And the little lamb shaped butters seem to be a chicago or at least a midwest tradition.

toria wrote:And the little lamb shaped butters seem to be a chicago or at least a midwest tradition.

Butter lambs aren't limited to Chicago or the Midwest. The Easter tradition of butter lambs (and lamb cakes) is strong in Buffalo NY. Here are a few photos from Ma Malczewski's stand, only open around Easter, at Buffalo's Broadway Market. I was there a few years ago just after Easter so I missed the lambs and Dorothy Malczewski, the butter lamb lady.





Butter lambs and lamb cakes are most commonly found in areas with a strong Eastern European (especially Polish) presence, not only in Chicago.

Lamb cakes are produced by amateur bakers from all over the US, and found in bakeries everywhere, as well (I recall seeing the pro products in the bakery department of Smitty's, a now-defunct AZ chain of grocery stores, way back in the early 70's). Regarding the homemade product, here's a fun little gallery of products from kitchens literally from coast to coast, as well as one baked in New Zealand. I did note that some are listed as being birthday cakes.

sundevilpeg wrote:Lamb cakes are produced by amateur bakers from all over the US, and found in bakeries everywhere, as well (I recall seeing the pro products in the bakery department of Smitty's, a now-defunct AZ chain of grocery stores, way back in the early 70's). Regarding the homemade product, here's a fun little gallery of products from kitchens literally from coast to coast, as well as one baked in New Zealand. I did note that some are listed as being birthday cakes.

It has been my experience, there are people beyond Chicago who have no clue what we are talking about when it comes to lamb cake. When I meet someone from a different region of the United States, I will ask them about their Easter dessert traditions. Of course, it is a rather startling question which often has them asking me why. I then begin relate about the Easter lamb cakes in bakeries and grocery stores in the Chicago area. Either they know of a similar tradition in their area or they think I am joking.

When I visited Wilton a few years ago, I inquired if they had any stats on regional sales of lamb cakes. They suggested I contact Michael's craft stores who distribute their lamb cake molds. I have never quite gotten around to that.

Next week I will be in South Dakota, whose state dessert is kuchen, I will ask them about the Easter traditions. If there is some lineage to German cuisine, they may know it. While I am not in a position to dispute Rene G's thoughts, I do recall quite of a bit of Poland and Eastern Europe were under the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.

Regards,

Cathy - my first generation German paternal grandmother left me her recipe for blueberry kuchen. I have treasured it and served slightly modified versions of it as pastry chef of both now defunct restaurants Soul Kitchen and Wolfgang Puck's Grand Cafe in Evanston. It has always been well received. I look forward to your thoughts on South Dakota kitchen.

Hi,

At mushroom club the other night, I met a guy whose Czech family owned a bakery in Cleveland, OH. They made Easter lamb cakes from heavy cast iron molds. Almost all were destroyed when the bakery burned down.

Their family slicing tradition was one I had never heard of, though it made a lot of sense. They eat the head and tail end last. They begin slicing at the shoulder and moving toward the tail. When stopped serving, they move the tail section up to the shoulder. This keeps the cake moist until the very end.

Regards,

Thank goodness we have them. If you are making one this year please post the pic. I do not know if I will get up the energy to make a lamb cake.

Cathy2 wrote:Their family slicing tradition was one I had never heard of, though it made a lot of sense. They eat the head and tail end last. They begin slicing at the shoulder and moving toward the tail. When stopped serving, they move the tail section up to the shoulder. This keeps the cake moist until the very end.

I feel sorry for the children in that family for being deprived of the highlight of Easter dinner: the beheading of the lamb cake.

OMG! I thought we were the only ones with the sacred tradition of beheading the lamb.

Rene G wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Their family slicing tradition was one I had never heard of, though it made a lot of sense. They eat the head and tail end last. They begin slicing at the shoulder and moving toward the tail. When stopped serving, they move the tail section up to the shoulder. This keeps the cake moist until the very end.

I feel sorry for the children in that family for being deprived of the highlight of Easter dinner: the beheading of the lamb cake.]

Hi,

I brought up the ceremonial beheading, which is when I learned of their method.

Until I saw it here, I never knew there was this beheading of the lamb, too. We ate the cake from the tail to the head. Tail was prized because of all the extra frosting as well as the head. Never occurred to us there was this ceremony.

Of course, I have my own twist by using red velvet cake for the interior cake instead of pure white cake. I don't know many who do what I do.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

Rene G wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Their family slicing tradition was one I had never heard of, though it made a lot of sense. They eat the head and tail end last. They begin slicing at the shoulder and moving toward the tail. When stopped serving, they move the tail section up to the shoulder. This keeps the cake moist until the very end.

I feel sorry for the children in that family for being deprived of the highlight of Easter dinner: the beheading of the lamb cake.]

Hi,

I brought up the ceremonial beheading, which is when I learned of their method.

Until I saw it here, I never knew there was this beheading of the lamb, too. We ate the cake from the tail to the head. Tail was prized because of all the extra frosting as well as the head. Never occurred to us there was this ceremony.

Of course, I have my own twist by using red velvet cake for the interior cake instead of pure white cake. I don't know many who do what I do.

Regards,

Nobody is able to, even remotely, do what you do, Cathy2. You are unique and we love you for it.

How about a red velvet lamb cake this year? Think of the impact when you chop it's head off!

bean wrote:Nobody is able to, even remotely, do what you do, Cathy2. You are unique and we love you for it.

Thanks!