Meet Ewenice

Looks a little sleepy, doesn't she?

As children, some of us  grew up with pets, such as cats, dogs and canaries. And then, there was that  kid who preferred less conventional animals like horses, rabbits  and sheep – I was that kid.

From my aunt, who raised sheep and chickens, to an uncle who owned horses, to my godfather who raised rabbits, I was fortunate enough as a kid to have a free, lifetime pass to a menagerie.

For years, I prayed for any of these animals to "follow" me home from school. But now I know that's not possible,  as I no longer go to school . . .
But I  still love my 'pets.'  And I still love cake  And so, I give you,  Ewenice, with her sweet black face.

 I could've dusted off some old lamb cake molds, but chose an 8-nch hemisphere pan to bake this cake.  This way, you too can make her, or any other fluffy critter of your choosing, from any size bowl you like, without the need for special equipment.
The lamb's head was just a cupcake. It was attached by inserting a wooden skewer  into the cupcake and right through the body.

The face was covered in fondant. Ears, hooves and flowers were also fondant.  Buttercream covered the cake, which was piped with a Wilton's 1M pastry tip. But any star or round pastry tip will be fine.

Unfortunately I don't have enough space for all the animals I love. But there will always be enough room for my two cats . . . and other, smaller collections. Enter baby silver cups. Tell me you love them too, or  I'll be disappointed.

This American sterling silver cup with the Peter Rabbit handle (by Saart Brothers Silver Co.) still makes me swoon with delight . . . was that too Stepford-y?

But I digress. If you're baking a cake this Sunday, allow me to put a sway in your Easter basket.  This recipe was slightly adapted by adding the zest of one orange. The cake is fragrant and deliciously moist, with an assertive citrus kick  (Btw, I omitted the orange glaze  because I used my Whipped Buttercream  to cover the cake). 

Found the recipe here: Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.

VANILLA YOGURT CAKE with ORANGE GLAZE

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, seed scraped out, pod discarded
1 ½ TBSP vanilla extract
7 oz Greek Yogurt
½ cup vegetable oil
Grated zest of one orange
4 TBSP orange juice, divided

Spray two 6 x 3.2 x 3.4 inch loaf pans with baking spray. Or coat with butter and flour.

Preheat oven to 350F.
Using a stand mixer, beat together the egg, egg yolk, and sugar on medium-high speed, until it turns pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla beans, vanilla extract, and oil, beat another minute, until incorporated.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

With the mixer on low speed, add half the amount of dry ingredients. Then add half the amount of Greek yogurt, and 2 TBSP of the orange juice. Add remaining dry ingredients and followed by the remaining yogurt. Remove from mixer and finish mixing by hand using a spatula until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Pour into prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Remove from oven. Using a toothpick or large wooden skewer poke holes into the cake. Using a pastry brush, brush orange juice over hot loaves.
Let cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan. Place on wire rack to finish cooling. When cool, glaze cakes.

Orange Glaze

2 cups sifted powdered sugar
6 TBSP orange juice

Combine together with a whisk. Pour over cakes.

Happy Easter  Friends!