Easy Lamb Cake {With Marshmallows}
Easy Easter lamb cake without mold, homemade with simple ingredients. Covered in white buttercream icing and mini marshmallows. Step by step tutorial included.
This is a fun tradition to begin with your family and remember why Easter was originally celebrated. You don’t have to have a fancy or expensive pan, either! Simply use the round cake pans you likely already have and make this delicious cake for the festivities. You can also check out these other ideas for more fun: Easter Bunny Cake Topper, Easter Egg Cake, and Easter Cake Ideas.
Table of contents
What Does the Lamb Cake Symbolize (Origin, Tradition)?
In the years before Jesus Christ, Christians traditionally sacrificed pure, white, unmarred, male lambs as a burnt offering to the Lord. When Christ was born and then sacrificed his life on the cross at Calvary, He became the ultimate sacrifice and is therefor referred to as “the sacrificial lamb” or “The Lamb of God.” On Easter Sunday, people from Europe, mainly Germany, bake a cake in the shape of this animal (there is no meat) to remember the Savior. This tradition lives on through immigrants who came to America, particularly in the Chicago area.
How to Make Easy Lamb Cake Without Mold?
- Prepare cakes- Bake and cool completely.
- Make frosting- Be sure to have white and black.
- Fill and ice cakes- With white frosting.
- Apply mini marshmallows– Along the sides and top edges of the cake.
- Make features– With black icing.
- Top it off- With a pink jelly bean for the nose and a ribbon bow on top.
- Push in- Two small ears out of pink cardboard.
Variations for Vintage Lamb Cake With Marshmallows
Use a filling– Sometimes people enjoy putting a red jelly filling in the center to further represent the sacrificial lamb. You can use Strawberry Jam, Raspberry Pie Filling, or Cherry Pie Filling.
Try other frostings- I used the White American Buttercream Frosting, but you can also use other white frostings, such as Marshmallow Frosting, Cream Cheese Frosting, or White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. You could even use Stabilized Whipped Cream or this Sugar Free Frosting.
Cupcake “cake“- Another way to make this dessert without a shaped pan, though this is less traditional. Make a few dozen Vanilla Cupcakes, frost them with white frosting of your choice, then arrange them to look like a lamb, adding the facial piping features as well.
Add flavored extracts- To the cake and to give a different flavor, such as lemon, maple, almond, peppermint, or butterscotch.
Use different cake flavors- You can also choose different flavors of cake, such as vanilla, chocolate, Devils food cake, lemon, or pistachio.
Use larger or mini marshmallows– Switch things up a bit by using different sizes of marshmallows for the decoration to represent fur.
Make a fondant bow instead of a ribbon bow- If you have the time, you may want to try making a bow out of fondant by following this tutorial.
Gender swap- Make a boy lamb and skip the bow or turn that into a bow tie.
Instead of marshmallows– Pipe little swirls with a star tip and white frosting to create a similar effect.
Tips and Techniques
Use pre-made features– Instead of piping the facial features or using a jelly bean nose, you can purchase pre-made plastic items to place on your cake for a fast and easy finish. They sell these at online cake decorating stores.
Completely cool cake before decorating– Because otherwise the frosting will melt on a warm cake, making a mess rather than the beautifully frosted cake you desire.
Stick marshmallows on directly after frosting– Because they will stick to the frosting and stay on the cake. However, if you wait for the frosting to dry and then try to add the marshmallows, you’ll have to search for a different method for getting them to stick on because the icing creates a light crust. Don’t wait!
Save time- By making all the frostings and gathering all the decorating ingredients while the cakes bake and cool.
Fondant ears vs. Cardboard or paper ears– Either can be used. It just depends on how much time you have. Fondant ears will have to dry for a few hours to become hard and hold their shape. Firm paper is just quick and convenient.
Storage
Fridge- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezer- You can place unfrosted cakes and frostings in sealed containers for up to 1 month. Then, thaw everything in fridge overnight and decorate, as per instructions below.
More Easter desserts
- Pinata Robin Egg Cake
- Peeps Cake
- Easter Chocolate Nest
- Easter Chick Cupcake
- Church Window Cookies
- Peanut Butter Eggs
Easy Easter Lamb Cake
Ingredients
- 2 Carrot cake, Round, Dimensions: 8×2 each
- 3-4 cups White American buttercream frosting
- 1 bag Mini marshmallows , 10 oz. bag
- 1/3 cup Black frosting
- 1 Pink jelly bean
Instructions
- Bake cakes and allow them to cool completely.
- While the cakes and baking and cooling, prepare the white and black frosting.
- Place one cake on a serving dish.
- Use a spatula to spread white icing on top of the cake.
- Place the other cake on top of the icing and press gently.
- Cover the entire cake smoothly in white icing.
- Stick mini marshmallows along the sides of the cake completely and a bit along the top edges.
- Fill a piping bag with black icing and snip the corner with scissors to make a small opening.
- Pipe eyes and mouth on top of the cake with a steady hand. You can replace the piping with pre-made plastic eyes, mouth, nose features. They can easily be found online or at cake decorating stores.
- Stick a pink jelly bean in center for the nose.
- Stick a ribbon bow on top with some white icing.
- Cut out two small ears out of pink cardboard or craft paper and push them into the sides of the side and you are done. Enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Thank you so much! I made this for my daughter’s birthday and it was a huge hit. Everyone was so impressed!
This is the cutest cake!! Reminds me of Lamb Chop!! My kids would pick off all the marshmallows!