Lamingtons and Sprinkletons

There is a rule, in my house anyway, that on Australia Day you must eat a lamington.  I did kind of break that rule this year, although we did eat Pavlova instead, but I think I more than made up for it by making a whole bunch of them a couple of days later.

A friend of mine from Mexico Victoria was staying with us at the time, and they do things a little differently down there by filling their lamingtons with jam so I made half of the batch the traditional way with just the plain cake dipped in chocolate and covered with coconut, and the remainder filled with jam and covered in coconut.  I did run out of coconut so the remainder of the jam lamingtons were covered with coloured sprinkles, hence Sprinkletons were born.

The recipe I used was from Mowielicous and was super easy and delicious, provided that you fold in all of the flour thoroughly without getting rid of all the air you have created in the mixture (first batch wasn’t thoroughly mixed and when cooked tasted like scrambled egg).  And there are only four ingredients!  I also made these “dairy free” by using a dairy free spread as my friend is lactose intolerant and I thought it would be quite rude to eat these in front of her.

Whisk the sugar and eggs until they are light and fluffy and have dramatically increased in volume (should be about 10 minutes).

Gently fold in the sifted flour and melted butter taking care not to over mix the batter.

Pour it into your prepared pan and then bake for 30-40 until cooked through.

Before dipping the sponge in chocolate, you can certainly tidy up the cake by trimming off all of the edges but on this occasion I couldn’t really be bothered was going for the rustic look.  If you want to go for something a little different, you can slice the sponge in half and fill with jam, and others even fill with cream (although, I think this is often done after the cake has been covered in chocolate and coconut).  You might also want to try to slice it a little more evenly than what I did and I now know the reason why I use a cake leveler to cut straight lines rather than the angled one I achieved this day.

I then placed the sponge in the freezer for half an hour to firm up and make cutting them into smaller pieces a little easier.  Once slightly frozen, cut into squares and I then put them back in the freezer for a little longer so they would disintegrate when dipped into the chocolate icing.

For the chocolate icing, there are again only four ingredients and the better the cocoa powder you use, the better this will taste.  It will taste that good you will eat the leftover from the bowl with a spoon.  Just sayin’.

After whisking together the cocoa powder, icing sugar and water you will have a thick paste.  Fold in the melted butter and the mixture will thin out.  You may find that it will need to thin the icing out a little further with some more hot water as it may start to set.

In order to dip the lamingtons the icing needs to be runny, and I actually ended up holding the lamington in my hand and pouring the icing over the top and getting rid of the excess with a small palette knife.  Place the shredded/desiccated coconut (I prefer shredded) or sprinkles, on a plate and then put the covered lamington on top and toss to cover.

Once coated, place on some baking paper to set and if it is a warm day you might have to place them in the fridge to set.

They’re best enjoyed on the day they are made, but keep well in the freezer if they all don’t disappear.

Print Recipe

Lamingtons and Sprinkletons

Adapted from Mowielicious.

Servings

Ingredients

For the Sponge

• 200 g plain/all-purpose flour sifted
• 225 g caster sugar
• 7 egg(s)
• 80 g butter melted
• Jam for filling optional

For the Icing

• 400 g shredded coconut
• 400 g icing sugar
• 115 g cocoa powder
• 100 g butter melted
• 100 ml hot water

Servings Ingredients For the Sponge 200 g plain/all-purpose flour sifted 225 g caster sugar 7 egg(s) 80 g butter melted Jam for filling optional For the Icing 400 g shredded coconut 400 g icing sugar 115 g cocoa powder 100 g butter melted 100 ml hot water

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a rectangular baking tin with baking paper.
2. Place the eggs and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on high speed for 10 minutes. The mixture should be light and fluffy and now almost fill the mixing bowl.
3. Gently fold in the sifted flour and melted butter, ensuring not to deflate the mixture.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
5. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Prepare the icing by whisking together the icing sugar, cocoa and hot water until you have a thick paste. Fold through the melted butter. If the icing requires thinning down, use additional hot water as required.
7. If desired, slice the sponge in half and spread a layer of jam and replace the top. Place in the freezer to allow the cake, and jam, to firm up.
8. Cut into squares and dip into the chocolate icing. Toss the coated sponge through the coconut, or sprinkles, to cover. Place on baking paper to set (or in the fridge if a warm day).