I love Easter, and always have. Jelly beans, malted eggs, chocolate bunnies—it’s all magic to me. Growing up, my mother would put together elaborate Easter baskets for me and my siblings, complete with solid chocolate bunnies, marshmallow eggs and all the
trimmings. She’d place the baskets next to our beds sometime in the middle of the night so they’d be there, in all their frivolous glory, when we woke up early Easter morning. After breakfast we’d dress up in our new pastel colored dresses and Easter hats and head off to
church, dreaming of our goodies at home throughout the interminable service. When we got home, the Easter sweets were a free-fire zone, though my mother gave us frequent warnings about eating too much of them before dinner. Dinner always featured a
leg of lamb with mint jelly, followed by a dopey-looking lamb-shaped cake, covered with vanilla frosting and sprinkled with coconut, and with jelly beans for eyes. Every time a see a lamb-shaped cake, my childhood memories of Easter come flooding
back, and I’m filled with happiness.
I don’t have that lamb mold anymore, but I think of that cake every Easter. Yes, I could get a new lamb mold, but it would never be the same--better just to remember it fondly. This year I decided to create a new Easter cake memory, and here’s my offering. Yes, it’s a
silly looking cake, festooned with malted eggs, jelly beans and bunny-shaped cookies, but that’s the way I like my Easter cakes. And this one also happens to be delicious, which the lamb cake probably never was. Happy Easter everyone!
