Australian Lamingtons

I cannot think about living in Australia for a year without thinking of this charming little dessert.

I had moved to live in Sydney for a year.  My sister and an old friend had picked me up from the airport.  I was overly-tired and starving.  We got back to my sister’s place, and she served me my first avocado sandwich. Smooshed avo on a fresh crusty roll, sprinkled liberally with lemon pepper.  I was in love with such a simple snack.  After all these decades later, I still don’t make one and not remember that moment fondly.  

Along with that avo tartine, I was introduced to vegemite by my sister.  Such a cruel moment it was.  She wouldn’t tell me what it tasted like.  I think she was waiting for my reaction.  You see, it looked like molasses to my untrained eyes and tastebuds.  Australians will spread it on toast as easily as honey to us.  And that is exactly what my tastebuds were expecting.  Were they ever in for a shock!  Unlike the sweetness of molasses or honey, my mouth was assailed with the most salty substance I had ever tasted.  Think of it as really thick soy sauce.  I was not impressed.  After a year there, I still hadn’t gotten over the shock of it.  I will use it in cooking, as a seasoning, like Maggi or soy sauce, but I will never be able to bring myself to eat it on purpose, as the star ingredient.  I could go on, like finding out that Aussies like a fried egg and beets on their burgers and pizza.  Back in the 80’s this was just unheard of to this Canadian girl!

But the plethora of food memories do not end there.  Australia is a land of unique treats.  I became acquainted with everything that makes their cuisine all their own.  For instance, we all have had meat pies.  But Aussies take them to the next level.  Food trucks and stands are all about the mini hand-held meat pies, with mashed potato or mushy peas as a topper.  Sausage rolls are the other fun savoury hand held treat that I fell in love with.  Flakey puff pastry surrounding the spicy meat filling, dipped in ketchup, my mouth is almost watering just typing this sentence!

I worked in a bakery in a shady neighbourhood in the Lane Cove part of Sydney, where every morning was busy, making heaps of both the meat pies and sausage rolls for the morning working clientele rushing in for their coffee and breakfast to go.  

The sweet treats we filled the glass fronted cabinets with were just as iconic.  Mini pavlovas, vanilla slices and lamingtons joined all the beautiful french pastries and cakes.  And it is the Lamington that I am celebrating here today.

To describe it simply, it is sponge cake cut into smaller pieces, covered completely in a chocolate coating and then rolled in dessicated coconut.  Usually the sponge cake is sliced in half horizontally and layered with a spread of jam in the middle.  This is the classic version.  These days I’m sure you’ll see them filled with Nutella, peanut butter etc.  The coating may be white chocolate mixed with strawberry powder for a pink hue.  The coconut may have rainbow confetti sprinkles added to it.  But at its heart, it is this original version, what I am sharing with you today.

Here are my tricks for making the sponge cake portion easier.  I use a 9×9 inch baking pan lined both ways with parchment paper.  It’s a classic vanilla sponge cake, maybe a touch firmer than others, but this is a good thing, since we will be handling it a lot.  Tap the pan against a towel covered counter, to hopefully release any air bubbles. When I smooth out the top with a small off-set spatula, I try to move more batter to all the outside edges, just so that there isn’t too large of a dome that develops during the baking.  

Once it has cooled completely on a rack (and by this I don’t mean an hour or so, but rather several hours easy, after I have removed it from the cake pan) I slice the cake into 20 slices.  I do this by cutting the cake into 4 equal strips, with a good serrated knife.  If you have let it cool correctly, you will have minimal to no crumbs at all. These strips I gently slice into 5 ‘squares’ each (not true squares at all, but you know what I mean)  These are then stored back in the cooled pan in the fridge over night.

The next morning I take that same serrated knife and slice each square of cake in half, horizontally. If you find that there are air holes or unevenness, trim away with a knife, and turn the top half upside down when pressing it against the jam. In other words, use the cleaner side for the outside top. Taking a small spoon and a favourite jam, spread out a decent amount on the bottom of each square, just avoiding the edges.  As you press the top down over the jam, it should spread to the edges completely.  Do the same with each square.  Now you are ready to dip.

Fill a bowl with the chocolate thin ganache-like coating mixture.  It’s really just cocoa powder, icing sugar and chopped dark chocolate.  Using two forks turn the square in the chocolate till completely covered.  Lift it and let any excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.  Then transfer the chocolate coated square to a wide shallow bowl filled with dessicated coconut (unsweetened finely shredded coconut)  Gently turn and use your fingers to press the coconut against the edges. Then transfer it to a cooling rack to let the coating set.  In a few hours the chocolate is firm, making picking up a slice to eat a joy. You can chill them to ensure that the chocolate sets well.  But they will taste better at room temperature, so return them to a plate or stand on the counter a good half hour before serving.  They will keep in an airtight container for a few days.

These are as much fun to make, as they are to eat.  They are great for parties.  You can actually cut them smaller and use a 10×10 inch pan to get a larger (but thinner) sponge.  But if you are cutting them into 1 inch squares for a dessert table, you don’t want a really thick sponge to begin with.  They go lovely with an afternoon coffee break, for a brunch table, a tea party or even an after dinner treat!

They are charming.  They make for a lovely treat with coffee, or to gift. They are uniquely Australian.  And they taste so much better than vegemite.

Love Jen

5 from 3 votes

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Australian Lamingtons

These lovely chocolate coated and coconut dipped little cakes are uniquely Australian. Bright cherry jam is sandwiched between two layers of light but springy vanilla sponge cake. Each square in dipped in chocolate and then rolled in coconut. They are perfect on a dessert table, or for afternoon coffee break.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Australian

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes

Servings 20 squares

Ingredients

Cake

• 3 large eggs separated
• 1 cup + 1 tbsp (220 grams) granulate sugar 220 grams granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (100 grams) butter, softened at room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups (300 grams) AP flour
• 4 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot starch
• 3 tsp baking powder
• scant 1 cup (230 ml) milk

Filling

• 6-7 oz (175-200 ml) cherry conserve or jam of your choice

Chocolate and Coconut Coating

• 6 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 2/3 cups (155 grams) icing sugar (powdered sugar)
• 2/3 cup 155 ml boiling water
• 2 1/2 oz (75-80 grams) dark chocolate, chopped
• 7 oz (200 grams) desiccated coconut

Instructions

Sponge Cake

1. Heat the oven to 350F (180C) and line the base and sides of a deep 10x10 inch (23x23 cm) square pan with parchment paper going in both directions, with the edges overhanging
2. In a clean bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the egg whites with one third of the sugar until soft peaks form.
3. In your stand mixer (or another bowl with a hand mixer), beat the remaining sugar with the butter, egg yolks and vanilla extract for about 3 minutes until pale and fluffy.
4. In a medium sized bowl, use a whisk to blend the flour, cornflour and baking powder together. Adding one third of this at a time, beat into the butter and egg yolk mixture, alternating with the milk, until smooth.
5. Whisk one third of the meringue into the batter to loosen it, then carefully fold in the remaining meringue until fully incorporated, do not overmix.
6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. This should take about 45-55 minutes.
7. Leave it to cool in the pan set on a cooling rack for a couple of minutes, then turn out onto the rack and leave until completely cold.
8. Once the cake is completely cold, use a sharp serrated knife to level the top and trim the edges so that they are straight. Slice the cake into 20 evenly sized squares. I do this by slicing the cake into 4 equal strips. Take each strip and cut it into 5 pieces. The colder it is, the less crumbs you will get when slicing.
9. You can do this the day before assembling. Store in the fridge.

Assembling, Chocolate and Coconut Coating

1. Slice each square in half and sandwich the two halves back together with a dollop of jam. If you find when slicing the pieces in half that the tops of some are not as neat as you would like, turn it around and use the cleaner side as the top.
2. Whisk together the cocoa powder, icing sugar and boiling water in a large bowl, then add in the chocolate until melted and smooth, set aside until cold. Place the coconut in a shallow dish.
3. One at a time, dip each square in the chocolate mixture, making sure that it is completely coated, use a couple of forks to help you turn it, then roll it in the desiccated coconut until all sides are covered.
4. Place the finished lamingtons on a wire rack and leave for a couple of hours until set.

Recipe Notes

This recipe is a riff on the one found here by Domestic Gothess, who used Dan Lepard, renowned Australian baker's version.