Classic Lamingtons

I’ve been covered in desiccated coconut over the last few weeks, and I find them in every nook and cranny of my kitchen. Why? Because I wanted to experiment with different flavoured lamingtons and when I started, I just couldn’t stop!

When I go down these baking rabbit holes, I have a base recipe I work with. And today I’m sharing my recipe for this Aussie beloved mini cake and bakery staple. I hope you give it a try. My base cake is a vanilla sponge, I use dark chocolate for the ganache and dust with fine desiccated coconut.

Make sure eggs, milk and butter are room temperature. And if you’re wondering where the jam is, that’s for another recipe, because if you’re new to making these beauties, it could be a little overwhelming. So I thought, best to keep it simple and you can move up to a different flavour after your first try! I am going to be honest before you move ahead, if you’re not an avid baker and cook, this is a bit of work.

So how do you make lamingtons?

First, you need a really good cake base. I use a sponge cake as my base and it’s buttery and yummy. Actual vanilla pods or a high quality vanilla paste will help you get the best vanilla taste.

Second, you need patience. There’s a lot of waiting around, because you should never work with a hot cake straight from the oven. Let it cool down completely before you do anything else with it, then when it’s cool enough, you cut it and freeze it for 30 minutes so the cake is easier to handle and doesn’t crumble when you start covering it in ganache.

Third, you need persistence. It takes a little practice to get into the groove, don’t give up on your first try because these are so much better than store-bought lamingtons. The extra effort will all be worth it in the end when you take that first bite!

Lastly, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the recipe, feel free to spread the preparation time between two days, there is no pressure making everything in one day. You can bake the cake and cut the squares first then freeze it overnight and assemble the next day. Most of all, have fun! Baking is a lot of work, and if you don’t love it and have fun with it, it will feel like work. So just remember to smile and play some music while you make these scrumptious treats!

Australia Day Classic Lamingtons
 
Difficulty: Medium

Classic Lamingtons

Makes 12

Ingredients

    Chocolate Ganache:
  • 
Almond sponge:
  • Coating

Instructions

0/7 Instructions
    Make the ganache:
  • Place the dark chocolate in a bowl. In a small pot, bring the milk for the ganache to the boil then pour on top of chocolate. Let sit for 2 minutes then stir until smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool down.
  • Make the sponge:
  • Preheat oven to 180C (no fan). Grease and line a 23cmx33cm (9inx13in) cake tin. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on med-high speed. Meanwhile in a medium bowl sift together flour, almond meal, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
  • When the sugar and butter are light and fluffy, add the eggs one at a time, incorporating each time. Turn the mixer down to low-med speed then alternately add the flour mix and the milk ending with the flour mix. Pour batter into the pan and bake until the cake springs back and a skewer comes out clean (about 45mins).
  • Remove the cake from oven and cool down. When cake is completely cooled, cut the cake into 12 equal squares then place in the freezer for 30mins.
  • Assembly:
  • Pour 1/3 of the ganache onto a shallow tray. Place the coconut in another tray.
  • Remove the lamington pieces from the freezer, place them on the flat surface of chocolate, and spoon chocolate over the top and down the sides.
  • After letting the chocolate drip slightly, use an offset spatula to carefully transfer onto the coconut tray and coat the lamingtons in coconut. Keep refrigerated in a sealed container until ready to serve.