Congratulations on regularly using your family heirloom cake pan, which is now a valued collectible. When you bake your cake, do you use a spray with flour in it, like Bakers Joy, heavily around the ears?

Here is a link that might be useful: Bakers Joy

I have an old, old cast iron lamb mold also ML. I've baked a lamb cake in it every year for Easter for as long as I can remember. It is older then my kids! I do as you do, bake the batter in the 2 separate pans and put them together with frosting. I then frost the whole cake and put coconut over the lamb and tint some coconut green to make "grass" for it to lay down in. I butter and flour my pan. Use a bamboo skewer to loosen the cake from the ears too, before flipping out the cake. NancyLouise

I was so happy to see this topic!!! I have an old lamb cast iron two-piece mold with the original box it came in. I inherited it a couple of years ago. I've tried several times to make a cake and failed miserably. After reading this I am determined to try again. I will let you know how it turns out.

I purchased one at an auction held by DH's cousin, who's a junk and antique picker/collector/dealer. She told me to bake the cake with the mold closed, but I haven't tried using it yet. It's up at my place in Tahlequah, which doesn't do me any good now. One of these days I'll try using it. I think the way y'all do, in two parts with icing in the middle would make for a tastier cake.

Linda, with the original box, yours would be quite valuable, I bet.

Sally

One of my aunts used to make a lamb cake every Easter and, as kids, we LOVED it!

I was curious to see what the value of a vintage lamb cake pan was, so I headed over to eBay and found a vintage Griswold lamb cake pan where the bidding starts at $99.00!

Lodge made a cast iron bundt pan which they offered until about 2002. It comes up occasionally on ebay. I know there are fakes/reproductions of the Griswold Santa pan, Rabbit pan and Lamb pan. I have no idea how to identify the reproductions but since there's no way I'd be paying mega-bucks for a cake mold, for me it's not an issue.

You might consider a homemade Baker's Pan Coating, which won't leave the residue Pam does. It works extremely well with cast iron.

1 part shortening, 1 part flour, 1 part oil. Whip the shortening till fluffy. Add the flour and beat well then the oil. Finished texture should be like soft buttercream.

Store in the fridge and apply with a basting brush. It works better with bundt pans and molds than any commercial product I've tried.

Carol

That's very helpful, Carol. Thank you.

Sally

I know some might have objections to the shortening (though looking at the ingredient list of some spray coatings doesn't inspire confidence either) but the pan grease uses very little. Since shortening is what's used to refurbish old rusted or neglected cast iron, it's perfect for this purpose and will help reduce the sticking long-term.

Carol

Thank you to the responders...I thought I should show the finished product..no one will ever confuse me with Martha Stewart, but the grandkids will like it. I did lose the ears (again) but formed these out of cake crumbs and icing and performed a transplant. Must remember to remove the toothpicks before serving.

Happy Easter!

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I think he's a cutie. I'll bet the grands loved it.

You might have fun reading this blog entry about another baker's adventures with a lamb mold!

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Adventures in Cake with a Lamb Mold

My mother just gave me her grandmother's cast iron mold. I don't recall her ever baking a cake in it in all my 45 years but she did tell me never to forget to place half a toothpick in each ear and the nose or I would lose them. Now...in today's world...that's a dangerous risk and unheard of but I guess it's what her grandmother and mother did. The pan she gave me has a lot of residue and some dust. What is the best way to clean it?

boonikki: My mother used to make the lamb cakes for all the kids/grands and I've just purchased a vintage Griswold cast iron lamb mold and want to try this cake. I found a web-site that seems to do a good job of explaining what to do to keep the head on plus all the other things to do to keep this cake in one piece and delicious at the same time. The web address is midcenturymenu.com. She has a recipe for the cake and frosting also-I think she made seven or eight cakes in a short amount of time to work out the bugs-Good Luck and do come back and share how it turned out. Oh, see I answered all but what you asked!! The other website that tells about cleaning is: atgrandmastable.wordpress.com

Having borrowed my aunts lamb mold so often, she gave me one for a shower gift. It is now older than my kids and I still love it! If you have the original box it came in you should also have the cake recipe. If not, you can pick it up on line. The cake needs to be dense - like a pound cake in order to used both halves properly. AND - as for the ears, if you lay toothpicks along the batter it will hold them stiff - a pop stick will do the same for problems with the neck

Good Luck!!