Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Lamingtons





If you have come this far, why not go a little further down the rabbit hole. I am an Australian living in Seattle. I'm also known to be a bit of a bogan, and I'm a woman, hence the name Boganella. Living in Seattle has been an amazing experience, but also a bit of a cultural shock. Our taste buds are a funny thing, new food can be exciting and also intimidating. I honestly didn't think American food would be very different to Australian food - how wrong was I? Certain foods were a big adjustment, and at times when I couldn't adjust or got homesick, it was a simple decision of make my own. You will stumble across many Australian recipes, but don't let that stop you, all Australian recipes have been converted and adapted to US  so you wont have any problems working out names of ingredients, or measurements. 



First up I would like to introduce you all to an Australian classic - Lamingtons.






A lamington is a dessert/snack it consists of vanilla sponge cake, cut into squares, dipped in chocolate sauce like mixture, rolled in coconut. I can guarantee you super easy to make and even yummier to eat. Here is a quick tip that I learnt a long time ago, sponge cake (or any cake for that matter) tends to be very crumbly when cut, so stick it in the freezer for approx 1-2 hours. Trust me this will save you a major headache. Icing frozen cake is so much easier, because you are less likely to get crumbs in your icing.  Now onto the recipe. 


Lamingtons 
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) All Purpose Flour 
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
8 Eggs
1 cup Bakers sugar (or fine sugar)
100 grams Unsalted Butter Melted (this is approx 1 stick of butter) 
3 cups Confectioners Sugar (powdered sugar) 
3/4 cup Cocoa Powder 
1 cup Boiling Water 
1/4 cup Milk 
60 grams Butter Melted (for the icing) 

Method 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Sift the flour and baking powder. Set aside. Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8–10 minutes or until thick, pale and tripled in volume. Sift the flour over the egg and sugar mixture and gently fold through using a metal spoon. Fold through the melted butter.


Grease 2 x 20 cm square tin and line the bases with non-stick baking paper. Divide the mixture into tins and bake for  approx 25 minutes.The cakes are ready when they are springy to touch and come away from the sides of the tins. Cool on a wire rack. Cut the sponges into 6 cm squares. After cooling on a rack for approx 45 min place in the freezer for approx 1-2 hours.


Remove cake from the freezer. Mix together the icing sugar, cocoa, water, milk and extra butter in a large bowl. Place the coconut in another bowl. Roll the sponge squares in the icing and then in the desiccated coconut. Place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper and refrigerate until set. It normally takes about 30 min for them to set.  Makes about 18.


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