Lamb Mold

SJanous

New member
I inherited a lamb mold and interested in finding someone who has a mold with vents in the front and bakes with it. I have not found a recipe that will give me enough rise" to fill the head of the lamb face. I tried turning the mold during baking, but if its too soon batter just runs out. Too far in the cooking process and batter has set. I have resorted to putting aluminum foil in the openings and a small ball on the outside to prevent the batter from leaking.

Here are a couple of pictures of the lamb mold.

Thanks,
Sue
 

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No photos of Griswold lamb molds I have found show vent holes, although the two in the body of yours do appear to be cast in. The one in the nose, not so much. Is there an 865 on one of the tabs on the other half?

Here is a scan of the recipe pamphlet which came with the Griswolds, which may provide some insights.
KhoTfe1.jpg
 
The lamb mold I have is a No. 866 and the front half is larger than the back half. It has the vent holes in the back. You are supposed to place the mold "face-side" down, fill with batter and place the "back-side" on top. With the mold placed face-down, the batter will properly fill the face and you will get the definition you are looking for.

Perhaps someone that didn't know how to use the mold drilled vent holes in the front. Not sure if yours is a knock-off.

---------- Post added at 01:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:36 PM ----------

I also have one that has the back-half larger than the front and it has no vent holes or markings of any kind that I can find. It is 13 3/8 x 8
 
Doug D. I understand this is an old thread, however like Sue (SJanous) before me, I also inherited a lamb mold, and just like Sue’s it has 866 on the right loop on the back of the mold. It also has three vent holes on the front half of the mold. In comparing Sue’s pictures, the holes on mine appear to be in the exact same locations as Sue’s. I’m not sure if this may help to track down the history, however my mold was used in my grandfather’s bakery in Barrington IL in the mid-late 40’s. (I’ve included Sue’s picture with Mike for easier comparison - her’s is on the table, mine is on the counter). Have you seen any more of these swings Sue’s original request a few years back?

Also, after my grandfather passed away, my grandmother kept making the cakes for the family and she used a small wooden dowel to plug the vent holes.
 

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Griswold made multiple versions of the lamb cake mold. The earliest (1920s) has loop handles on both halves, round leveling pegs and p/ns 947/948. It is also known as the "leg forward" version as the foreleg is extended rather than tucked under. The next (ca. 1930) has the rectangular leveling pegs, loop handles on the back half and tabs on the front half, with p/ns 865/866. A later model (1930s-1060s), embossed "No. 866" on the front base has p/ns 921/922, and unlike the other two, its front half overlaps the back. It has the loop handles on the front half and the tabs on the back. Of the photos in the BB, none have vent holes in the front halves (the backs are not shown). A photo I have seen of an 865/866 model apparently new in original packaging does not have the holes. Whether the holes in the 865/866 are a modification by Griswold or a user "hack" is uncertain, but from the lack of holes in the 921/922 one might tend to infer the latter. Of those currently on eBay (for sale/completed) only one has the holes, and their placement is consistent with the two shown in this thread, tending to imply a factory-made modification.
 
I have 4 or 5 lamb molds.
the leg forward one is obviously different from the rest in design and size.

of the others, at least two have the raised '866' front and center on the base of the front piece (and vent holes in the back)

however, I recently bought what appears to be a copy of a griswold lamb with the only markings being the numbers on the tabs... and it has vent holes in the front, rather than the back. I had seen pictures of one other with the holes in the front and was kind of curious to compare them.




oh, and we used a cream cheese pound cake recipe and it seemed to rise just about the right amount and was dense enough to stay together, even transporting by car the next day... although we did bake a tongue depressor in the neck to add support to the head.
 
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