Easter is just around the corner and you are already thinking about what to treat the taste buds with? One of the sweet treats that should not be missing from your table is Easter lamb cake. If you've been baking it for years, you probably have your own tried and tested family-favourite recipe. If you're making it for the first time this year, or you'd like to try something new, we've got a recipe that even the most seasoned gourmets will love.
A sweet pastry in the shape of a lamb is usually baked in several European countries - in addition to Slovakia and the Czech Republic, it can also be found on the Easter table in Poland, Germany and France. This custom of eating lamb at Easter is based on the Jewish tradition of sacrificing and consuming a lamb during the Jewish holiday of Pesach. During this holiday of so-called unleavened bread or Passover, the Jews sacrificed a lamb to God for their sins and in gratitude for their liberation from Egyptian slavery. The Christian tradition also draws on the Jewish tradition - the lamb, due to its innocence and gentleness, is a symbol of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who, according to Christian tradition, was crucified on Good Friday and rose from the dead on the third day. During the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, it is customary to have a baked lamb blessed in church and then bring it home to sit on the festively laid Easter table. Together with Easter eggs, it will create a perfect Easter atmosphere in your home and tickle all sweet tooth with its taste. It is usually eaten from the tail down, so that it retains its dignified appearance for as long as possible.
Lamb was once available in Slovakia, but over time, lamb farming declined rapidly and only richer bourgeois families could afford a real lamb made of meat and bones. Poorer families began to consume its cheaper variant – made of flour, eggs, snow and sugar. It used to be baked from a butter dough, but nowadays you can choose whether to bake lamb from sponge cake, grated, whipped cream, marble, gluten-free or – like us – from cottage cheese dough.
Before preparing the dough, grab a baking pan. Lightly grease a silicone one with oil so that the dough does not burn. If you are using a cast-iron or ceramic pan, grease it thoroughly with butter and sprinkle with flour. To ensure that you don't miss any folds and that the baked lamb cake can be easily lifted out of the pan without any accidents, the well-known experts recommend that you grease the pan with melted butter, not solid butter. Let it set and then sprinkle the pan with flour
Take the ingredients out of the refrigerator about an hour before baking so that they reach room temperature. This will help the ingredients to combine better and the dough will have the perfect consistency.
The lamb cake should be all white – either give it a sweet white glaze or sprinkle it generously with sugar. You can make the white glaze by mixing lemon juice and powdered sugar. You can also sprinkle the lamb with almonds. For a bite, it will be covered with chocolate glaze decorated with coconut, which resembles shaggy fur. Put something green in its mouth, such as chives, a sprig of thyme or sprouts. Use nuts, almonds or raisins for eyes. You can achieve a festive look by tying a colourful ribbon around its neck. Serve it on a bowl surrounded by decorated Easter eggs.
If you love tender recipes, this lamb cake is the right one for you. Thanks to the cottage cheese, the dough is fresh and does not dry out. 
Ingredients: 250 g cottage cheese, 3 egg yolks, 3 tablespoons sugar, 6 tablespoons melted butter, 3 egg whites for whipping, 3 tablespoons plain flour, baking powder, raisins or candied fruit for the dough and for the eyes
Preparing this Easter treat will be a breeze with the help of a handy hand mixer, such as the Orava SL-150.
How to do it:
We wish you a beautiful Easter and bon Appetit!
Photo source: Orava, GettyImages.com, receptykulinarium.sk
Recipe source: gurman.sk
