Lamington, Finally...

Had my first Lamington in Sydney some fourteen years ago, and somehow despite the fading memory of it, I still keep the crave of its cocoa and coconut flavor and I once set out a promise to bake for myself someday.

It has been long long time, and amidst browsing through many food blogs last month, I was exposed to this cake again. Due to the vibes of celebrating Australia Day which fell on last 26th January, this iconic Australian cake became popular and appeared in many food blogs. I was once again tempted…



Some interesting findings from Wikipedia showed that Lamington has more than a decade history and was named after Charles Cochrane-Baillie who served as Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901. Traditionally Lamington is popular as fund raisers for Australian youth groups such as Scouts, Guides and churches to the extent that such fund raisers are called "Lamington drives". Friday 21 July 2006 was designated as National Lamington Day in Australia. And in September 2006, the National Trust of Queensland named the Lamington one of Queensland's favourite icon.



Lamington is not difficult to bake and in fact very straight forward. Besides the conventional chocolate coating, I also made passionfruit curd. I was thinking of alternating them and serve Lamingtons like a chest board. It is fun and the flavor is very refreshing.



Try and see whether you like it?

LAMINGTONS
Makes thirty six 3.5cm Lamington cubes.



1. Sponge Cake

Ingredients:
- All purpose flour > 145grams
- Granulated sugar > 160 grams
- Eggs > 5
- Melted butter > 60 grams

Method:
- Prepare a 9 inch square baking tin lined with baking paper.
- Preheat oven to 175C.
- Beat eggs and granulated sugar until pale and light.
- Gently fold in all purpose flour, following by melted butter. Mix well.
- Pour batter into tin and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from tin and cool on wire rack.
- Cut into 3.5cm squares. Will get 36.



2. Chocolate Coating

Ingredients:
- Cocoa powder > 30 grams
- Icing sugar > 100 grams
- Melted butter > 25 grams
- Hot water > 25ml
- Dessicated coconut > 50 grams
- Extra icing sugar and butter (at room temperature)



Method:
- Combine all ingredients together and mix well.
- Separate 18 cubes of sponge cake. Dip into chocolate coating and toss in dessicated coconut.
- Into the leftover chocolate coating add the same portion of icing sugar and butter. Stir until it reaches a thick and firm consistensy. Fill into a piping bag and pipe a rosette on top of Lamington.



3. Passionfruit Curd

Ingredients:
- Passionfruit pulp > 65 grams
- Granulated sugar > 40 grams
- Egg > 1
- Butter at room temperature > 30 grams
- Dessicated coconut > 50 grams
- Extra icing sugar and butter (at room temperature)



Method:
- Mix passionfruit pulp, sugar and egg in a bowl.
- Place the bowl on a double boiler.
- Stir constantly until sugar dissolves and batter becomes thick.
- Remove from heat and add butter. Stir well.
- Take 18 cubes of sponge cake. Dip into passionfruit curd and toss in dessicated coconut.
- Into the leftover passionfruit curd add the same portion of icing sugar and butter. Stir until it reaches a thick and firm consistensy. Fill into a piping bag and pipe a rosette on top of Lamington.