Chocingtons (Triple Chocolate Lamingtons) – Daring Bakers Challenge

When this months Daring Bakers Challenge was announced, I was pretty excited as lamingtons were on the menu.  You have seen me make these delightful little morsels before when I made the standard lamington covered in coconut as well as the colourful sprinkletons.

This time, I decided to go with chocolate as the main, and only, flavour and whipped up these Triple Chocolate Lamingtons which I have dubbed Chocingtons.

For the May challenge Marcellina from Marcellina in Cucina dared us to make Lamingtons. An Australian delicacy that is as tasty as it is elegant.

These Chocingtons consist of a delicious pudding-like chocolate cake covered in white chocolate icing and then coated in delectable Dutch chocolate sprinkles.  Definitely chocolate to the extreme!  So let us start with the cake.

Using a recipe from Dan Lepard, you will need caster sugar, cocoa powder, milk, unsalted butter, dark chocolate, sunflower (or other tasteless) oil, eggs, natural yoghurt, vanilla extract or paste, plain flour and baking powder.

Rather than using the stand mixer, I used my hand mixer for this recipe with the first step being to place the sugar, cocoa powder and milk in a bowl and beat together.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a saucepan then add this to the sugar/cocoa mixture with the oil.  You can also melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave if you prefer, and that is what I have done when I have made this cake recipe again, but only do so in 30 second bursts stirring well in between.

You will now beat in the eggs and once smooth add in the yoghurt and vanilla.  The original recipe calls for vanilla extract, but I tend to use vanilla paste in most recipes so it is completely up to you if you would like to use the paste instead.

Finally, add the flour and baking powder and gently stir until combined.  You will end up with quite a runny batter so do not be alarmed.

Pour the batter into a lined cake tin then cover with foil, which is slightly domed to allow the cake to cook more evenly.  Dan says to use a deep 20cm square cake tin which, surprisingly, I do not have so I used my rectangle tin, from the MasterChef “Eve” Cake, that measures 35cm x 25cm.  Bake in a preheated 170°C/150°C fan-forced oven for one hour, removing the foil after 45 minutes.

Once cooked, allow to cool completely in the tin.  The recipe says to cover with cling wrap whilst still warm, but I did not see this step so did not do it.  Oops!

Generally it is better to do the next process the day after as the cake is quite soft on the day it is made and can crumble into the icing, as you will see in a later picture as little Miss Impatient here did this all in one day.

For the icing you will need white chocolate, butter, milk and icing sugar according to the recipe from Shema at Life Scoops.

Add the white chocolate, butter and milk to a saucepan and whisk together until melted over a medium heat then remove from the stove-top and whisk in the icing sugar.  The result will be a nice, smooth, delicious coating for your chocolate cake.

Now it is time to get all the stations ready…

Chop up your chocolate cake into squares.

Have your cooled icing on hand with a dipping and/or coating utensil (I held the cake with a truffle dipper then used a spoon to cover the cake after my initial dipping attempts failed miserably).

Place your sprinkles onto a flat tray or plate so you can coat each Chocington.  You can use whatever chocolate sprinkles you can get your hands onto, but my personal preference is these Dutch Dark Chocolate Sprinkles as they have a rich chocolate flavour.

Coat your piece of cake in the icing by either dipping into the icing (if your cake is quite fresh, you will end up with lots of crumbs in the icing, as per the picture below), or drizzle the icing over the cake, ensuring all sides are covered.

Place the covered cake on the sprinkles and roll to coat. You may need to press some sprinkles into the sides if it ends up being a bit patchy.

I found this icing was more of a glaze which could have been because I did not leave it long enough to cool/thicken, but you do learn these things as you go along.  Regardless, the flavour of these Chocingtons/Triple Chocolate Lamingtons was pretty awesome and even with my sweet tooth I could only have one.

If you do not end up coating all of the pieces of cake, or you just want to make the cake portion again, freeze the squares of cake which then can be used with ice-cream for a simple dessert.  Just take a piece out of the freezer, warm in the microwave then serve with ice-cream.  You could even add some chocolate sauce/topping and sprinkles and you have a deconstructed chocolate lamington if you want to sound a bit fancy.  Because I found the cake to have a pudding like texture, particularly if you undercook it slightly, you can fool yourself into thinking you are eating chocolate pudding.

Print Recipe

Chocingtons (Triple Chocolate Lamingtons)

Cake recipe adapted from Dan Lepard and icing from Life Scoops

Course

Cake

Servings

chocingtons

Ingredients

For the cake

• 300 g caster sugar
• 50 g cocoa powder
• 75 ml milk
• 50 g unsalted butter
• 50 g dark chocolate
• 50 ml sunflower oil
• 4 egg(s)
• 100 ml natural yoghurt
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 175 g plain/all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp baking powder

For the icing

• 220 g white chocolate
• 45 g unsalted butter 3 tbsp
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 3/4 cups icing sugar

To coat

• Chocolate sprinkles

Course Cake Servings chocingtons Ingredients For the cake 300 g caster sugar 50 g cocoa powder 75 ml milk 50 g unsalted butter 50 g dark chocolate 50 ml sunflower oil 4 egg(s) 100 ml natural yoghurt 3 tsp vanilla extract 175 g plain/all-purpose flour 3 tsp baking powder For the icing 220 g white chocolate 45 g unsalted butter 3 tbsp 1/2 cup milk 1 3/4 cups icing sugar To coat Chocolate sprinkles

Instructions

For the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan-forced and line a deep 20cm cake tin or 35cm x 25cm cake tin with baking paper then set aside.
2. Place the sugar, cocoa powder and milk in a bowl and beat together.
3. Melt the butter and chocolate in a saucepan then add this to the sugar/cocoa mixture with the oil.
4. Beat in the eggs and once smooth add in the yoghurt and vanilla extract.
5. Add the flour and baking powder and gently stir until combined.
6. Pour the batter in the prepared cake tin, cover with foil (which is slightly domed) then bake in the preheated oven for one hour, removing the foil after 45 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the tin.

For the icing

1. Add the white chocolate, butter and milk to a saucepan and whisk together until melted over a medium heat.
2. Remove from the stove-top and whisk in the icing sugar until smooth.
3. Allow the icing to cool before using.

Assembly

1. Cut the cake into squares and pour some sprinkles onto a flat tray/plate.
2. Dip the cake into the icing, or if too delicate, drizzle the icing over the top of the cake, allowing the excess to drip back into the pan.
3. Place the covered cake on the sprinkles and roll to coat, patching and spots necessary by pressing sprinkles into the side.
4. Set aside on a tray lined with baking paper to set.

Recipe Notes

As the cake is quite soft the day it is made, it is often better to assemble the lamingtons the following day.