Lamingtons are small cakes from the traditional Australian cuisine, which are covered in chocolate and desiccated coconut. I found them in an Australian bakery and I really liked them, so I tried to get the traditional recipe. For this dessert, any firm sort of plain cake could be used: pound cake, butter cake, genoise sponge or Madeira cake. Here is the recipe:
Servings 24
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- A pinch of salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup butter, at room temperature
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the icing:
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted
- 4 cups icing sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- ½ cup warm milk
- 1 pound desiccated coconut (note: desiccated coconut it’s not sweetened, but a little bit dried shredded coconut.)
Instructions:
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 375°F/ 190°C/ Gas Mark 5. Grease and flour an 8 by 12-in. pan.
- In a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine and set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, in a large bowl, whisk ¾ cup sugar and ½ cup butter until light and fluffy. The batter needs to be noticeably lighter in color. Apply the eggs one at a time, letting each egg to blend into the batter before applying the next. Whisk in the vanilla extract with the last egg. Place in the flour mix in turn with the milk, whisking until just incorporated.
- Spread batter into the prepared pan. Place in the oven and bake until a tester inserted into the cake comes out clean, around 30-40 minutes. Allow stand 5 minutes, before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap; store overnight at room temperature so the cake can firm up before serving.
To make the icing:
- Combine cocoa and sugar in a large bowl. Apply the warm milk and melted butter and combine well to create a fluid, however not very runny, icing.
- Using a knife, cut the cake into 24 squares. Put waxed paper or parchment paper on a work surface, then apply a wire rack on the paper. In a shallow bowl, place the shredded coconut.
- Using a fork, dip the squares into the icing, coating them entirely, then roll them in the coconut. Apply onto a rack in order to dry. Serve.
Enjoy!