The New Zealanders might have officially claimed the Pavlova as their own, but Aussies firmly hold onto the humble Lamington as our national dessert. And we plan to keep it that way. Consisting of squares of sponge cake dipped in chocolate icing and rolled in coconut, these little cakes have appeared at BBQs, fundraisers and cake stalls for generations.
Hunting down the backstory to our national dish proves to be a little tricky. In a nutshell, they’re named after Lord Lamington, the Governor of Queensland from 1896-1901, who did the unthinkable and shot a koala. He also did the second most unthinkable thing and proclaimed a dislike for the lamington, calling them “woolly biscuits”. Isn’t he a dear.
Contrary to Lord Lamington, I think these “woolly biscuits” are pretty great. We had a steady supply of them in the freezer when we were kids. Every year our school would do a giant fundraising drive selling 12 lamingtons packed into the iconic little white box. Of course, we would end up just buying our quota instead of pestering the neighbours to purchase them, hence the neverending snack of lamingtons after school.
Given the childhood overdose on lamingtons, it’s no wonder that it’s been 15 years since I last tasted one. Last year’s Australia Day effort was an unconventional Aussie BBQ cupcake made from fondant. But this year I regained a craving for the same lamingtons I remember eating in childhood.
Luckily I spent the summer with my Mum, who dug up her faithful Lamington recipe. It tastes exactly as I remember: a sweet and soft chocolate casing partially soaked into a feather-light sponge, with a chewy nuttiness from the coconut.
When coating the lamingtons, I prefer the “how did chocolate get on the windowsill?” method. Grab a spatula, whack a nice amount of chocolate icing all over the sponge, give it a good shake, then drop that cocoa bomb into a bowl of coconut, tossing it around with your icing coated fingers. It’s very therapeutic.
I’ve been enjoying my lamingtons in outback Western Australia, in a wheatbeat town called Merredin. Australia Day for me will be out in the red dirt and heat amongst the gum trees. At the end of the day, I’ll be celebrating with a cool beverage on the verandah and only the ocassional mozzie punctuating the calm warm air.
How do you spend Australia day?
LAMINGTONS
Makes 12-16
You Will Need:
Sponge Cake:
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Caster Sugar
3/4 cup Self Raising flour
1/4 cup Cornflour
15 g Butter
3 tablespoons Hot Water
Chocolate Icing:
500 g Icing Sugar
1/3 cup Cocoa
15 g Butter
1/2 cup Milk
+ Coconut around 375g
(you might need to double the icing quantity depending on how thick you coat the lamingtons)
Directions:
Sponge Cake:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a 18cm x 28cm lamington tin.
Lightly beat the eggs. Gradually beat in the sugar on medium speed and continue beating until mixture is thick and pale yellow. Sift the flour and cornflour several times to aerate. Melt butter in hot water. Sift the dry ingredients over the whipped egg mixture. Fold in lightly until incorporated, then quickly fold in hot water and butter with a spatula. Pour into tin and bake for 20-25 minutes. The sponge is baked when the cake comes away slightly from the sides and the top springs back when lightly touched. Leave to cool in the pan, then tip onto a wire rack.
Slice the brown edges from all the sides and the top of the cake. If possible, allow the cake to rest overnight, otherwise it can be a little fragile when attempting to dip into the chocolate icing. Cut the sponge into 12 to 16 equal sized pieces.
Place a saucepan over a pot of boiling water. Sift icing sugar and cocoa into the top saucepan. Add milke and butter and stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the butter has melted and the icing is thin enough to coat the sponge cake well. If the icing gets too thick during the coating process, just bring the saucepan back onto the heat or add a little more warm milk.
Pour a bit of coconut into a bowl (You will need to refresh the coconut every few coatings). Place a cake square on a wide fork. Dip the cake into the chocolate icing and let it drip over the bowl to remove the excess coating. Transfer the cake to the coconut bowl and sprinkle or toss the sponge to coat. Let it stand on a wire rack to dry.
