Lamingtons are small square vanilla cakes that are very soft, and are covered in chocolate and then in shredded coconut, and filled with strawberry or raspberry jam and some whipped cream. Now the whipped cream is optional, but it gives them a delicious extra flavor that we love!
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The vanilla cake for the lamingtons is a classic vanilla cake that is quite easy to make. The chocolate glaze is simple and comes together very quickly. The most complicated part of making Lamingtons is assembling them, meaning, cutting out the squares, covering them with chocolate and coconut and then filling them after they dry.
Lamingtons are a very typical dessert in Australia. It is said that they were baptized as lamingtons in honor of Lord Lamington, who was the governor of Queensland from 1895 to 1901. It is a typical sweet there and also in New Zealand.
Now, lamingtons can just be made covered with chocolate and coconut, without any filling, but the jam and whipped cream filling gives them an extra kick that we love!
This time, as you can see in the pictures, we only put strawberry jam, but we recommend you to try them with whipped cream, because they taste great with it.
We love the idea of eating lamingtons because they are small, and they are great for a quick sweet treat, and they would even be great for an afternoon tea with friends or family or as a middle of the morning snack with your favorite drink.
The combination of vanilla cake, chocolate, coconut and the filling they have is great. When you bite into them the combination of flavors in the mouth is wonderful!
If you like this recipe, you have to check out our coconut pound cake, which is soft, fluffy, and with a lot of coconut flavor, which we are sure you will fall in love with.
Lamingtons
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1/2 C + 1 tbsp (125 gr) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 C + 2 tbsp (230 gr) white sugar
- 3 eggs, big
- 1 tsp (15 ml) vanilla extract
- 2 C (260 gr) all purpouse flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 C whole milk, at room temperature
For the chocolate glaze:
- 1/2 C (42 gr) cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 2 C (245 gr) confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
- 1/2 C (120 ml) milk, boiling
- 1/4 C (56 gr) unsalted butter, melted
To assemble the lamingtons:
- 1 C (240 ml) whipped cream
- 200 gr strawberry or raspberry jam
- 3 C (300 gr) dried shredded coconut
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 356º F (180° C). Grease a deep rectangular baking pan of approximately 8 inches x 12 inches (20cm x 30cm) and line it with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.
- In a different bowl, using an electric mixer or hand whisk, cream together the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat until blended.
- Add the flour mixture in 3 additions alternating with the milk, beating after each addition. Beat for 1 more minute until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into the cake pan and bake at 356º F (180° C) for approximately 25-30 minutes until a wooden toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
- Once the cake is ready, remove it from the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes and then turn it out and place it on a rack to cool down completely.
- When the cake is ready, cut it into 15 squares or 18 rectangles and set them aside until needed.
For the chocolate glaze:
- In a large wide bowl, add the cocoa with the powdered sugar and mix with a fork.
- Add the boiling milk with the melted butter and beat for a few seconds with the same fork until you get a very light chocolate glaze.
To assemble the lamingtons:
- Place the shredded coconut in a large shallow dish.
- Take one of the cake pieces and dip it in the light chocolate glaze using two forks until it is completely covered on all sides.
- Immediately put the chocolate-covered cake piece on the shredded coconut so that it is completely covered and "breaded" with coconut.
- Place the cake square on a wire rack and let it rest for 20 minutes so that the chocolate dries and turns firm. In the meantime, repeat the process until all the cake pieces are finished.
- Once all the lamigtons are ready and the chocolate is firm, cut them in half to fill them with some strawberry or raspberry jam and whipped cream (optional).
