| MANGIA BENE PASTA |
| EASTER LAMB CAKE |
| "Torta di Agnello" |
| (Serves 8-10) |
| Italian pastry shops have an array of Easter Lamb Cakes available at Eastertime. Some are filled with almond paste and others are with candied fruit and nuts in the batter. Make one as a centerpiece for your Easter table or to give as a charming gift. We are providing you with 2 different recipes. The first is a more traditional Italian lamb cake and the second is a delicious seasonal carrot cake. To make the cake you will need a 2-piece lamb cake mold approximately 10- by 4-inch in size. |
| TRADITIONAL LAMB CAKE |
| 2 cups cake flour |
| 3/4 tsp baking powder |
| 1/8 tsp grated nutmeg |
| 1/4 tsp salt |
| 1/2 pound unsalted butter |
| 1 cup sugar |
| 2 tsp grated orange zest |
| 1 TB vanilla |
| 1 tsp almond extract |
| 4 eggs |
| 1/2 cup finely ground nuts |
| ICING |
| 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening |
| 8 TB unsalted butter, room temperature |
| 6 cups confectioner's sugar |
| 1 TB almond extract |
| To Decorate: Currants or raisins |
| Coconut, tinted green |
| Jelly beans |
| Ribbon |
| Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. |
| Grease lamb cake mold and dust it with flour. |
| In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. |
| Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar. |
| Beat in the zest, vanilla, and almond extracts. |
| Beat in the eggs, one at a time. |
| Beat in the flour mixture. Fold in the nuts. |
| Spoon the batter into the bottom half of the mold. |
| Place the top piece of the mold on, according to pan directions. |
| Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until cake tests done. |
| Remove the mold to a rack to cool completely. |
| To make the icing: |
| In a bowl, beat the shortening and butter until smooth. |
| Gradually beat in the sugar. |
| Add the almond extract. |
| The icing should be firm enough to pipe through a pastry bag. |
| Remove the cake from the mold. |
| Place upright on a platter, using a little icing to glue it on. |
| Fill a pastry bag with a medium star tip and icing. |
| Decorate to simulate wool all over the cake. |
| Use currants or raisins for eyes. |
| Mound tinted coconut around base of cake as grass. |
| Press jelly beans into coconut. |
| Tie a ribbon carefully around the neck. |
| To serve, cut into thin slices. |
| CARROT CAKE ** |
| 1 cup sugar |
| 3/4 cup vegetable oil |
| 2 eggs |
| 1 tsp salt |
| 1-1/2 cups flour |
| 1 tsp cinnamon |
| 1 tsp baking soda |
| 1-1/2 cups grated carrot |
| 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts |
| Mix all the ingredients together until well blended. |
| Proceed with directions for baking and decorating as outlined for Traditional Lamb Cake. |
| CREAM CHEESE ICING |
| 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature |
| 4 TB unsalted butter |
| 2 tsp vanilla |
| 2 cups confectioners sugar |
| Using an electric mixer, beat all ingredients together until smooth |
| ** Carrot Cake can also be baked in a 11 x 13-inch rectanglular pan. Bake at 300 degrees F. for 1 hour. When cake is cool, frost with Cream Cheese Icing. |
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