Polish Easter Lamb Cake Recipe
Symbolic of the Risen Christ, the Polish Easter Lamb Cake or Baranek Wielkanocny is a dense and delicious cake that’s almost too pretty to eat!
The traditional meaning behind the Polish Easter Lamb Cake
Baranek Wielkanocny is a traditional cake shaped like a lamb that plays a central part on polish dining tables during Easter every year.
Together with colorful Easter eggs, bread, and other Easter food samplings, the Polish Easter Lamb Cake is put into a basket and taken by children and their parents to church for a ceremony called “the blessing of the Easter basket”
This is a very strong tradition followed by the Catholic church in Poland dating back to the 12th century.
The Easter Lamb Cake in itself is meant to represent Jesus Christ, who sacrificed his life on the cross and then resurrected on the third day after his death.
Lamb is associated with sacrifice, gentleness, purity, unjustified suffering, and the triumph of life over death.
Tips For Making The Best Easter Lamb Cake
- Leave a few inches empty at the top of the mold so that the batter doesn’t overflow.
- Allow the cake to cool a little before removing it from the pan.
- You can add candied peel or raisins to the cake dough.
- To place the lamb on a bed of edible grass, mix some sweetened shredded coconut with green food color.
- Tie a red bow around the neck of the lamb to make it look pretty.
- You can either sprinkle the lamb with powdered sugar or cover it with frosting.
FAQs about Making Easter Lamb Cake
What are the other names for lamb cake?
The Polish lamb cake is called Agnuszek or Baranek Wielkanocny.
Why are lamb cakes made for Easter?
Lamb cakes represent Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God who sacrificed himself for us on Good Friday. They are made at Easter to celebrate His resurrection.
What other countries eat lamb cake for Easter?
Lamb cake is eaten by a few different cultures. The Italians call it Torta di Agnello, the Germans call it Osterlamm Kuchen, and in Alsatian France, it’s called Lamala.
Where can I find the lamb cake mold?
The traditional lamb cake mold is available on Amazon here. If you want something easier, you can buy this Nordicware 3D cake mold. It allows you to bake the two halves separately and then stick them together with frosting or buttercream if you wish.
What other Polish dishes are eaten for Easter?
Other Polish Easter dishes include:
- Pane di Pasqua Easter bread
- Barszcz Czerwony
- Jajka Faszerowane, which are Polish stuffed eggs
- Zurek, a sour rye soup
- Kielbasa, especially white sausage
- Jarzynowa salad
- Chocolate babka cake
- Makowiec roll
How to store Polish Easter lamb cake?
Cover the lamb cake with a cake dome and store it in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
Easter Lamb Cake
Symbolic of the Risen Christ, the Polish Easter Lamb Cake or baranek wielkanocny is a dense and delicious cake that's almost too pretty to eat!
Ingredients
- 4 oz of soft butter
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup of flour
- 1 tbsp of potato flour
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- powdered sugar for sprinkling lamb
- 1 teaspoon of butter for the mold/form
- 1 teaspoon of flour for the mold/form
- few drops of almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat to over to 345 F.
- Cream the butter with the sugar until fluffy by using a mixer. While mixing, add one egg at a time. Add flour & baking powder in batches and mix on low speed. Finally, I add a few drops of almond extract.
- Prepare the lamb mold by spreading the butter inside it and covering it with flour on top of the spread butter.
- Close the mold and fill it with the dough to 3/4 of its height (do not fill it to the very edge because the dough will expand during baking). Bake for 45 minutes on the lowest rack of the oven.
- Open the mold and cool down the lamb and sprinkle with powdered sugar. You can chop the bottom to stand him up.
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