Name: Lamington Recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: Australian
Ingredients: 120ml Vegetable oil (1/2 cup); 60g Unsalted butter (1/4 cup), room temperature; 300g White sugar (1 1/2 cup); 4 Eggs, room temperature; 1 tsp Vanilla extract; 330g Plain flour (2 2/3 cup); 1 tbsp Baking powder; Pinch of salt; 240ml Whole milk (1 cup); 150g Icing sugar (1 1/2 cup); 60g Cocoa powder (1/2 cup); Pinch of salt; 30g Butter (2 tbsp), melted; 120ml Whole milk (1/2 cup); Shredded coconut, optional; Crushed Lotus cookies, optional; Crushed Ferrero rocher, optional

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Light vanilla sponge cake dipped in a delicious chocolate glaze and rolled in your choice of toppings, these lamingtons are up to your imagination

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What is a lamington?
How to prepare the perfect sponge for lamingtons
Ingredients
Frequently Asked Questions
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

What is a lamington?

Lamingtons are a traditional Australian cake made from squares of butter cake or sponge cake coated in chocolate sauce and rolled in desiccated coconut. These days lamingtons are just as popular and often sold at charity bakes and school fundraisers around Australia. They are also equally as popular in New Zealand.

A popular variation of this cake is made with a layer of cream and jam in between two layers of sponge. However, there have been a number of new and unique lamington flavors emerging recently. All you need to do is change the toppings and you've got your very own lamington flavor.

This recipe walks you through the steps needed to create a delicious traditional lamington, while also showing you the different potential flavors you can create! From oreo to biscoff the ideas are limitless.

Australian lamingtons rolled in chocolate glaze and coconut, biscoff and Ferrero rochers

How to prepare the perfect sponge for lamingtons

The sponge is the primary component of the lamington and the deciding factor between a good and bad lamington. The cake should be flavorful while still remaining moist and light.

Here are a couple of tips to help you prepare the best sponge cake for your lamingtons:

Don't overmix

Overmixing your cake batter is the path to a dense and rubbery cake. Make sure you only mix the batter enough to incorporate the ingredients

Don't overbake

Keep a close eye on your cake and take it out as soon as an inserted toothpick emerges clean. Overbaking your cake will lead to a dry and crumbly cake. Not only does this not taste as good, but a crumbly cake is also harder to work with when rolling it in the chocolate icing.

Trim the caramelisation

While the caramelized parts of the cake are still delicious, they are often dryer than the other areas of the cake. They also absorb icing differently, and won't absorb as much chocolate glaze.

This makes it more difficult for the coconut to stick to the cake. While it isn't necessary to trim off all the caramelization, it ensures that the cake you are working with is absolutely perfect. This gives you the perfect base to work with.

Ingredients

Sponge cake

Whole milk: Adds moisture to the cake
Vegetable oil: Gives the cake fat, increasing the softness of the sponge
Unsalted butter: Adds extra fat to the cake while also giving it flavor, creating the perfect balance between flavor and texture. Make sure it is at room temperature so it can incorporate with the oil and sugar

White sugar: Adds sweetness to the cake. I wouldn't recommend reducing this as the cake itself is not very sweet and the sugar is needed to enhance the texture of the cake.
Eggs: Eggs bind the cake together. Make sure they are at room temperature and beat them until they are well combined and lightened, this gives the cake extra lightness.

Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract is needed to give the sponge flavor!
Plain or All Purpose Flour: Flour forms the structure of the cake.
Baking powder: Baking powder acts as the leavening agent in this cake in combination with the eggs, giving the cake a fluffy texture and rise.
Salt: Salt helps to balance out the flavor of the cake

Chocolate Glaze

Icing or Powdered sugar: It's important to use a fine sugar as it will dissolve easier into the glaze
Cocoa powder: The chocolate flavor comes from cocoa powder rather than chocolate as it gives an intense chocolate flavor that is soaked up by the cake
Salt: Salt is needed to balance out the flavor!

Unsalted butter: Regular butter will work too, but unsalted is better as you can control the salt balance of the glaze
Milk: Milk is the liquid in the glaze, giving it a dippable consistency. If you find the glaze is too thick you can add more and vice versa.

Toppings

When it comes to toppings the world is your oyster, feel free to play around with your favorite toppings and flavors.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do these last?

These last up to 4 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge. If you want the cookie crumbs on your cake to still be slightly crunchy when consuming roll them in your toppings just before serving.

Can I freeze these?

Yes! These are perfect cakes to be frozen as they are simply covered in a glaze and topping.

When you are ready to eat them simply place them on the countertop to defrost before consuming.

Can I fill the lamingtons with jam and cream?

Of course! Cream and jam-filled lamingtons are my favorite way to eat them. Once the glaze has set on your lamington, cut a square in half and fill it with cream and jam!

For the cream, you can whip some thickened cream with an electric mixer until it reaches stiff peaks, then spread it on the sponge cake.

My toppings are falling off my lamingtons

If you don't pack the toppings onto your lamingtons they will fall off, particularly if you are using a chunkier topping like crushed chocolate bars/truffles.

I recommend wearing a pair of food-safe gloves and pressing your toppings onto your lamingtons. Then put them on a wire rack so they have time to set. Once set the topping should stay intact.

Let's Get Cooking

If you liked this recipe make sure to leave me a comment and rating down below, I would love to know how you went. Also don't forget to tag me on Instagram @catherine.desserts so I can see and share your desserts.

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