In case you've never had the pleasure, a lamington is a cube of sponge cake dipped in a sugary syrup and then into coconut - simple, but oh-so-good. The syrup soaks into the cake a little, and creates a sweet, tasty shell. Traditionally lamingtons are either chocolate or raspberry (which is compulsorily presented in a fakey pink colour), but I have seen many other flavours - whatever flavourings you have to hand will do! My favourite is always chocolate, though...
I cheated completely and bought the sponge for my lamingtons, as they were for a leaving afternoon tea for a workmate, for which I was also making some little almond and orange cakes (which didn't turn out very well so I won't be sharing that recipe!) and didn't have all that much time. If you do as I did and buy the sponge then the lamingtons are really easy - and even if you make your own cake they're not that hard - just make sure you leave it a day or so to firm up as freshly baked cake would likely disintegrate when you tried to dip it!
Easy but messy!
The recipe is really simple:
Chocolate Lamingtons
Ingredients
Large square/rectangular sponge
1 2/3 cups icing sugar x 2
4 Tbsp cocoa
boiling water
vanilla essence
raspberry essence
red food colour
dessicated coconut
Method
Cut the sponge into cubes - as large or small as you like (but remember small ones will need more icing proportionately).
Sift one batch of icing sugar into a bowl. Blend cocoa with a little hot water to make a paste. Mix into icing sugar, and gradually add water until the consistency of pouring cream. Add a little vanilla.
Dip each cube first into icing, coating completely, then into coconut, then set on a tray, rinse, repeat.
Sift the remaining icing sugar into another bowl, add boiling water in the same way as before. This time add a little raspberry essence (about 1 teaspoon, or to taste) and a drop or two of red food colouring. Repeat process to get your raspberry lamingtons!
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Hi! I'm Rosa, a.k.a. Mrs Cake, and I live in Wellington, New Zealand. I love food, especially making pretty cakes and desserts and of course eating! I love dining out and this blog enables me to share both my experiences in my own kitchen and my take on various restaurants and cafes around Wellington (and anywhere else we go!).
2 comments:
I always made the icing you did for chocolate ones, but for raspberry we tended to use a strong jelly mix, that we had let thicken a little (not to much or it won't absorb right). The raspberry icing seems a good way to go when i don't have jelly crystals, will have to try it next time
True - I forgot about jelly crystals. Mr Cake and I both prefer them this way - but they are different (it's just been a while since I've had a jelly crystal one). But chocolate still wins over everything else for me! ;-)
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