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! ♥
My daughter & I really found your giveaway so adorable & have brought back fond memories for us. We have always been fond of Tasha Tuder and we
used to have our own “Wren post” for her dolls. We are going to make the lemon cake, too! We are also enjoying “A fine Romance”!!!
!
As I’m trying to make a sick kitty comfortable, I’m hoping for warm spring days and sunnier skies. Snow and ice are forecast tomorrow so I may be back to reread lambs, baking, and thoughts of warmth. Thanks for the opportunity of a fun give-away!
Hope spring comes early!!The garden book looks fun!!
It was 1953 and I was in the 3rd grade. My classmate ,Robbie, had an April birthday. His mother made this lamb cake and brought it to school to celebrate. I thought it was the prettiest cake I had ever seen. Tasted delicious too. Would love to have a lamb cake pan to call my own.
Another post. . . and it’s the prize drawing post!! As soon as I saw the beautiful ribbon on the lamb mold, I thought it quite possibly could be for the prize drawing. This ‘daisy’ would love to make the Lemon Daisy Lamb Cake but I don’t have a lamb cake mold! I would love to be the owner of the slightly used lamb cake mold and the vintage Betty Crocker Cook Book would be the ‘icing on the cake’! Thank you for being such a sweet person.
Happy soon -to -be Spring Sweet Sue!
You made me laugh talking about the head and ears falling off the lamb cake! We’ve all been there. I feel so victorious when my baked items come out of the pan. Good job on the unmolding of the lamb!
What a goofy winter. You are buried in snow and we in California are so dry we feel parched! The fruit trees are now starting to bloom and it is very pretty on the Blossom Trail. Even coming down my 1/4 mile driveway is s blossom trail on one side with the almond trees beginning their bloom. It would be fun to have the lamb mold and the delightful Tasha Tudor book.
Oh, Susan, you have once again captured within me a delight that puts a smile on my face and a “spring” in my step! Thank you for all you share! Your lamb cake is adorable! I bet it was yummy! 🙂
I just loved all the cuteness and Springtime in this post! Fingers, toes, legs, eyes, they’re all crossed with great hopes of my name being picked from the hat:-)
Long or short – love the posts. My birthday was on Valentines Day but when I came to work on Monday I found a glass vase with several pink tulips sitting on my desk (in a gift bag, which made it a surprise). I can’t tell you the thrill those tulips gave me! And talk about your cabin fever! We have had a lot of snow and cold this winter, here in Ohio, too. I have been saving the chapter on March in Gladys Tabers ‘Still Cove Journal’ to read in the first week of March, because then the book is over and I think I have read them all (sniff). But I wanted to enjoy the end of the book at the end of this long, cold, snowy winter.
I am so in love with lambs! I have a darling little lamb display with the cutest little book called little black lamb. I would love to post a picture . Does anyone know how?
Your posts are so warm and inviting. I love the lambie cake and the bunny at the end as well.
Thank you for the spring photos, it gives me hope after such a long snowy, cold winter.
Hi to you, JoAnn! We spell our names exactly the same!
Oh, how very delightful! A lamb cake of lemon and coconut sounds DEE-LISH! I would like to make this for an upcoming party in spring. The book made my heart skip a beat. I love gardening and I LOVE TASHA TUDOR.
Blessings to you and yours.
Hi Dear Susan,
Funny thing I just checked my SB calendar today to see when Spring arrives, almost another month. We had a lovely sunny day today with blue sky and warmer temps, the “boulders” of snow lining our driveway have finally started to shrink!
The lambie cake is lovely and sounds yummy! What a great give-away!! You always are so clever and offer the best things to us girlfriends! I have always admired Tasha Tudor, love her writings and illustrations. I will be keeping my fingers and toes crossed to be the lucky receiver of the lamb cake pan and cookbook!
Thanks so much for sharing your time and posting this lovely inspirational Spring blog today!!
Warmest regards,
Candice
Ohh! I want , I want !! I have a candy thermometer and old fashion sifter I just found at my local thrift store , this would complete me ! You had me at INSPIRE ! XoXo
Susan I have been reading your blog but have not been posting lately. I was floored when I saw the lamb mold. I have been looking for one forever! When I was young I would go to a neighbor’s home around Easter time and she always made a lamb cake for Easter. She also taught me how to decorate eggs using wax. I loved going to her home. I am afraid that many kids today would never visit an older neighbor. What they are missing! Anyway, this brought back a flood of memories. I plan to buy that mold and make everyone a lamb cake!
Thanks so much.
Especially love photo of Jack watching you bake. Such a lucky kitty to be in such a warm cozy kitchen.
Susan, coming from a 100% Polish family, lamb cakes were always served at the Easter table when I was growing up. My Aunt Elizabeth Hattie (we called her Aunt Elsie) always made the lamb cake. It was a tradition. I wish I had her lamb cake pan. I regret to say that I don’t even know what happened to it. Your cake brought back lovely memories. Thank you!
Loved the Lamb Cake, and know my grandchildren would too!
Love the lamb cake and book. I am a dedicated gardener to the max and have been living on the California beach for several years. Now about to relocate to the East Coast. You are so inspiring!!! Can hardly wait to have the seasons and a kitchen garden of my very own. Have your garden plans all ready to start digging in the soil again.
Such a beautiful cake! Wonder how chocolate cake would do in this mold. Love Spring and Easter and all of the soft, beautiful colors!
What memories the lamb cake mold brings back to me of my childhood. You made me actually believe that spring will soon be here in Connecticut. Thank you for brightening my day.
I love lemon. Need to make the cake… STAT! Haha!
Oh, Susan, never apologize for the length of what you share with your girlfriends!
I love the idea of making this cake for lots of other times besides Easter. How about for a baby shower? Or just because you need lemon cake with coconut on the frosting? I think Sunday nights with Downton Abbey or Mr. Selfridge or even Sherlock should be cake (and tea) night! Yum!
My Wings Are Crossed Sweet Sue! A Scrumptious Springtime Give~A~Way! I Want To Make This Lamby Cake! He’s Perfect For Easter & Spring Birthdays! Bahhhhhhhhh! 😉 Also I Love The Photo of Jack Watching You Sift The Flour! Kitty~Kisses To Him & Girl! 😉 & I Love All Your Birdies At The Feeders in The Snow! Springtime is Right Around The Corner….Winter Will Linger just A Bit Longer….so Warm Hugzzzz & Vanna Pick Me! Yay! A Fairy Can Dream….xoxo Poof! ♥*¨`*.✫*¨*.¸¸.♥*¨`♥*¨`*.✫*¨*.¸¸.♥*¨` 🙂
Hi Susan,
I am from Texas so snow is a delight to see. In pictures it is soooo magical! Well in pictures I don’t have to shovel or stay in side, but it is nice to admire from afar. Thank you for sharing with such splendor! The lamb cake is adorable! Looks like a really fun one to make. Thank you for the chance too to have a favorite book of yours. When I was a little girl I helped my mom in the kitchen. Whenever she needed zest for a recipe I was her girl. She would hand me her box grater and “zesting” away I went. Then she would hand me a toothpick and it would take a while, but wanting to please my mom I would deliver the amount she needed. Did I like zesting? NO! It was a tedious job, but with delicious results…ANYTHING for delicious results!! Then I grew up and found a tool called the microplane and my world of zesting was changed forever. From your blog today I know you know exactly how I feel! : )I have to say one of the greatest inventions ever was the microplane.
My children would love this lamb cake pan and I would treasure the book!
One day I will write you a long letter to tell you what wonderful friends we are! My daughters, ages 16 and 14, and I always look forward to your blog. We love you, Susan!
I always enjoy your blog with a cup of tea!!! The lamb cake is truly adorable, and would be a hit at any baby shower! The book is one that I have checked out of the library time and time again, so I would love a copy of my own. Thanks for a chance to win!
I love the frosting. My grandmother made this for all of her cakes. Love your blog.
This was a wonderful post, Susan…I’m also a lover of lambs – my love came from “Lambchop”, the adorable puppet on the Sherry Lewis TV show….I still can’t get myself to eat lambchops!!!! I have most of your books and am on the second reading of “A Fine Romance”. Your beautiful watercolors originally brought me to your cookbooks. The lamb mold brought back memories of my childhood when my aunt would bring a little lamb made of butter for our Easter celebration! Thanks for the memories.
I love it! What an adorable cake – just perfect 🙂 thanks for the spring pics – mucho needed! It was 40 degrees in our neck of the woods today and it was glorious! I felt like a bear coming out of hibernation when I walked outside. Have fun at your party 🙂
Oh, goodness! What a lovely giveaway! The lamb cake mould and a gardening book illustrated by Tasha Tudor! Yes, please!
I’m so glad I popped in for a visit with you. A trip to your blog is always a refreshing moment in my day. I adore your little lambies. I was visiting another blog (homeschoolonthecroft.com) and all the photos of lambs she was sharing made me immediately think of you, dear Susan. There was this photo of twin lambs and I know you would have shared in my “squee” over them. 😉
Jack put a huge smile on my face!! My dogs always watch me in the kitchen, too! Love all you do, Susan!
thank you, as always, for the inspiration! It surely helps when all you see outside are mounds of snow covering everything! I love the lamb mold and thanks for sharing those delicious recipes…
Dear Susan, crossing fingers and toes, hoping to be the lucky winner! The lamb mold would be a perfect pal for my rabbit mold and the gardening book looks charming and you can never, ever get enough charm in life! I was at Joann Fabric today and the sunny 50 degree day overtook me and in my spring fever I purchased a yellow forsythia wreath and matching garland for my trellis. Now as soon as all our darn snow melts ( which should be any day now *wishfull thinking* ) I shall be able to string the garland up and start bringing out the garden bunnies and flags. Oh. Susan I thought of you Sunday while watching QVC. They were doing all garden and spring products. One hour featured items from Plow and Hearth catalog and they had the cutest garden figurines similar to Beatrix Potters creatures. The rabbit had a spade in hand, the dapper fox was dressed in a green vest with a shovel. Oh I think you need to check them out if they’re still in stock!
Susan! Thank you for such a beautiful Spring post. I will be making this cake soon.
What a wonderful, heart warming post. Love your kitchen creativity.
I was a young bride in 1971; how did I NOT see this wonderful book among all the cookbooks I’ve collected over the years. Something fun to search for in one of my favorite haunts — old bookstores. Thanks for bringing a little spring to our relentless New England winter!
I love every post and I’m disappointed if there isn’t one posted daily. I love the old fashioned Crisco and flouring of the pan, the way we did it in Home-Ec. I love the pan, the lamb, the way he sits on the platter and would love to take one to my church Easter dinner. I do love everything you do. We even sucked the puffs off of the dandelions in the yard last summer! So, I am ever a devoted follower.
You are such an inspiration. Stay warm and dream of Spring.
Your Lambie cake is beautiful. I also love your Spring Chicks, dancing on the cupcakes!!
Thank you for all your lovely posts… Let’s hope for an early Spring!
I can practically smell the lemony goodness. Mmmmmmm…
Perfect spring photos for a perfect spring day down here in Florida, it was 82F today! I love the lamb cake tin it is so unique. Lambs are the perfect animal for spring. New life, soft woolen white on green, grassy fields calls spring to me. Looking forward to warmer days for everyone. Happy Spring!
I love all your posts and can’t wait to make this lamb cake!
Thank you for providing such lovely distractions from all this Winter weather!! 🙂 XOXO
So cute! We have little lambies at our house right now, 2 sets of twins and they are ADORABLE. I’m thinking I’ll need to make a lamb cake for my daughter’s birthday. They’re her sheep and she acted as midwife for the births. She’d get a real charge out of having a cake like that!
Spring can’t come soon enough here, it’s been a heck of a winter so far! I would love to win that giveaway, the book looks adorable.
I’m going to get that Kitchen Gardens book ASAP! Mary Mason Campbell and Tasha Tudor was such a great collaboration 🙂 I actually own a copy of The New England Butt’ry Shelf Almanac signed by both of them!
Oh how I would LOVE to win the book. And if I do win that’s going to make someone besides me very happy because I already have a lamb cake mold – if you want to, you can draw a second name & give it to someone else. :o)
I just adore the little lamb cake, made out of my very favorite lemon cake! Yum, yum, I can almost taste it now! Thanks for a lovely post – I always check every day hoping for a new one. I feel a part of your life and want to thank you for sharing it with us “girlfriends”.
I loved your post and I have been looking for Spring. Snow is pretty but we have mountains of the stuff and I think it’s time to stop now. 🙂 Your mention of Betty Crocker brought back some memories. My Mom retired as the secretary to the plant manager of General Mills in West Chicago, Illinois many, many years ago. I wish I had collected some of the cookbooks but I was too young to know better at that time. She used to bring home WARM Bugles off the line. We simply inhaled them. We probably smelled like Bugles! hahaha. Thanks for the chance to win this book and the sweet lamb.
hi ! Susan I feel like i’ve know you all my life yes we need water in cali really bad . your book is awesome love it.
Just read your blog – It makes me think of all the good things in Spring. Green grass on the hills, flowers blooming, trying to decide what to plant in the kitchen garden I share with my mother… Happy Spring (when it comes)
Susan,
The lamb cake is adorable! You make it look so easy, I love it!
Can’t wait for spring, it has been a long, long winter!!
You make life look like so much fun. I can smell that lemon cake baking.
Love the nice long blog—it’s never too long for me ! I really like your flower flour sifter, I have the one that was my Mom’s. Her’s is plain with a green handle. It reminds me of her making pies , something she did quite often & they were so good ! I never could make a decent crust—-but I cherish the memories.
That is just about the sweetest cake I have ever seen! You are such a lamb yourself to show us this, and then on top of that, offer the lamb cake pan and the wonderful book. Beautiful!! Robin Larkspur from Liverpool NY.
Oh how I loved this blog today. So many memories came flooding back from my childhood. My mother had a lamb cake mold just like yours and we always had it in Easter Sunday. And ohhhhh the problems with broken heads! My poor Mom was so frazzled when that happened. My sister and I loved it. I shall dream of winning this and re-creating my mothers lambie! So delightful.
Thanks for making my day! Karen Carpenter
I love your sheepish attempt to bring on spring! I hope that it works, we are all ready for sunshine. I loved your rabbit cake also. I have several copper tins (some are stainless on the insides) that I have always wondered if I could use them for baking cakes. Is that what you used for the rabbit cake? Do you or any of the girlfriends know anything about using the copper and tin pans for baking. The ducks, chickens, and bunnies would be so cute!
Mine isn’t copper — it’s vintage and aluminum or something like that. Some of the ones you’re talking about are just for decor, the ones for cooking are lined in nickel or tin.
I have a pound cake recipe that reminds me of this cake recipe. It uses the egg yolks in the batter and then you fold in the egg whites separately. It makes a fine crumb, moist and delicious cake and I like to fold in black walnuts as well. Yum! I will try your cake, too! On a wintery day when it’s cold and blustery and I’m feeling a little house bound, a warm kitchen with the aroma of vanilla or lemon or some other suitable scent helps to take care of that feeling. Tonight it was chocolate as I made my husband’s Aunt Clara’s chocolate pie. My grandson will be here tomorrow for dinner and he loves this pie. We do, too! Thanks for all your inspiration and I’m trying your cake soon.
What a delightful foretaste of Spring! And a lovely garden book — I will have to keep my eye out for that one !
The lamb cake looks almost like the ones my grandmother used to make. She also covered her lamb in coconut. Then she would dye extra coconut green to sprinkle around the lamb so it looked like it was lying in the grass. Oh, how I miss her… Yep, ready for spring!
Love the lamb cake. So can’t wait for spring. Had a big storm in October with 4 feet of snow so has been a long winter! It’s just around the corner. Have a great day!
Hi, Linda! As I was scrolling through the comments getting to the bottom so that I could leave mine, my eyes did a double take when came to yours…We have the same last name!!! Not odd for most, but with the last name of “Wattier”, it’s neat to see it! And, when you do see it, you know you HAVE to be related!! So, “Hello, fellow Wattier!” ~ Donna
This entire lovely post made me long all the more for Spring. A lamb cake certainly would welcome it, and the gardening book with illustrations by Tasha Tudor would add to the excitement.
Susan,
I just LOVE your lamb cake! It came out perfectly the first time!! All of the cakes I bake are homemade but usually there is just one little piece that gets stuck in the pan! That’s okay though because I wipe it out and taste it!! But, your cake was perfect with the frosting and everything! I would LOVE to win the lambie cake pan and book! I love homemade cake and gardening! Thanks for such a heart warming blog! I love reading it! 🙂
Thanks for the breath of spring! Love your posts.
Thank you-thank you for this wonderful memory. When my Grammie was alive she would bake us a “Lammie-Pie Cake” for our birthdays. I am now 70 (don’t tell anyone). I have her lamb cake mold, but it is heavy cast iron. Until reading your blog, I had not thought of this for years. Again, many thanks.
P.S. I worked in the garden all day today planting, planting and planting. Wish you were here.
Lambs, spring, and cake, three of my favorite things. Thanks for the fun post, I always enjoy every one. Oh, and kitty too. Kitties are my absolute favorite thing. =)
I have the same mixing bowl that you used for the frosting! The set includes 4 bowls in yellow, orange, blue and pink from gGreen in Mashpee. Loving the lamb mold and book. Myabe I’ll try this for Easter. Thanks.
I have really enjoyed your wintertime posts, especially seeing the beautiful snow scenes! I continue to be amazed at all the interests we share!
Your blogs are never too long, you make it so easy to want to keep reading…thanks for a chance at winning the cute Lamb cake pan.
That is an awesome cake pan. Perfect for Easter!!!
XO
Oh, my goodness! what a totally enjoyable post. I would like a slice of that lamb cake NOW, it looks so delicious. I am looking for Spring all around. No signs yet, but I am still looking, looking everywhere!
Oh my gosh, my Aunt Dorothy used to make a lamb cake for us every Easter! We looked forward to it every spring and it was so adorable, we rather hated to cut the poor thing up….but of course, who could resist the delectable cake hiding under the frosting and coconut? Thanks so much for bringing back wonderful memories. I have no idea where her lamb cake mold ended up, but sure wish I had it!
Cute lamb cake pan and little book. 🙂 Whatever you do, please, please, don’t ever stop posting photos of your sweet Jack and girl kitty. Love those two!
Ohh how I love lambs! Ever since I was a little girl! I had a little stuffed lamb that I carried every where. Wish I knew what happened to that little critter. It probably fell apart. I think my grandmother had a similar cake pan, I have memories of darling Easter lamb cakes. Lemon is a favorite too! So whether it’s in a lamb pan or regular cake pan, I’m going to have to try out this recipe!
I love winter, but I am so ready for Spring. I’m looking forward to seeing the trees bud out!
This post SCREAMS (in a good way) SPRING. The lamb cake is so cute and looks delish. The Kitchen Gardens book……OH MY what a treasure.
Your blog brightens my day!!! I’ve spent the last week at the hospital at my hubby’s bedside…found out tonight he gets to go home tomorrow!!!!
And then to come home and open your post THANK YOU FOR BRINGING JOY!!!
Oh so sweet to see your blog on such a snowy day! Thank you! We all are very ready for spring….love the lamb mold! Thank you Susan!
Thank you for sharing those wonderful recipes & photos. I have a vintage Betty Crocker cookie cookbook that is a go to book for me as well.
Oh, my! What a great post! I enjoy “watching” you bake and like your helpful tidbits along the way. I could almost taste the cake! Tasha Tudor has been a favorite for many years, but I did not know of this book. Herbal gardening is another ‘something’ I hope to do more of also. What a treasure you found….now I must start scouring old books for treasures, too. You are such an inspiration!
Spring fever is rampant in my home! I am getting all my bunny decorations and birds nests ready to come out and spring up my house! Just loving it.
Love, Carol Tra la
Seeing your lamb cake mold brought back such nice memories of the one my grandmother had. I enjoyed seeing the mold as much as the cakes she made for Easter. Not sure what happened to hers, hope Vanna chooses me!
Such a wonderful post Susan, full of good cheer , sweet smells and happy chatter! Thank you on this winter day.
Oh your blog does make me yearn for those good old days. I live in southwestern Utah and today it was 71° with blue skies but I love the snow too. And the picture of your house with the snow coming down just gave me a shiver of pleasure. I save your blog as the last email to read so I can savor all the wonderfulness. Love the lamb cake too
Spring can’t be too far away now. Thank you for the inspiration. It may be winter outside but it can be spring inside….love it!
Even I would try to make this cake in that adorable pan! lol
I remember my mom making that cake for me the year my birthday fell on Easter Sunday! I loved it!
Oh wow! Just wow. I loved the cake! I also laughed very hard when I imagined the head falling off and the frosting “glue.” So true! My family would love to have both the book and the pan. Cheers!
Oh my goodness!!! Oh my goodness!!! I just LOVE that little Lamb cake pan! I have my ticket to leave for England on April 7th!! I am going to visit my daughter who is already there studying at Uni. I can hardly wait as we have planned to do as much of the English Countryside as we can following your lead from “A Fine Romance”. I have been re-reading not only the book but also your blogs from when you were there and all the extra stuff too!! My daughter says she has become obsessed with sheep! (and I think its happening to me too!) I hope we get to walk through some fields full of them like you did. I think making this cute litte cake would be a great send off as I head off to England. And, I could take it with me and my daughter and I could make one together there in her flat! 😉 Thanks Susan for all your inspiring ways!
Once you start walking in the countryside it will actually be harder for you NOT to walk through fields of lambs! They are everywhere. I’m so happy for you..you’ll have so much fun with your daughter. Praying for a beautiful English Spring!
Can I just say…I get so excited when you reply to my comments!! I scream out loud and clap my hands as fast as I can for like a whole minute!! It makes me so happy!! I have a meeting with a guy at AAA today(he is from England) to talk about how we might best cover the things on our list(well, really, it’s YOUR list:) ). They are discouraging a car if we haven’t ever driven in England before! (what? doesn’t there have to be a first time for everything?) Well, anyway, I don’t see us doing the “Fine Romance Tour” without one, do you? Do you think two girls could do it? It does seem a little scary! I will have 20 days (not including travel), We would like to spend a few days in London, my daughter simply must see CHAWTON and CHATSWORTH, I want to see some (really all) of the COTSWOLDS (but I may have to just settle for a taste…and then…however do you choose?), the EMMA BRIDGEWATER FACTORY, and of course HILL TOP FARM! I am a little overwhelmed in the planning….HELP …please! Any little tidbit of advice?
I have a girlfriend who does all the driving in England — her husband doesn’t want to, so she does just fine. Try to rent your car in a smaller town so you don’t immediately have to get on crowded roads. If possible. If you have to drive out of London, hire a cab to lead you out. Also, they don’t have traffic lights, it’s all done with roundabouts. Get Sat Nav — for sure! (That’s Brit GPS). And every time you get onto the road, remind yourself to stay left, say it out loud. If you think you can do this, then you can. You are choosing all the perfect places! The entire country is smaller than Louisiana … it is not impossible to get everywhere! In the Cotswolds, go Hidcote Garden in Chipping Camden. You can thank me later 🙂 Heaven on earth. Yes, on Chawton, Hever Castle, and go to Charleston too. It’s better to park yourself somewhere for a few days, and go out from there so that you don’t spend too much time packing and unpacking the car. You can tell, I’m excited for you!
Thank you!! Thank you!! Your are so encouraging and inspirational! WE ARE GONNA DO IT! …and we are gonna enjoy the journey…we will not get upset if we miss something…we will not be afraid to drive on the wrong side of the road…we are gonna have fun in the detours and discoveries that we make. But, most of all we are gonna make sweet memories! The first time I commented on your blog(my first blog) was April 2013. I started reading just about the time you were finishing “A Fine Romance”. I had just lost my precious Mom. You, your blog, the anticipation of recieving your book…it was all a kind of therapy for me. I CAN’T believe the trip I dreamed of taking as I journeyed along with you is actually gonna happen!! CRAZY! So, my daughter and I, in the words of Mark Twain, are gonna “throw off the bowlines” and “sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in our sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.” Just like you and Joe…and just like my mom did all of her life! So again, thanks for the DREAM, the advice and the encouragement! And, I WILL be thanking you later. 🙂 PS my daughter’s blog if you wanna follow along :)…. Londoncalledianswered.blogspot.com OOXX
Peep Peep. . .this post felt like ‘almost being in your kitchen.’ Thank you for the cooking lesson on LDLC. We are so lucky to have you!
A very pretty post. . . baaaaa!
Really enjoy your posts and cannot wait for the latest and greatest. The lamb cake is inspirational. My granddaughters (and daughter and SIL) are all returning from 4 years in Germany so that gives me an idea of what I can do to welcome them home next month or maybe head out to their new duty station and make one for Easter. I love looking at your kitchen doings and love that we have the same O’Keefe & Merritt stove.
Your lamb cake looks wonderful, wish I could taste it. My mother used to make that frosting and I am so glad you posted it so I can make it for a lamb cake.
Both my mother and my husband’s mother had heavy dark metal molds. We always loved them While I grew up in NY and my husband in MO, both our mother’s used pink jelly beans for the lamb’s eyes! Your mold-and your book will help someone make new memories! Thank you.
Your pictures make me want to sit and watch and chat while you bake. You make me happy!
The lamb cake takes me back–my Mom always made a lamb cake at Easter! I wish I had her pan, not sure what happened to it. Your recipe looks marvelous. Great tips for the neck and ears.
I savor every one of your blog entries! They are such a gift when I open them as they arrive. This particular blog touched me so deeply because it reminded me of my mom aged 87 who every year at Easter has always made the lamb cake. It simply wouldn’t ‘t be Easter without our little lamb.