13 Dec Australia Day Classic: Lamingtons
What better way to celebrate this Australia Day than with one of our classic desserts?
The Lamington is an Aussie icon and has been around for over a century, although there is still much debate about its origin.
One story claims that the maid of Lord Lamington, Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901, or possibly Lady Lamington herself, accidentally dropped a sponge cake into melted chocolate and served it anyway — sprinkled with coconut to avoid sticky fingers.
Others believe that Lamingtons were created in order to reuse stale or burned cakes, to avoid waste.
Whatever the reason, we are just glad to be able to enjoy this delicious tea-time favourite not just on Australia Day, but on any day. Enjoy!
Made it? Snap a photo and hashtag it #soupeduprecipes. We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook!
Method
Foundation Sponge
1. Beat eggs and sugar for 20 minutes, or until mixture will stand up.
2. Sift flour twice and fold in lightly.
3. Add milk and mix.
4. Pour on papered trays.
5. Bake in hot oven 15-20 minutes.
Lamingtons
1. Cut cake into squares or fingers.
2. Place a piece of baking paper onto a large wire cooling rack.
3. Sift icing sugar and cocoa together.
4. Melt butter and water together in a heatproof bowl or jug.
5. Stir until melts. Pour butter into cocoa mixture.
6. Stir to form a smooth icing.
7. Place coconut into a shallow bowl or dish.
8. Using two forks, dip one cake finger at a time into the icing, then roll into the coconut.
9. Place onto a wire rack to set.