and Chocolate and Jelly Lamingtons

the day to be Australian
Australia Day 2013

I hope every Australian had a great Australia Day. I know I did. I spent the day on a friends boat anchored at Matilda Bay. We watched the day go by on the boat and then enjoyed the fireworks in the distance over the City. For my contribution to the food for the day I made Lamingtons. A couple of years ago I brought the 'Blue Ribbon Recipe' book which is produced by 'The Royal Agricultural Society'. I learnt last year that traditionally Lamingtons were made using a butter cake and not a sponge cake, so I thought for my first attempt I would try to make them like the old days. The Blue Ribbon Recipe book provided the perfect version for me.

Lamingtons

Preparation:
Cake: 20 mins plus 1 nights cooling.
Decoration: 30 mins plus drying time

Cake:
Ingredients:

• 185g butter
• 250g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cups milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 300g self-raising flour

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 140C fan forced. Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper.
2. Beat sugar and butter to a cream.
3. In another bowl whisk eggs until combined and then add to butter mixture.
4. Add milk and vanilla extract, fold in sifted flour.
5. Mix well then pour into prepared cake tin.
6. Bake for 15 mins then increase temperature to 160C. This helps to produce a flatter cake.
7. Bake for another 25-45 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.
8. Turn onto a wire rake to cool before refrigerating overnight in an airtight container.
9. Cut the cake into desired size and decorate as per below.

For the best fit, cut the corners and over lap them.

Butter and sugar.

Lightly whisk eggs until combined.

Mix in milk and vanilla. Then add flour

Pour into tin. Shake the tin gently and those lumps will smooth out.

Tadaaa! I shook it a little more to get it even smoother.

Decoration:

Ingredients:

• 3 tsp butter
• 3 Tbs cocoa
• 6 Tbs boiling water
• 3 cups icing sugar
• desiccated coconut

Method:

1. Melt the butter and mix with the boiling water.
2. Stir in cocoa then add the well sifted icing sugar. Mix well.
3. Using a carving fork (I used 2 skewers) spoon the icing over the cake, coating all sides, allowing the excess to fall back into the bowl.
4. Roll in coconut or spoon coconut over each side.
5. Stand on wire rack to dry.

All lined up and ready to go.

2 skewers help stop the cake from turning over.

Add coconut.

My first lamington! Have something under the rack to catch any drops.

Tips: 

• If your cake pieces are small, up the icing mixture by using 4 in lieu of 3 and 8 in lieu of 6.
• The icing may stick to the rack. Push the Lamingtons from underneath to help lift them up and reduce the amount of icing left behind.
• Use soft icing not pure icing.

Variation:

Jelly Lamingtons:

Decoration:

• 1 85g pack of your favourite jelly flavour. (Raspberry and Strawberry are the most common)
• 400ml of boiling water
• desiccated coconut

Method:

1. Empty the jelly crystals into a bowl and pour boiling water on top.
2. Stir until combined and refrigerate for about an hour or until jelly is the consistency of egg whites or runny jam.
3. Using a carving fork or skewers spoon the mixture over the cake and roll in or spoon over coconut.
4. Stand on rack to dry.

I went for Strawberry.

Pour over jelly

Time for the coconut.

Onto the rack.

Tips:

• If your pieces are small, 2 packs maybe required. Double the water to suit.
• You want the mixture to stay on top of the cake, not soak into it. Test a small amount on a cake if you would like to be sure.

Don't they look pretty together?

They wen't down fabulously  The butter cake added so much more to the dish over the sponge cake. Don't get me wrong, I love sponge cake, but for me, I am not a convert to the butter cake lamington!

 Love, love Elle.