Lamingtons are vanilla cake dipped in a chocolate sauce and covered with coconut. I have nostalgia every time I eat one. It takes me right back to my childhood when we had church bazaars and lamingtons and snowballs were one of the popular and must-buy items.
There are also different ways of making lamingtons and some prefer to fill theirs with jam. I find that the chocolate coating adds enough rich flavor and don’t fill mine with jam.
The vanilla cake – I wouldn’t say that it is a sponge cake as it not aerated with egg whites. However the vanilla cake needs to be light and fluffy but at the same time firm to holds it’s shape when dipping it into the chocolate sauce.
Tips for making lamingtons
- Make sure that your ingredients are fresh.
- Don’t double up the ingredients to make a bigger cake as this will affect the taste, texture and the baking time.
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy which also known as the ribbon stage. Don’t skimp on this process as it will give structure to the cake and create air to ensure that the cake is light and fluffy.
- Add the dry ingredients in two or three additions to the wet ingredients along with the milk to prevent lumps from forming.
- Don’t overmix the batter as this will influence the texture of the cake and make it dense and chewy.
- Trim off the edges of the cake to give even square pieces and better absorption of the chocolate sauce.
- Try to bake the cake a day before coating it. Should this not be possible then try and coat it at least 3 hours after it came out of the oven, alternatively freeze it for 30 minutes once it has cooled.
- Try not to oversoak the cake squares in the chocolate sauce as you don’t want it soggy.
- Once coated, the lamingtons can stay fresh in an airtight container for a week. Alternatively freeze for up to 3 months.
Lamingtons
Lamingtons are vanilla cake dipped in a chocolate sauce and covered with coconut.
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake
- 4 xl eggs
- 2 cups castor sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup milk
Chocolate Coating
- ½ cup hot milk
- 15 g unsalted butter (melted)
- 2½ cups icing sugar
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 1½ cups desiccated coconut
Instructions
Vanilla Cake
- Grease and line a 9cm square baking pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 180°c.
- In a mixing bowl, cream sugar and eggs until light and fluffy.
- Add oil and vanilla essence and mix well.
- In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
- Intermittently add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients along with the milk. Make sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
- Pour batter into the baking pan and bake for 30 minutes.
- Allow cake to cool completely.
- Trim off the sides of the cake and slice into even square bars.
Chocolate Coating Sauce
- In a bowl, sift together icing sugar and cocoa powder.
- Add the melted butter and hot milk to the dry ingredients.
- Whisk through until there are no lumps and set it aside.
- Dunk each cake square into chocolate sauce and lift with a fork.
- Transfer to the coconut, making sure all sides are fully coated.
- Place on a cooling rack to allow the lamingtons to set at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving.
