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Lamingtons

Introduction & method

These little sponge cakes with a chocolate icing and coconut crust are named after Lord Lamington, who was Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901. The story goes that some sponge cake was dropped into chocolate sauce and the coconut coating was an attempt to recover the mess. Lord Lamington would apparently refer to them as 'those bloody poofy woolly biscuits'.

Lamingtons Recipe

Make the Cake


Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F) for a fan oven, or 180°C (356°F) for a conventional one. Line a square baking tin with greaseproof paper.  Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla essence until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Add half of the sifted flour and milk and stir to combine. When fully mixed in, add the rest and mix again. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, smooth the top and bake for 30 minutes. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean and dry. Let the cake cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then tip out onto a wire rack, cover with a clean tea towel and allow to cool completely, preferably overnight.

Make the Icing


Sift the sugar and cocoa into a large bowl. Cut the butter into small chunks and add it with the milk and boiling water. Stir until smooth and creamy. Cut your cake into small squares and dip each one into the icing using a fork. Try to get each piece coated all over. Put the coconut into a separate bowl and dip each piece of cake in. Shake off excess coconut and place on a wire rack to set, about 2 hours.



The video above is from the Keef Cooks YouTube channel. Click here to see the video recipe of Lamingtons on YouTube.

 

Ingredients & Info


CAKE
 3 eggs
 115 grams unsalted butter
 115 grams caster (superfine) sugar
 unsalted butter 115 milk
 120 grams self-raising flour
 1 tsp vanilla essence
ICING
 440 grams icing (confectioners) sugar
 70 grams cocoa powder
 30 grams unsalted butter
 120 ml milk
 60 ml boiling water
 280 grams dessicated coconut

UNITS:
Metric
US Customary/Imperial

makes 9 -12 lamingtons
Prep time: 20 minutes.
setting time: 2 hours.
Cooking time: 30 minutes.
Total time: 2 hours 50 minutes.