homemade lamingtons recipe covered in coconut

Lamingtons are the stuff of an Aussie childhood. Making regular appearances at birthday parties, morning and afternoon teas and community fundraisers across the country, these simply delicious cakes are perfect for whipping up to celebrate Australia Day.

Traditionally the lamington is made of a sponge cake, although some use white or butter cakes too. My cake recipe is adapted from one of my Nana’s cakes that works well here – it’s a little sturdier which means it’s easier to dip in the chocolate icing.  This recipe makes bite-sized lamingtons, which are perfect for parties.

MINI HOMEMADE LAMINGTONS

Makes 30

For the cake

  • 4 eggs
  • 200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 200g (1 ⅓ cups) all-purpose (plain) flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 110g butter, melted and cooled

For the icing

  • 75g unsalted butter
  • 250ml (1 cup) milk
  • 65g (1/2 cup) cocoa powder
  • 435g (3 cups) icing sugar

To assemble
Around 6 cups desiccated coconut

Method for the sponge

  1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F/180˚C/gas 4. Grease and flour a 20cm x 30cm pan, lining the base of the pan with parchment paper.
  2. Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with an hand mixer (medium-high speed) until pale and thick (around 3 minutes).
  3. Sift the flour and baking powder over the egg and sugar mixture and use a rubber spatula to gently combine the dry ingredients. Add the melted butter, about ⅓at a time, gently mixing with a rubber spatula until completely combined, then pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
  4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. The cake should spring back when lightly touched in the centre. Turn cake onto a wire rack to cool.
  5. Cut cake into even, bit-sized pieces about 4-5cm.  You will probably end up discarding the edge pieces, as they won’t be completely square. At this stage you can refrigerate the cake for a few hours or leave the cake overnight in an airtight container, because a slightly less fresh cake will be easier to dip in the chocolate icing.
  6. When you are ready to dip the cakes, set up an area large enough to accommodate bowls for the cake pieces, the chocolate icing, the coconut and also a large tray topped with parchment paper and a cooling rack. You will need to work quickly to dip the cakes so having everything organised in advance will help.

Method for the icing

  1. Sift the icing sugar and the cocoa powder into two different bowls. In a large saucepan, melt the butter, then mix in the milk. Next, using a whisk to stir, start to add the cocoa powder. Once the cocoa powder is completely dissolved, add the icing sugar about a cup at a time, whisking constantly to prevent lumps.
  2. When all the icing sugar is combined, pour the chocolate mix into two separate bowls – that way when one mix gets full of crumbs you can switch to the next one.
  3. Working quickly, using a fork, dip the cake cubes into the chocolate mix and roll them around with the tines of the fork to completely coat. Drain any excess mixture off the cakes then drop them in the coconut and roll them around lightly to coat evenly with coconut.
  4. Set the cake cubes on the cooling rack placed over parchment paper to drain.
  5. You can refrigerate the cakes to help set the icing, then bring them to room temperature before serving.

About the author

Mardi Michels

Mardi Michels lives in Toronto, is a full-time French teacher to elementary school-aged boys and the author of eat. live. travel. write - a blog about culinary adventures near and far. As part of her job, she runs cooking classes twice a week for 7-13 year-old boys, Les Petits Chefs. She’s a founding member of Food Bloggers of Canada and also teaches French pastry classes around Toronto. Follow Mardi on Twitter and Instagram.

Mardi Michels

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Australia