Easter Lamb Cake with White Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

• POUND CAKE:
• 12 TBLSP (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 TBLSP sour cream, room temperature
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 TBLSP vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• WHITE BUTTERCREAM
• 1 cup butter, salted
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 4 - 5 TBLSP heavy cream
• 1 TBLSP vanilla
• pinch of salt
• GLAZE FOR LAMB FACE
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 TBLSP heavy cream
• pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease the heck out of both sides of the lamb mold with butter or shortening making sure to get into all the crevasses and then flour pan so it has a very light coating of flour. Place the front half of the mold (the face of the lamb) face down on a foil-lined baking sheet so you can fill the cavity. The mold I have has a small hole on the back half of the mold, which allows steam to escape as the cake bakes.

2. FOR THE POUND CAKE:
   Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter on medium for about a minute, then add cream cheese and beat for another minute, scraping side of bowl as necessary. Add sugar and beat on medium until combined, then add sour cream and vanilla and beat on medium until combined and creamy about 1 - 2 minutes, scraping side of bowl as necessary. With mixer on low, add eggs one at a time, mixing each until combined.

3. Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With mixer on low, slowly add flour mixture and mix just until combined. Remove bowl from mixer and with a silicone spatula, give the side and bottom of the bowl a good scrape to make sure everything is mixed well. Pour batter into front of the mold (with face), then place the back of the mold on top. Place baking sheet with mold on middle rack of over and bake for 65 - 70 minutes. Let cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Then carefully remove the top mold then turn the cake and carefully remove the other mold. Let cake cool completely before frosting.

4. FOR THE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
   With stand mixer (or you can use a hand mixer), beat butter on medium for about 1 minute. On low, add powdered sugar and salt, then beat for 1 minute. Increase speed to medium/high and beat for additional 2 minutes. Add heavy cream and vanilla and beat on high for additional 3 minutes. If too thick, add a small out of heavy cream.

5. FOR THE GLAZE:
   Add powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla and salt to small bowl and whisk until well combined and smooth (no lumps). It should be thin enough to spread a light glaze of the face and ears of the lamb cake. NOTE: Instead of using the buttercream, you can glaze the entire lamb cake, it makes for a more elegant look. When we opt to simply glaze the pound cake, we use the following glaze recipe: In a medium bowl, whisk (or mix with hand mixer) 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, 3 TBLSP melted butter, 2 TBLSP heavy cream, 2-3 TBLSP half and half, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and pinch of salt, until well combined and smooth with no lumps.

6. ASSEMBLY:
   Glaze the face and front side of the ears (it is easier to do this while the cake is laying down). Let dry for at least 5 minutes. Then with a tip of a knife, make the nose and mouth. You can also make the eyes, although we used M&Ms for the eyes for the lamb that is pictured (see below).

7. Stand the lamb cake on your serving plate, you may need to trim the bottom so it will stand. Also, you may want to put a couple dabs of buttercream on the bottom of the lamb cake to help it stay standing on the plate. You can apply the buttercream with a knife to fully cover the lamb, with the exception of the glazed area. For the lamb cake as pictured, we applied the buttercream using a pastry bag with a large star tip, making swirls of buttercream over the entire lamb cake surface, with the exception of the glazed area. For the eyes, we used brown M&Ms - dab one side of the M&Ms with buttercream (I dabbed the side with the M ) to adhere the M&M to the face.

8. We dyed shredded coconut green (place shredded coconut in a large baggie with a few drops of green food coloring, then closed the baggies and shake it until the coconut is evenly colored). Place the dyed coconut around the lamb and sprinkle with jellybeans, if desired, to make a festive presentation.

   You are now ready to slice and Enjoy!

9. LOAF ALTERNATIVE:
   If you are just looking for a good pound cake without all the work of a lamb cake, use a 9" x 5" greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 65 -70 minutes. If it starts browning too quickly, loosely tent with aluminum foil at around 45 minutes.