Every March/April since my niece Christina was a little girl, we make our annual “Spring Lamb” cake baked in a mold that was handed down to my mom, by her Grandmom Brady.

I love that now we’re able to continue this family tradition with my niece’s baby girl, Naminé Noel (my great-niece). My Nami girl, as I affectionately call her, may only be 7 1/2 months old, but I’m sure she’ll enjoy getting her cute little hands all messy with cake batter or frosting when “helping” her mommy and me bake this year’s cake. I encourage you to share your special family recipes and traditions with the children in your life, or have fun creating new ones! Happy Spring!

Spring Lamb Cake
1 box (15.25 oz.) yellow or white cake mix or organic cake mix
3 (12 oz.) containers whipped vanilla frosting or homemade buttercream frosting
1 (14 oz.) bag shredded sweetened coconut
Green food coloring, for decorating purposes
Chocolate chips, for eyes and nose
1 bag of jellybeans, for decorating purposes

Preheat oven to 350°. In a bowl, prepare cake mix per directions on package. Grease lamb molds with nonstick cooking spray.

Divide batter equally between the two molds. Bake per directions on cake mix package or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in mold for three to five minutes, turn cakes out onto serving dishes. Allow cakes to completely cool, then frost. Using the shredded coconut, sprinkle all over one of the lamb cakes until fully covered. Add two chocolate chips for the eyes, and one chocolate chip for the nose. For the second lamb cake just frost but omit coconut, add eyes and nose using chocolate chips.

In a bowl, add some shredded coconut, and a few drops of green food coloring, stir, add more food coloring until your coconut reaches the color of green grass. Add the green coconut “grass” to the bottom of the lamb cakes to make it look like they are laying on it. Sprinkle jellybeans throughout the coconut “grass” if desired.

Note: The lamb cake mold I use is very old but there are similar ones online. I personally don’t make the lamb cake as one cake, but fill both sides of the mold with batter, and bake them as two separate cakes; it serves more people, they’re much easier to make and decorate, and I can serve one without coconut for those who don’t care for it. n

Lisa Ann Panzino DiNunzio is author of Seasoned With Love, Treasured Recipes, Lisa Ann’s Seasoned With Love II, and children’s books Snicker Learns An Important Lesson and Readers’ Favorite 5-Star rated Little Twinkle Learns Her Purpose.