Lamingtons

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Delicious, moist, light as a feather, squares of vanilla sponge cake coated in a thick layer of chocolate icing and covered in coconut. Oh my word! An Australian classic; they remind me of sunshine, beaches and barbecues, with every single bite.

Having lived in Australia twice and in three different cities, (Sydney, Canberra and Perth), I have eaten my fair share of Lamingtons, but I had never made them until recently. A good Lamington is a heavenly, light treat with layers of flavours from the vanilla, chocolate and coconut but a less than perfect Lamington can be rather plain and dry. They are not difficult to make but they can be a bit fiddly and I am incapable of making them without also making a huge mess! Coconut, crumbs and chocolate everywhere – but they are so worth it and I’ve picked up a few tips along the way, to make them a little easier!

I first lived in Australia at the back end of the 1980s. I literally graduated from university in Glasgow on one day and flew to Canberra on the next. I had no money but had managed to find a waitressing job in the nation’s capital. I’d heard many wonderful things about Sydney, but knew less about Canberra, despite its status as the country’s capital. Being inland, and the political and legal centre, it certainly had a different vibe but I loved it and have many wonderful memories.

A few weeks after I arrived, the restaurant manager resigned and I was offered the job – with the confidence of youth, I accepted and ended up staying a couple of years rather than the planned 6 months. I am pleased to say that the restaurant is still open; and when the world opens up, I have an urge to go back!

At the end of the 1990s, we went back as a family when Charlotte was just 6 months old. We had a wonderful 6 months in Sydney and a further 6 months in Perth where Emma was born. It is a place where I always feel at home and it will forever have a special place in my heart.

But back to the Lamingtons! Along with the infamous Arnotts’ Tim Tams, and of course Anzac Biscuits, they are certainly amongst the most well known Australian sweet treats. Their precise history is not 100% clear, but it is likely that they go back to Lord Lamington, who was a Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901. His French-born chef Armand Galland is most frequently credited with their creation. As coconut was rarely used in European cooking in those days, the fact that the chef’s wife was from Tahiti, where coconut was a common ingredient, further backs up this theory.

Whoever and however these little cakes came about, they have certainly stood the test of time. There are obviously many recipes and some variations as well, most notably including strawberry jam and cream but my preference is for the traditional recipe, as they would have been served by Chef Galland.

How to make Lamingtons

Line the baking tin:

In order to guarantee soft and fluffy cakes, it is important to use the correct size tin – in this case it is a 20cm/8inch square tin. If your tin is larger, the depth of your cake batter will be less and the cake will cook more quickly. Equally if the tin is smaller, your cake batter will be deeper and cook more slowly.

1. Sit the tin on greaseproof paper making sure the paper is large enough to line the tin, come up the sides and have a little overhang.
2. Cut out the corners of the paper so it will fit easily into the tin
3. Fold the paper from corner to corner so the size of the centre of the paper matches the base of the tin. Slot inside the tin.

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Collect all the ingredients together:

For the cake –

• 130g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 130g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 160g plain/all-purpose flour
• 20g corn flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt
• 100g sour cream

For the chocolate icing –

• 500g icing sugar
• 50g cocoa
• ½ instant teaspoon coffee powder
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt
• 75g unsalted butter, melted
• 100ml boiling water – or more if needed

Coconut –

• 175g desiccated coconut

First make the cake:

The recipe is based on my Classic Sponge Cake/Pudding – Core Recipe but I have added some sour cream, some additional flour and cornflour and some vanilla extract for flavour. I can’t bear a dry Lamington and the sour cream helps ensure the cake is deliciously moist. The additional flour helps the cake retain its shape whilst being covered in the chocolate icing and the cornflour helps create a soft, light and airy texture. All mixed in one bowl in less than a minute, it could not get any easier.

Freeze the cake before icing:

One of the reasons Lamingtons can be dry is that the sponge needs to be sturdy enough to dipped and coated in the chocolate icing without falling apart. Some people leave the sponge, uncovered, overnight to dry to enable it to do this. However I picked up a tip on Recipe Tin Eats, where you freeze the cake before coating. Not only does this ensure that the cake keeps fresh and moist, the cold cake helps the icing harden more quickly – do not miss this step out!!

1. It is important that the butter is at room temperature and soft enough to beat. If it is a little hard, beat it with a whisk before adding the other ingredients. If it is already quite soft, you do not need to do this.
2. Measure all the remaining ingredients into the mixing bowl with the butter. I place my mixing bowl on top my scales and weigh everything in directly.
3. Use an electric whisk to beat until combined. This should take less than a minute. All done.
4. Tip into your lined baking tin and level the surface, ensuring the cake goes into all the corners.
5. Bake in a preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes until cooked.
6. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then, using the greaseproof paper over-hang, transfer to a cooling rack.
7. Once cool, slice into 25 squares and put into the freezer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

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Make the icing and coconut:

Make the icing when the cake has been in the freezer for around 1 hour and 10 minutes. You don’t want the cake to be in the freezer for much longer. Ideally you want the icing to soak into the cake a little, so do not freeze it for much longer because it will be too solid

1. Weigh all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir well with a balloon whisk.
2. Melt the butter and add together with the boiling water.
3. Mix to combine with a balloon whisk – this will help avoid a cloud of icing sugar and cocoa in the kitchen.
4. Then beat thoroughly with an electric whisk.
5. Remove the cake from the freezer. Using one or two forks, dip the cake squares into the chocolate sauce. (NB Using two forks is easier – I couldn’t use 2 and photograph at the same time!)
6. When covered, allow excess sauce to drip off.
7. Roll in the coconut and set on one side to harden.
8. The icing will harden as the boiling water cools and you add more cold cake.
9. To loosen the icing, pop into the microwave. Blitz in short bursts of 15 seconds until you reach the correct consistency.
10. If any of the icing runs off the cakes a little, use your finger to re-shape neatly. Leave to set.
11. If anyone tells you this is not a messy business, they are lying!!
12. Completed lamingtons.

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Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.