When I arrived home from Indiana, there was a box on the doorstep!
Not a big box, but not a small one either! At first glace, I thought it must be the books I had media mailed home from Baton Rouge (That have still not shown up!!)But there was a customs form on the box....and I got all excited!
The name Petra was on the box. Do I know anyone named Petra? Yes, but this wasn't the same Petra, this box had been mailed from Germany!
I quickly took it into the kitchen to open it up and see what is inside....a lovely wrapped box with a long type written letter telling me what was in the present, and why it was being sent to me!
Petra said:
Dear Bonnie,
I read and enjoy your blog now for over two years and it is great fun and information. It seems to me that you like things which evoke memories of childhood and life as it used to be many years ago.
Therefore I decided to share some of my memories with you. When I was a little girl my mother always baked a cake for Easter which had the form of a lamb. This wonderful smelling lamb had eyes made of little raisins and was dusted with icing sugar. It sat in a basket filled with hay and pinned in its shoulder was a small embroidered flag with Christian symbols on it. When the lamb appeared on the sideboard (I never saw my mother baking it) I knew that Easter was to come soon! (And naturally the Easter bunny with his eggs and chocolates.)
Nowadays I bake biscuit lambs myself and I like it very much. I have inherited some old moulds from my grannies which are really beautiful.
I'm not sure if the custom of making biscuit lambs is known in the US, but if not, perhaps you like to try it. Therefore I packed a little parcel for you.
My Auntie gave one of her moulds to me many years ago. It is not so old as those I got from my grannies but it is in good condition and gives the cake a nice form.
On the backside of the box of the mould you will find a recipe in English.. I never tried it. I have my own one, which you will find included.
And I have also embroidered a little flag! On the front side you can see the paschal lab, on teh rear side there is a blooming heart and the abbreviation IHS for "In Hoc Signo Vinces"
I hope you like it and enjoy a wonderful Easter with your family.
With love from Germany,
Petra
Oh my GOODNESS! I read the letter, opened up the package and found the mould in it's original box! just LOOK!! Isn't this the most fun thing for Easter? So guess what I will "ATTEMPT" to do tomorrow! I will probably end up with lamb PARTS because I am severely challenged at getting any cake to come out of a pan in one piece..*LOL* But I will try!
Thank you Petra! This is such a special gift and I will cherish it for Easters to come! (I mailed your books today too so be looking for them soon!)
SO..this got me thinking! What Easter (or Passover) customs do you have that were passed down to you from your beloved relatives?
18 comments:
What a wonderful surprise, another
kind and thoughtful person like you
in the world. Enjoy, even if the lamb
is in pieces. Have a good holiday.
This is a lovely surprise for you, but it made me smile, then nearly laugh out loud, remembering my grandmother who had made a lamb cake one year when we were young, and kept the very same cake for years and years, until it petrified. Every Easter it would come out of the china cabinet and my brothers and I would make slightly horrified jokes to ourselves (never to my dear Nana whom we all loved). Do be sure to eat up your lamb cake, Bonnie!
What a beautiful surprise. Bet you were out of words!
*LOL* @Krisi's comment...petrified lamb cake? Is this the cousin to the dreaded fruit cake that keeps coming around each Christmas? :D
That is so sweet. I'm glad you shared that with us and thanks to Petra for sending it to you.
Bonnie, Someone told me about using Pam or Baker's Joy spray with flour. Make sure it says "with flour". It's great for cakes and I haven't had one stick in the pan since I've used this stuff. Happy Easter and have fun!
Oh fun things like dying eggs with my 6 siblings, getting dressed up in our new Easter outfits.....getting our pictures taken........sharing all the Easter candy....smelling the
huge ham cooking.....having a terrific meal with my large family and giving thanks that Christ has Risen!
Happy Easter
Wow...that is a wonderful present.
My paternal grandma also made lambs cakes at Easter. We didn't live nearby so it was rare when I did get to see her. Of the few memories I have of her, grandpa and her home, the lambs cakes are one of them.
Thanks for the reminder of some cherished memories.
Oh, how sweet!
Dear Petra, you have offered a wonderful gift. We all wish we had friends like you from over the pond.
I remember an EAster lamb in my past, but cannot recall who it was that made it.
I'll be on the lookout for my own lamb mould, so that I can continue the tradition.
When I was small we used to go into the North End of Boston on Good Friday. It was the Italian part of the city and had a great market, bakeries and candy stores. In the windows of the bakeries were wonderful lamb cakes, bunny cakes and bread with colored eggs baked on them.
Good luck with the cake...I used a pound cake recipe when I used a similar mold and it worked out well...
I too have a lamb cake mold, and have successfully used a boxed pound cake mix to fill it. Yes, grease and FLOUR the mold. The nose goes down on a cookie sheet, fill that half, push a toothpick flat in each ear to strengthen it, set the back half of the mold on top, and bake. Usually I have to trim the edges after it is baked.
We frosted it with whipped cream and served fresh strawberry sauce to give it some flavor.
Not from my childhood, but something I began for MY kids.
In my childhood the main special things were a new pair of white cotton gloves to wear to church and a large [three inch] chocolate egg from my aunt.
I don't have any memories of Easter, but the lamb mold is so sweet! What a nice gesture of friendship.
Happy Easter to you and your family, I too have the same cake tin, when we left Germany
1983 to come to Australia I just had to take it with me.
cheers
Christine
what a wonderful gift and a wonderful tradition! Lane
How adorable !! Mmm Mmmmmm cakes sounds so good right now!!!
Although not the healthiest way to do things I know, but the way to be certain to get your cake out of the mold is wrap a paper towel around your fingers (so they don't get greasy) get a glob of margarine/crisco/soft butter and rub it all around the pan making sure you get the sides, top and around the outside edges of the rim really good and greased up. Then hold the pan over the trashcan and sprinkle flour all over - tap the mold here and there so that flour coats all the sides and edges and dump the excess out. Pour your batter in and when it comes out of the oven you should be able to just take a butter knife to loosen it and it will come out beautifully. I've never had any problems with this... but I also have a very large behind. ; )
My husbands family have a tradition of rolling their Easter eggs down a coulee hill on the farm. I have been doing it with them for the last 36 Easters. My children and now my grandchildren love it and can't wait to see who can throw their egg the farthest without breaking it. Of course the salt and pepper shakers go up the hill also. And I don't know who has the most fun --- the children or the adults!
I don't think it would be Easter in Austria without a lamb cake either! We also get cut pussywillow branches and put them in a vase and put little egg decorations on them! We always eat a ham dinner with asperagus, green beans, carrots, roasted potatoes with rosemary... and cake with strawberries for dessert. Holiday meals are so special! Have fun making your 1st lamb cake!
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