Ingredients
Sponge
- 200 gplain flour
- 2 tspbaking powder
- a pinch of salt
- 180 gunsalted butter, softened
- 200 gcaster sugar
- 4eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tspvanilla extract
- 80 mlwhole milk
Chocolate icing
- 500 gicing sugar
- 50 gcocoa powder
- 30 gunsalted butter
- 180 mlboiling water or hot milk
To coat
- 250 gfine desiccated coconut
Directions
- Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a 20 cm square tin. Cream the butter and sugar for 5 minutes until pale and light, then beat in the eggs one at a time with the vanilla, adding a spoonful of the flour if it looks like splitting.
- Fold in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt alternately with the milk, in three additions, until just combined and smooth.
- Bake 35–40 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed. Cool completely in the tin.
- Wrap the cake and leave it overnight, or freeze it for an hour. A day-old, slightly firm sponge is essential: fresh cake collapses and sheds crumbs the moment it hits the icing.
- Trim the crusts and cut the cake into 16 even cubes of about 5 cm.
- Sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl, add the butter and pour on the boiling water, whisking to a smooth, thin icing that runs freely off the whisk. If it thickens as you work, set the bowl over a pan of hot water.
- Spread the coconut in a wide tray. Drop a cube into the icing, turn it with two forks or a skewer for a few seconds only until every face is coated, and lift it out, letting the excess drip back.
- Roll it straight into the coconut, pressing lightly so it sticks all over, and set it on a wire rack. Leave the lamingtons at least 2 hours for the icing to set to a firm shell before serving.
Technique
- The icing must be thin, almost watery. A thick icing sits in a heavy layer, gives a dull look and stops the coconut adhering evenly; a runny one soaks a millimetre into the sponge and sets to a proper skin.
- Two forks, a skewer or a fondue fork are the tools of choice. Fingers compress the cube and leave dents in the coating.
- The name is generally traced to Lord Lamington, Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901, with the usual story crediting a kitchen accident involving a dropped sponge, though the origin is disputed and New Zealand claims a version too.
- National Lamington Day is 21 July, and lamington drives remain a standard fundraiser for Australian schools and clubs.
Substitutions
- No time to bake? A firm day-old butter cake or Madeira loaf from a bakery cuts and dips perfectly well.
- Hot milk in place of boiling water gives a slightly richer, softer-setting icing.
Variations
- Jam and cream lamingtons, split through the middle and filled with raspberry jam and whipped cream.
- Pink lamingtons, coated in strawberry icing instead of chocolate.
- Lemon lamingtons, with a citrus icing, popular in Queensland bakeries.
History
A small square of sponge cake coated in chocolate sauce and rolled in desiccated coconut, generally credited to the household of Lord Lamington, a Governor of Queensland in the late 1890s and early 1900s, with one popular but not fully verified account describing the dessert as an improvised way to make plain sponge cake more presentable for unexpected guests, dipping it in chocolate and coconut to disguise its plainness. The exact circumstances of its invention, and whether Lord Lamington’s own cook or a household staff member actually created it, are not precisely documented beyond that general association with his household and era. Lamingtons became significant enough to Australian identity that National Lamington Day is informally observed each July, and they remain a common fundraising item baked and sold by community and school groups.
Frequently asked questions
What is Lamington?
Lamington is a dessert from Australia: sponge cake cubes dipped in chocolate and rolled in desiccated coconut. A small square of sponge cake coated in chocolate sauce and rolled in desiccated coconut, generally credited to the household of Lord Lamington, a Governor of Queensland in the late 1890s and early 1900s, with one popular but not fully verified account describing the dessert as an improvised way to make plain sponge cake more presentable for unexpected guests, dipping it in chocolate and coconut to disguise its plainness. The exact circumstances of its invention, and whether Lord Lamington’s own cook or a household staff member actually created it, are not precisely documented beyond that general association with his household and era. Lamingtons became significant enough to Australian identity that National Lamington Day is informally observed each July, and they remain a common fundraising item baked and sold by community and school groups.
How long does Lamington take to make?
Lamington takes 40 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 16 lamingtons. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Lamington?
Yes, within limits. No time to bake? A firm day-old butter cake or Madeira loaf from a bakery cuts and dips perfectly well. Hot milk in place of boiling water gives a slightly richer, softer-setting icing.
What is the most important thing to get right in Lamington?
The icing must be thin, almost watery. A thick icing sits in a heavy layer, gives a dull look and stops the coconut adhering evenly; a runny one soaks a millimetre into the sponge and sets to a proper skin.
