Early Osterlamm

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Lucie and I were making antique store rounds in Fort Collins and Loveland, I found this:



I said, "Look Lucie, a chocolate mold from Germany!" She said, "No, that is a cake pan from Germany." Later in the day, we also found cast iron cake pans, quite more substantial. This one will do for now.

Since I gave you enough time before Easter to shop for a tin to make one for yourself, here is a link to start your search.

http://www.cake-pan.net/227/kaiser-nonstick-noblesse-lamb-mold/



The pan comes apart, prepare it by greasing and flouring both sides. Fit the sides back together with the provided clips and place "upside-down" on a parchment lined baking sheet. Some of the batter does find it's way out of the pan, not too bad though.



I used this recipe, mostly:

http://germanfoodguide.com/recipes.cfm?recipe_number=113

The only thing I did differently was, use vanilla extract in place of the "packet of vanilla sugar" I also used more coconut, almost double.

Fill with prepared batter and bake. The above recipe said 40 minutes but mine needed an additional 20 minutes at least.



I had to do a bit of surgery on the head, it didn't release as perfectly as the rest of the cake. There was also a trimming of the "top" before it was released from the pan, so it had a flat surface to sit on.



I have seen these decorated with icing, coconut and jelly beans. Maybe a few piped chocolate flowers. The best way to start though, is with a dusting of icing sugar.

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"Easter is the only time of the year when it's perfectly safe to put all your eggs in one basket." -unknown




"The tradition of eating lamb or ham at Easter finds its roots in pagan times. Pagans would preserve meat to eat throughout the winter. By the time spring arrived and livestock began to reproduce, people would eat the last of the cured or salted meat, knowing that there would soon be more. Lamb is also directly associated with Jesus, called the "lamb of God.""


Read more: Pagan Easter Food Traditions | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6910694_pagan-easter-food-traditions.html#ixzz1kbUgRpba