If you’ve never had lamingtons before, you’re in for a treat! These little Australian treats are bites of sponge cake, coated in a dark chocolate icing, then rolled in desiccated coconut. They’re so simple and just so good!
I grew up eating these lamingtons very often. They came out of one of those scribbled recipes in my Mom’s vast collection, one she got from a friend, though at that point, I wasn’t very interested in the recipe itself as I was in the end product. These are spectacular. Mainly because you’d never think that what initially tastes like only a basic sponge, can be taken to a whole new level with the simple addition of coconut.
I wanted to freshen the photos in this post from years ago and I’m so glad I did because it gave me a chance to bring back some childhood memories! If you have the luxury of letting the hot sponge cool overnight at room temperature, go for it. If not, let the cake cool for a bit, just until you can cut it, then chill the sponge squares in the fridge before dipping. Basically, make sure the pieces of cake are firm enough that they don’t fall apart when dipped in the warm chocolate icing.
The icing is quick and delicious. Cocoa, sugar, chopped chocolate and boiling water. Boom. My Mom adds a pinch of coffee powder too! These are a ton of fun to make. Get friends and family along because there ain’t no party like a lamington party!
Once ready, chill the lamingtons in the fridge before serving, because the icing and coconut need some time to set so that there are no messy chocolate situations, though I’m not sure those are necessarily a bad thing. The combination of the chocolate and coconut is fabulous and suddenly makes the whole dessert feel like a lot more work than it actually was.
Let’s bake!
Lamingtons
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature (55 gms)
- 3/4 cup caster sugar (140 gms)
- 1 and 1/3 cups flour (160 gms)
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 and 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
- 2 eggs at room temperature (see notes)
- 1/2 cup milk, at room temperature (125 ml)
For the coating
- 1 cup icing sugar (115 gms)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder (42 gms)
- 50 gms dark chocolate, finely chopped (70% to 75%)
- 1/2 cup freshly boiled water (125 ml)
- 3 cups desiccated coconut (200 gms)
Instructions
- Line an 8 inch square pan with non-stick baking paper. Preheat the oven to 175 C.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed till combined. It will look a little gritty and crumbly because the amount of butter is small compared to a regular cake batter. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat again for a 1 to 2 minutes until pale and slightly thickened.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and cornflour. Fold to combine, then gradually add the milk, stirring as you go, till you have a smooth and thick batter. If needed, run a hand mixer through it to remove any lumps but do not overmix the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the top is golden-brown and a toothpick poked into the center of the cake comes out clean. If the top is still a little pale but the cake is cooked through, that's ok.
- Allow the cake to cool for an hour at room temperature, then cut into 24 pieces and chill in the fridge for another hour (the photos above show 16 pieces, but after making these recently, I recommend 24 pieces for easier dipping and eating). If you're not planning to assemble the lamingtons immediately, you can let the cake cool completely, then cover and leave it at room temperature overnight, then chill the pieces for about 30 to 40 minutes before assembly. Chilling makes it easier to dip the pieces in the icing.
- When ready to assemble, make the icing. Sift the sugar and cocoa together in a bowl, then add the chopped chocolate. Pour the boiling water in and stir or whisk slowly till you have a smooth sauce. It should be easy to dip into but also not be too runny to coat the cake properly.
- Spread about half of the desiccated coconut out on a large platter. Dip each chilled piece of cake into the icing, turning it over with a fork to coat it completely, then lift it out, let the excess drip off and place it on the coconut platter, rolling and turning with your fingers to make sure all sides are covered in coconut (some of the chocolate will end up on the plate, don't worry about it). Transfer to a serving platter or airtight tin. Repeat with the rest of the cake, replenishing the coconut as needed. For a jam variation, see notes.
- Chill the prepared lamingtons for an hour, then dig in! Store in an airtight tin in the fridge for a week and let them soften at room temperature for about 15 minutes before enjoying. Happy eating!
Notes
Hi,
I love baking and have had many a disaster when it comes to lamingtons. Not so much with the sponge (sometimes I’ve made a true sponge cake – you know the type with 6 eggs that are whipped like crazy so that it relies just on the air incorporated and has barely any fats? I’ve also made more a light butter cake which seems more like your recipe as well and find they are a little bit denser but handle the coating process much better).
However I’ve never found an icing that is quite right! And I’ve nearly had tantrums trying to coat them at times 😛
In the past I’ve used icing recipes that are basically a chocolate icing with cocoa powder, butter, icing sugar, water.
But I’ve never found them to set up well. Even if freezing the cake first so that it’s nice and cold, it has always made a terrible mess.
Today I just used a recipe that actually doesn’t have any cocoa powder in it but uses melted chocolate instead. It set PERFECTLY, minimal mess and they look fantastic. I think because of the cocoa butter in the chocolate that sets at room temperature.
But they are definitely lacking in the strong chocolate flavour that it essential to a lamington icing!
I see your recipe uses both chocolate as well as cocoa powder and I’m wondering does this still maintain the depth of chocolate flavour by using the coco powder but also set much better than the usual icings due to the chocolate in it?
I’m hoping so! I’d love to give it a try – I’m also keen to hear what you think about the ‘setting’ of the icing.
Hi Kelsie, this icing isn’t the kind that sets to a firm or crackly consistency but does need to be soft enough so the coconut sticks. Having said that, the lamingtons do need refrigeration to help everything set together and not be messy to eat. I’d also say the chocolate flavour is present, but doesn’t dominate. Hope that helps!
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Hi Gayatri, I was trying this recipe out today. As required in the recipe, both the butter and eggs were at room temperature.Strangely my butter, sugar and eggs mixtures is curdling. I threw away the first batch and tried again but unfortunately even the second batch curdled. I used an egg whisk instead of a hand mixer. Is this the reason for the curdling or are one of the ingredients making the batter curdle? Please hrlp coz I really want to make these lamingtons. Thanks!
Hi Nidhi, the curdling sometimes does happen because there always is a slight temperature difference and usually when you add the flour the mixture will smoothen out. Next time you can try adding just a spoonful of flour along with the eggs, it reduces the splitting. Also use the freshest eggs possible, bought the day you’re baking preferably. Hope that helps 🙂
Hey! I am not a fan of coconut, but would love to give these a try. Is there a replacement possible? Or maybe skipping the coconut altogether ?
Lamingtons need coconut to be authentic, I honestly don’t know what else you could substitute it with, maybe some coarsely ground nuts? The flavour of course won’t be the same, but you could try it. Skipping it altogether is just cake with chocolate sauce which is fine if that’s your kind of thing 🙂