Classic Lamingtons

There is no cake more Australian than Lamingtons. A classic vanilla sponge dipped in chocolate then coated with coconut, this is a cake you will see at weekend fundraisers and in every suburban bakery.

I don’t “bake”. I can bake, but I don’t do it much. I’m one of those people that will take savoury over sweet anyday of the week. Give me a choice between a bag of chips or a Snickers bar, and I’ll take the chips every time. Put a chocolate croissant and a hash brown in front of me for breakfast, and in the blink of an eye the hash brown will be gone.

However, I pulled out my mixer because I have two causes for celebration – Australia Day which is coming up on 26 January (more recipes coming!), and to celebrate my friend Meggan from Culinary Hill’s new baby girl!

New babies – always so exciting!! With the flurry of Christmas and New Years’, my friends and I didn’t manage to get organised to do something for her before her baby was born, so we’re having a virtual belated baby shower for her!

So I’ve made these Lamingtons in her honour! Sending them to her virtually, all the way from Down Under here in Australia! And joining me for this virtual baby shower are: Janette from Culinary Ginger, Helen from Scrummy Lane, Mira from Cooking LSL, Allie from Baking a Moment, Kathleen from Hapa Nom Nom and Maggie from Omnivore’s Cookbook. Pop over to see what they’ve made for the Meggan’s baby shower!

Are you baking anything this week? What are your favourite things to bake? I would love to build up the baking / sweet treats section of this blog!

– Nagi

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

Lamingtons

Pin1K

Share23

Yum69

Email

1K Shares

4.88 from 8 votes

There is no cake more Australian than the Lamington. A classic vanilla sponge dipped in chocolate then coated with coconut, this is a cake you will always see at fund raisers and in every suburban bakery. There are many variations, such as fingers, chocolate instead of vanilla sponge, filled with jam and/or cream. But I like this classic version.

Prep Time:40 minutes

Cook Time:25 minutes

Total Time:1 hour 5 minutes

Servings:15

Hover over "Servings" value to reveal recipe scaler

Author:Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Course:Baking

Cuisine:Australian

Keyword:Lamingtons

Ingredients

Butter Sponge

• 125 g / 4.5 oz unsalted butter , softened
• 1 cup (220g) caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs , room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups (260g) self raising flour , sifted (or 3 1/2 tsp baking powder + plain flour, in total 1 3/4 cups)
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) milk (low or full fat)

Icing

• 3.5 cups (420g) icing sugar (confectionary sugar)
• 1/4 cup (17g) cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp (15g) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) boiling water

Coating

• 3 - 4 cups desiccated coconut

Instructions

Butter Sponge

• Preheat oven to 180C/350F (or fan forced 160C/320F).
• Grease a 20 cm x 30 cm / 8" x 12" cake pan. Line with baking paper (parchment paper), leaving an overhang on all sides (to make it easy to remove).
• Beat butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium high speed until light and fluffy - about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
• Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition so the batter is smooth, not curdled.
• Add half the flour and gently fold to combine, then stir in half the milk. Repeat with remaining flour and milk.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Stand for 5 minutes then use the overhang baking paper to lift the cake out onto a wire rack and cool. 
• Cover with tea towel and leave for 12 hours (or so).

Prepare Cake to Coat

• Cut cake into 15 squares (5 x 3), or 18 rectangles. Freeze for 1 to 1.5 hours. (Note 1)

Icing

• Combine the Icing ingredients in a heat proof bowl and mix until smooth. Should be a syrup consistency, but not watery. (Note 2)

Coating

• Place half the coconut in a shallow bowl with a largish surface area (Note 3).
• Place a piece of cake in the icing and roll to coat using 2 forks. Transfer it into the coconut and quickly roll to coat all over in coconut. Transfer to tray.
• Repeat with remaining sponges. Add remaining coconut when needed.
• Stand for 1 to 2 hours, or until set. Then serve with tea and coffee!

Recipe Notes:

1. Coating the cake: Trying to coat a freshly cooked cake doesn't work, it just crumbles into the chocolate and makes a mess. The easiest way to coat the Lamingtons is as follows: leave cake out overnight, then cut into squares and freeze for 1 hour just prior to coating. The frozen cake is much easier to handle for the dipping / coconut coating steps.

2. Chocolate icing needs to be thick enough so the coconut will stick, but thin enough so the cake can be easily rolled in it.

It thickens as it cools, making it harder to work with. If this happens, just microwave for 20 seconds to loosen it up (or set it over a saucepan with boiling water).

3. Coconut bowl - use a shallow one with a larger surface area, easier to roll cake around.

4. Nutrition per serving.

Barely adapted from this recipe from taste.com.au. Ingredients the same, the main thing I changed is the process (especially the coating process, to make it easier!)

Nutrition

Serving: 114gCalories: 369kcalCarbohydrates: 60.5g (20%)Protein: 4.2g (8%)Fat: 13.7g (21%)Saturated Fat: 9.4g (47%)Cholesterol: 54mg (18%)Sodium: 32mg (1%)Potassium: 138mg (4%)Fiber: 2.2g (9%)Sugar: 46.6gVitamin A: 6%Vitamin C: 1%Calcium: 4%Iron: 17%

Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats or leave me a comment & rating below.

SaveSave