and bake the cake for Easter. And gardening is one of my passions. I love your new book(almost finished reading it) and now I can have a ‘Susan Branch’ writing almost everyday by reading your blog. Life is so wonderful and I’m also looking forward to Spring. On May 3rd, I will be having a garden tour of my yard for the Shasta Rose Society♥ I’m so excited. Thanks for throwing my name in the hat for your give-away.
Joyously,
Betty @ My Cozy Corner
Just what I needed today- a little Spring! Thank you for the lovely photos and wonderful blog! I will never forget the moment when I came upon your first book in a bookstore so many years ago, and sat right down in the middle of the aisle to read it cover to cover. I discovered pure bliss that day! Thank you!
The idea of a Daisy Lemon Cake is so enticing while I wait for warm weather and spring flowers! Thank you so much for sharing it! I work from home, and when I get so bogged down in the afternoons, I often pop over to your blog for a lift! You never fail me! Thank you!!! Love the give-away items….so precious!
Bless you, Susan, for your generous and hopeful heart!
Seeing the lamb cake reminded me of the first Easter I shared with my husband back in 1980 (he wasn’t quite even my fiancee yet): he brought a lamb cake to share for the holiday – I had never seen one before and thought it was the cutest thing!
p.s We’ve been married now for 32 years; he’s another wolf man also named Joe!
Your home is so lovely… in the winter And in the spring 🙂
Thank you for the sweet inspiration. The lamb cake is adorable. Lambs really should be celebrated everyday. I love looking at them and last night at dog obedience class with my golden, Luke, we heard the lambs baa-ing at us from the farm at the high school. Love their sound!
What a wonderful memory your lamb cake brought back to me. In the early 1970’s, my dear neighbor made and gave me one of these cakes at Easter. I displayed it on a platter, put Easter basket green grass around it with jelly beans. However, I could not get myself to serve the lamb cake. It was just too darn cute. So, when Easter was over the lamb cake was wrapped well and went into the freezer for the next year. I cannot remember how many times and years that lamb cake was used only as a decoration on Easter. It became a family joke that the lamb had lived so many lives.
Too cute to eat! I really understand that!
Well I am all inspired to bake a cake, even though I am in beautiful Naples and the doors are wide open and there’s not a snowflake in sight! Nevertheless, I can smell the lemon in the cake as it is baking…and with or without the lamb mold, I think I’m going to do it! Thank you for the lovely images…I am sure the snow is quite beautiful. – Loretta
What a great blog today! Pulled me right out of the Winter doldrums and I hopped aboard the Spring Express! I love the lamb cake. When I was about 5 years old I spent Easter at my Aunt Rita’s house in Iowa City and she had a lamb cake on the center of the table. I was so enchanted with it. I so remember it had a red ribbon around its neck with a little gold bell dangling there. It was like magic. I’ll always remember that day at my aunt’s house and the lambie cake.
I have never seen the book Kitchen gardens, but I wish I had. What could be better. A book with lovely recipes along with the artistry of Tasha Tudor. I raised my children reading Tasha Tudor books to them. What an exceptional woman she was. Still today, I occasionally take out one of her books and read it to myself (or my grandsons when they visit me).
Your blog was full of hope. Hope is my mantra as of late. Oh, and P.S. I’ve read A Fine Romance 6 times now. It’s has a permanent home on my night stand now as a few pages read every night is a promise of sweet dreams ahead.Thank you!
Susan, with spring-like temperatures continuing here along Alabama’s Gulf Coast, your post is spot-on! Trees are beginning to bud, birds are singing ‘for real,’ and sunshine with sea breezes seem to be shooshing winter out of the way. What a wonderful giveaway for one lucky girlfriend! My granddaughter and I made your bunny cake last year; what a delight it would be to try our hand at that darling lamb this year. The book, illustrated by Tasha Tudor, especially appeals to me; I can’t wait to start digging in some dirt 🙂 Thank you always for your generous spirit…
Sharon in Alabama
I don’t think it will come through Sharon … but I will try to see it — there are a couple of hundred comments here, but I will be watching for it.
Sharon, I clicked it and nothing happened! So I think your addy is safe. ~ Donna =)
oh gosh Susan, your pictures of the blooming cherry trees and forsythia just warmed my heart. This winter has been so hard and too doggone cold! Loved the lambie cake and especially the cookbook, I have adored Tasha Tudor and her little Corgis forever. Thanks for such a timely post! Surely spring won’t be too far behind!
Your dinner date looks like quite an adventure! The lamb cake is adorable and makes me yearn for Springtime.
That cake makes me want to throw a baby shower… Adorable! And anything with Tasha Tudor pictures has to be wonderful. Thank you!
Wow…I am in love with your cake recipe …I can smell it in my mind…lol How did you know that lemon is my favorite?!!! Haha… Lovely post as usual….thank you.
Oh my! The lamb mold is so cute and the book, Oh, my Gosh, I love it! I adore Tasha Tudor and have for years. I was soooo sad when she passed on. Her paintings and the story of her life are beautiful. Your cake looks so yummy in the tummy! Marie
I’m so jealous. I’m sitting here in Northern California with no rain, no snow, no weather. It’s a desert here in the foothills of the Sierras. The first time I ever went to Martha’s Vineyard I wanted to live there, and I still wish I did. Say hello to the ocean for me. And say hello to the snow. Wish I there. Oh how I miss the seasons and the green grass in the east.
Hi, Susan. You have such a lovely home. Reading your blog is on my comfort list. I am inspired to create more beauty in my life every time I come here. Thank you!
And please do include me in your drawing. 🙂
Susan
With my son just in from running the snowblower, and the flakes falling like sifted frosting sugar, I sure can use this touch of Spring. Thank you. The pan and book would be a bonus. 🙂
(I do shovel, but in short sessions. So nice to have someone else take the bigger part for me. )
After such crazy weather the last 2 weeks here in the Poconos, it was warm and cozy to see your post on the lamb cake and how you made the sweet little beauty!! I like your tips with the skewers and toothpicks! Thank you for sharing…
Oh, my – this is exciting!
I just gave my daughter “A Fine Romance” for her birthday. We are both loving it.
And now to have the opportunity to join in the chance to receive a lamb cake mold PLUS what looks like a fabulous treat for a gardener like me; a gardener who also enjoys Tasha Tudor and all the trappings that go along with the English countryside.
I wish everyone the best of luck. Of course we’re already all winners just by being able to read Susan’s blog.
Even in central Texas we are winter weary this year! Thanks for giving us hope for spring. The lamb cake is adorable.
I love reading your blog, it’s like visiting with an old friend. Arnie and Paula’s storybook house looks alot like the house you first lived in when you moved to Martha’s Vineyard. What fun you must have had eating that Lamb cake.! Thanks for sharing!!
Susan
You have over done yourself this time. Great post on the blog! I am so ready for SPRING I can taste it. Your cake and instructions were wonderful. I always wanted to make a lamb cake for Easter. Have done the bunny that you cut 2 layer cakes up and put together, ice and coconut, but never attempted a lamb. I am going to do it this year and your instructions were great. I feel like I can do it. The book is to die for. I am going to keep my fingers crossed that I will be the lucky one. I look so forward to your posts. Keep them coming!
Chris
What an adorable lamb cake. When I was young, I wanted a little black lamb for my birthday, which I never got seeing we lived in the city. Would love to make this for Easter. Thank you for a fun post.
Susan,
Thanks you for a post that really brightened a rainy, dreary day!!
The cake recipe sounds delicious– can’t wait to try it!
Tricia in CT
I adore the cake pan, how perfect for a grandchild’s birthday. The Kitchen Gardens book is so lovely, I love Tasha Tudor illustrations, so charming. There used to be a lovely used book store near where I lived in Columbus, Ohio and I used to love finding treasures like that. However, sadly, it is no longer in business and I don’t have any used bookstores like that where I live now. But, I often find treasure when our local libraries have their used book sales and one can not beat their prices!
Hi Susan and to all the Susan Branch Groupies-Hello from Kentucky. Love seeing all the snow pictures and i soooooooooooo want to come up there and live in a small cottage with a fireplace and be all cozy. I just love love love to see and read about your home – the island-the everything….ha. You have gotten me hooked on sheep- i have been looking on Pinterest- there are loads and loads of ideas there…..for drawing-making crafting sheep- looks fun to me. I am keeping fingers and toes crossed to win- but if i don’t then i hope who ever wins will make a cake in the lamb cake pan and enjoy it very much. thanks Susan for all you do…..we all love you!@!@!@!
Just love the lamb cake covered with all that fluffy frosting & coconut. Then when I scroll down to see the recipe, I find the cake is flavored with fresh grated lemon rind! What a tempting treat!
Such a nice surprise to see your spring post, as after a couple days above freezing, we are expecting more snow and ice tomorrow and temps back into negative numbers again next week here in Wisconsin.
Your friend’s house looks like something out of a dream. 🙂
My daughter would take one look at that cake and wail, “Nooooo! We can’t EAT him. He’s too cute!” 🙂
So how do you deal with the splints in his head and neck? Just take them out as you are cutting up the cake? Wouldn’t want to impale the roof of anyone’s mouth. 🙂
Yes, just pull them out as you’re cutting it — you can’t miss them.
Your cake turned out so beautifully I am inspired to try one myself!!! But I’ll need a pan…
Hmmmm….
Certainly have had a LOT of winter here, outside of Boston. I am not complaining at all, and it will make Spring all the more exciting!!!
I loved every bit of this post -of course I love every bit of every one of your posts. Thank you so much for spreading your happiness around today!
First thank you for the pictures of Spring. With all the snow lately definitely was nice to see. The lamb is adorable. You make it look so easy to do! It would be fun to make for Easter. My family would be shocked.
As always, I enjoyed your words, photos and drawings. The lambie cake is darling.
Oh how cute the lamb cake is and looks delicious! I had a little stuffed lamb when I was a toddler and I wore the skin off of it…somewhat like the Velveteen Rabbit.
I loved reading your book and enjoy your blog posts too. Thanks for the chance to win the book, a real treasure and the pan. What fun!
Thanks Susan , always enjoy your post! The Lamb Cake brings back memories of long ago. I have seen the molds in antique stores over the years. You make it look so easy and fun. Love the giveaways! Tasha Tudor’s Kitchen Gardens looks like just the perfect book! I love the picture of your home in the winter! Thanks for making my day with your great post!
When I was married 38 yrs. ago, I was gifted with a copy of Butt’ry Shelf Cookbook by Mary Mason Campbell and illustrated by Tasha Tudor. I was a fledgling school librarian, familiar with Tasha Tudor, a devotee of Gladys Tabor, and fell in love with it. So also had to buy a copy of “New England Butt’ry Shelf Almanac.” This is why I love to read your blog!
Thank you so much for sharing your fun preview to spring! I noticed some bulbs coming up at my next door neighbor’s home, so spring is on the way in Eastern Washington too. And thank you for sharing the cake mold and the book. That is so kind of you! 🙂
I love your house, Susan…so cozy and welcoming, truly a home hard to leave but always a joy to return to at the end of a journey!
{{{{raising my right hand}}}} “On my honor, I promise I will make and share this cake with my family at least once every year until I am incapacitated or otherwise unable to complete my duties, at which time I will pass it on to the next generation and they can feed it to me from a spoon until my dying day. I so swear.” Oooo, this would be so fun! Wherever did you get it? My 16 year-old daughter says she will pick up the tradition, “cross my heart and hope to die, and bake an apple pie.” (She’s frightened by the thought of putting a needle in her eye. Can’t blame her.) Thanks for being such a dear, Susan!
Awwww…that little lambie cake is adorable. I would be honored to “inherit” the mold from you.
I’m in the San Francisco Bay area where it’s 60˚F and sunny today. We have windows and doors open to let the soft, warm air waft through the house. I can see the Bank’s yellow rose blooming (very early) on the fence, the flowering quince with its pink blossoms, and the trailing rosemary bursting with little blue flowers, which the hummingbirds love. Aaaah.
OMGosh…my mom used to make lemon lamb cakes for Easter over 60 years ago. I hadn’t thought of those Easter dinners in years. What a treat to win a memorie and carry it to the newest generation. Happy spring to you!
Hi Susan! You never cease to amaze with your great ideas!! Love, love the lamb cake and would love to surprise Gene with one to go with his art print!! So I’ll add my comment to the pile!! Thank you for your inspiring photos and blog about spring! It won’t be long!! A great break, here, in the middle of my ongoing tasks! xo
What a sweet little lamb! I am completely inspired to try to make a lamb cake now. And your recipe for the lemon cake — love anything with lemon! Thank you for sharing! Thank you for your wonderful blog, I’ve just recently found it and I am busy catching up! You’ve provided so much wonderful, inspirational information here! So very generous of you! Thank you so much!!
Susan…a lovely blog today as always. Can you believe I can smell the lamb cake all the way out here in Colorado!!?!? : )
I loved the “SPRING” reminders and also the comfy, cozy spot in your kitchen when it is cold and snowy outside.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
sigh. Thoughts of spring. Perfect for a day with plenty of snow on the ground but with beautiful warm Virginia sunshine. Yes, there’s hope that spring is around the corner, somewhere.
Oh my … the most beautiful home in one of my favorite parts of the country and the best recipes and NOW that adorable lamb mold. Live with my daughter who takes after Mom and loves to bake. She would love this! This is absolutely perfect and I’m so anxious to try out the recipes. I live in (too) sunny Southern California but have spent time in your part of the world and absolutely LOVE it. Younger sister lives up there soooo great to visit! Thanks for a great giveaway!
Thank you for sharing a breath of spring! Dreaming of baking and spring gardening now… Can’t wait to try the lemon cake recipe and to get my hands in the dirt. As always, you have brightened my day. Thank you! xxo
Hi Susan. What a treat to come home to today. As much as I love the snow, it is definitely getting to me. I need sunshine and birdies and an open window. I just love everything you post. When I go for a ride, or buy a pretty antique or put a flower in a vase I always think, I wish i could show Sue. I know she would appreciate it. Thanks so much for always making me smile : )
Oh Susan, you brought back a very vivid memory for me with the Lamb Cake. I remember waking up on Easter and my mom had made a cake very similar to the one you write about, it was beautiful. Unfortunately, my brother and I did like coconut! That same year at Easter Dinner at my grandparents farm we were served lamb roast, and discovered our “lambie” was dinner! All the grandchildren burst out crying and were sent to the parlor! Great memories! Thank you! Keep warm from sunny Pacific Grove, CA
Another beautiful post to warm our hearts and souls. Thank you! I hadn’t thought about it in years, but I remember my grandmother making a lamb cake. She only made it once, I believe, as I remember my mom saying that grandma swore a little trying to get it out of the mold intact, and standing. She NEVER swore. I remember enjoying the cake (it was lemon too), and my poor grandma’s stress over it all (she would have appreciated your hints, I’m sure!).
I just came in from trying to shovel off some of the ice from the walkway….it was snowing and now it’s raining. But I love this weather…the wilder the better. And then I sat down with my achy back and read your blog for today….the adorable lamb cake now makes me long for spring! Good thing I’m a New Englander….the frequent weather changes keep me happy!
just a darling post, and yummy, after such a brutal winter in Michigan, this is just the right pick-me-up.
Love your blog and loved seeing this sweet little lamb cake. I inherited a lamb mold but cannot remember which grandmother I got it from. I remember having lamb butter at both of their homes but never a cake! So I need to dig it out and hope it is in ‘baking’ condition! If I am lucky enough to win the cake mold from you – I will have a pair and things are always better with two!
THINK SPRING!!!
I am also a lover of all things lambs! I buy them when I see them in stores and I have an aunt who sends me all different types, stuffed, toys, porcelain lambs, I LOVE them! Thank you for always thinking of all your girlfriends and offering such great things for sharing!
I too enjoy reading your blog. Your format is so specific to you with your beautiful drawings and wonderful pictures. I definitely am looking forward to spring. We have had way too much snow. Snow last night, with snow and freezing rain tonight. Oh joy. I would love to win your lamb cake mold, what a nice idea.
Gosh! I’m so hungry for cake now after reading and looking at all your delicious pictures. I’m trying to feel Springy but all the gray sky outside is sending a chill up my spine. Thank you Dear Heart for trying to bring a little Spring into our lives, you’re the greatest.
He is so delightful and I bet yummy too! A marvelous give-away! You are so sweet and generous!
I have always coveted lamb molds but never had one. Your rendition with the frosting is extra adorable! The kitchen garden book would be ‘frosting in the cake’ ! How could I have missed that book all these years?
Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I have the Know Your Sheep Book too, and find them absolutely charming. I often take it with me when we go for a drive in the countryside so I can try to identify them. I also do quite a bit of knitting and use single breed British wool for most of my projects. I have recently finished a body warmer made from pure Jacobs sheep wool, my favourite breed. We used to have some living in the field behind my house when I was growing up.
So thank you again. Like you I have a special fondness for sheep and would love to be able to make a cake of one.
That lamb cake is just the cutest thing ever! I wouldn’t know how to cut it! I have not seen the Kitchen Gardens book before, but it looks wonderful with those sweet Tasha Tudor illustrations. Thanks for giving us a chance to win and for sharing those beautiful pictures to remind us of Spring!
I really do try to live my life in a state of gratitude for the things I have and keep the “gimmes” at bay, but oh my goodness, not today. I boldly confess . . . I really, really, really want that charming lamb cake mold. It could be the beginning of a new Easter tradition for the grandchildren! It could be the beginning of a new talent for me! (Thank you for the detailed tutorial. I have always wondered how those molded cakes were constructed.) And don’t even get me started on the nostalgic gardening book that I am sure contains the answers to every question I have about this year’s flower beds and herb gardens! What fun to dream!
I loved this post. Thanks for letting all of us spend an early spring afternoon in the vineyard!
When you took the cake out of the pan I felt like we just watched a baby lamb being born! You really have a gift for making a recipe into a story.
Dear Susan,
Thanks again for perking up my day! I live in California, these days the land of eternal sunshine and no winter. You won’t believe this, but I regularly visit a webcam on Martha’s Vineyard from Edgartown Marine to get my slice of snow and sea. Though you posted spring pics today, I think I love the snow pictures best of all.
Have a lovely Thursday,
Barbara
Oh, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about this lamb cake! This brought back good memories of my Mother, who LOVED all holidays and on Easter, she would always make an Easter Basket cake (with green-tinted coconut as the grass and jellybeans as the eggs) and we would have little lamb-shaped butters on the dinner table. 🙂
We have spring fever setting in here as well! The weather here has already turned to the dark rainstorm followed by big billowy white clouds and fresh blue sky. Always a wind, which carries a chill, but by now we are acclimated and 50 degrees feels like summer (in the sunshine anyway). Daffodils and tulips are getting ready for the show and all the birds are falling in love. Ah, Spring!
Oh my! What a fun blog to read today! I don’t know where to begin; I loved, loved it all! You had me with the cute lamb cake mold and the recipe; but then, the book really stole it all for me!!! So loved it! Kitchen Gardens! I love having one and the idea of new ideas always draw me to them. And, then, to top that off, I see that the pictures are by Tasha Tudor! I have one of her garden books and always love reading about her and her gardens! Oh, and did I mention, I have a lamb collection, too! You just hit on three of my passions on one post! :] Thank you for your sweet blog, Susan! You inspire and you always gladden my heart when I read your writing! One last thing…I have read A Fine Romance twice through right now and know I will read it again many times. I loved going on the trip to England with you and I love having the treasured memories now with your book!!! Needless to say, I would love Vanna to draw my name; alas, we will have to wait and see! Enjoy YOUR day; you have made mine extra joyful today!!!
Hi Susan, Just love your blog. This one really brought back childhood memories. My mother had a lamb mold and made a lamb cake for Easter every year. We all looked forward to it. My mother wasn’t a baker or dessert maker, so when she did make this cake and bake cookies for Christmas we were thrilled. This last Easter I told my mom I would bake the cake and asked for her pan and to my surprise, she had given it to Goodwill!! She didn’t think anyone really liked the cake anymore! Boy was I happy to see that you are selling them online!! I will wait for your drawing in case I am a lucky girl, but will be purchasing the pan if I am not!! I love Tasha Tudor too! What a great combination for your give-away!! Your blog is always so entertaining and brings a smile to my face!! Think Spring!! 🙂
Thank you for thinking of us. I ordered the Betty Crocker Herbal book as a gift for a friend. I still have my Betty Crocker Cook Book which was used as a text book from 1960….kinda dogeared though. xx
Love the lamb cake! Thank You! Will make this cutie for Easter. Also thanks for the tip for melting the Crisco. I usually just use a paper towel. This looks much easier.
And thank you for the give away…you are always so sweet to us girl friends!
Hugs,
Debbie
It’s been such a “baaaa-d” winter here that I don’t think spring will ever be sprung! But your cute little “laaaaa-mb” has inspired me to set out my own little lamb vase in defiance of Mother Nature…..although the only forsythia I have is the craft store variety. You have so many wonderful ideas and recipes, how can I possibly make them all!
Oh! Such a lovely little lamb! And that book. I sigh. I can sit enthralled by that type of book by the hour – why I could read it while my lamb cake baked. What a perfect afternoon that would be! I think Vanna knows it should be my turn pretty soon. Mayhaps that little lamb will soon be in my kitchen telling my stories about you and Jack! I can only hope…
Thank you, Susan. You always brighten my day! I love lambs too! My husband and I took a dream trip last summer to the British Isles and it totally revived my love for sheep. They seemed to be everywhere! On our tour we even visited a sheep farm in Ireland, and I actually got to bottle feed a lamb– heaven! (I used to do that as a child growing up on the farm, but it had been a really long time!) Your lamb cake is adorable– I’ll keep my fingers crossed!
Susan,
First , let me say your house is beautiful in the snow. Our Log home is also….I’d send a photo but it probably wouldn’t go into the blog. We’ve been snow bound for 10 days now since we live on the top of a vey high and steep hill, the driveway has been impassable…(but I love being cooped up and working on my quilting and painting and writing fun things in my Days from the Heart of the Home) Secondly, your lamb cake turns out so much better than my bunny cake. I’d love to try the lamb mold. Perhaps Vanna will pull my name this time. The book is a real bonus. You are so generous!
I love your little lambie. Vanna! Pick me! Pick me!
Love your cake! I’ve never attempted a mold cake but I’m gonna go for it! I just read A Fine Romance and fell in love with it! Thank you for all your wonderful books. They have been by my side all through my homemaking years!
That is so lovely to hear Elizabeth. ♥
In fact, Girlfriends, I can’t reply to all of your wonderful comments, but I’m sure reading them and loving them. You are wonderful!
Susan you made me yearn for spring….as I sit here staring out at fields that are covered in snow. But the sun is shinning today & everything is all glistening & sparkling, & dare I say slowly melting. But I have the bunny pan, and was just thinking is it too soon to decorate for Easter….I miss throwing open the windows, to listen to the birds, & I can’t wait to get my hands back in the dirt again!! BTW I love the little photo bomb of Jack in your one pic. My Bella does that all the time to. Took pics of the front windows all lit up for Christmas from the outside & there she was perched on the back of the sofa right between the 2 huge angels on the window sill.
I so enjoy reading your blogs. My day is always brighter after reading your fun filled and inspiring letters. You are such a kindred spirit.
Thanks for sharing your cake recipe…sounds so delicious, I can’t wait to try it.
Ah! A breath of Spring and boy did we need it! We did hit 58 in Northern Virginia today but we still have snow! In December, snow was fun but NOT now! Lambs and chicks and bunnies….Spring!:)
Spring?!? I think I remember you. What lovely pictures to remind us.
My mother_in_law had a lamb cake pan when my husband was little but alas she lost it somewhere. The cake looks yummy and Tasha Tudor too! How generous!
Have a beautiful spring!
Did everyone’s Grandma make lamb cakes? My sister and her two girls have continued the fine tradition. We have some of the best memories (and pictures) of lambs missing heads and ears. 🙂 I passed on your blog–making sure I let her know her lambs are just perfect the way they are. Gearing up for another blizzard here tomorrow. I think spring will be very sweet for everyone this year. Go lambs!
I was just out in my garden this morning looking things over and dreaming, ready for spring! The lamb cake is adorable. Thank you for such a sweet giveaway!
I love lambs and bunnies. They are so sweet and innocent somehow. I always look forward to reading your posts and am glad you are posting so often lately. I guess, because you are snowbound? : ) Your area is so beautiful, both the spring and winter pictures. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Pure charm! I loved your post today. It did make me happy to know spring is coming! I also love Tasha Tudor. If I could I would dress like she did. I am a Master Gardener and I feel like I know her through her drawings and stories. The lamb cake was so cute and your friends house, what charm. The house was just glowing! Inspired today Susan, thank you!
What a wonderful lamb cake! You are the greatest, Susan!
This post reminds me of the years we spent living in the Cotswolds when my husband was stationed in England with the Air Force. It makes me envision those new born lambies with their long tails skipping on the emerald green hills. It was always my favorite time of year there. Such a lovely post, Susan!
I appreciate how you can see the beauty in every kind of weather. And you pass it on to me. Thanks for helping me find the joy in each day.
Precious little lamb cake! Perfect for the deep snow and cold of winter, bringing hope that spring is coming!
This is a wonderful giveaway, Susan! Adding my name to the list!
We no longer have any snow on the ground here. It has been gone for a few days. It sounds as though another storm is on the way in your direction, though.
Stay safe and warm!
xo Nellie
A hopeful heart will see the waiting rosebud beneath the snow.
Hard to be hopeful when it is SNOWING yet again. But looking at your lamb cake is enjoyable!
hi linda!
i’m originally from sudbury…..miss the birch trees
I think Dear Susan you can delight us for as long as you like, you are one of our greatest joys ! I just love the lamb mold and such a cute one to have for baby,
grand-children’s birthdays. I think I will have some fun making these cakes for sure. The snow is snowing to beat the band as I type. It is certainly a winter wonderland outside here at the Keyser cottage and everything is a beautiful snow white. The fire is so cozy on nights like this and a lemon cake baking would just add to the ambiance. Thank-you for the recipe-yummy ! I am going to enjoy this winter a little longer and then in March I definitely will be searching for spring. I have switched my heart door wreath for my forsythia wreath so maybe I am ahead of myself already. I think 3 feet of snow on the ground is enough, don’t you ? Thank-you for all you do, you are a Lambie Pie ! oxoxox
Lambs are always special in Spring. Spring????? hope it arrives soon.
Oh the snow is so magical. That little house reminded me a little of your first house. Snow makes everything look wonderful. I know everyone’s probably tired of it but it’s so cozy and makes spring all the more cherished!! 🙂
PS…..I LOVE Tasha Tudor. What a marvelous person she was.
Hello, Susan, I love your post. I could smell the lemon cake as I reading along. I would to have the lamb mold. I have a lamb oil painting just about in every room in my house. I
Did not even realize it. thanks so much for entering me on the drawings. Belle
I would love your house!
An adorable cake! I can just taste it. I will avoid biting it in the neck however.
That is a great tip! I have a snowman cake pan that could you some toothpicks also.
It’s 45* here in Wi today and you can smell that Spring on it’s way.
Happy Day and good luck to all.
Sandy M.
reading your post today made me have hope that spring is really around the corner! (after the winter we’ve had here, I was beginning to wonder)
Oh Susan – your posting of Spring pictures and lamb cakes came just in the nick of time. I awoke today to more freshly fallen snow and was thinking that this REALLY is the winter of my discontent…..but lo and behold…..thanks so you, I am over that and eager for SPRING and CAKE.
Please enter my name in the draw.
Cheers,
Nancy