Larousse Gastronomique (page 598) defines a lamington as ‘a small Australian cake, made from a square of sponge coated in chocolate icing and dipped in desiccated coconut‘ (abbreviated). The cakes are named after Lord Lamington who was the governor of Queensland from 1896-1901. The idea is to soak sponge in a chocolate sauce and then leave that to set, before dusting with desiccated coconut to make it easy to eat. As Dave does not like coconut I have never bought these as a treat, nor made them. However when Marcellina set us the task of making lamingtons for the Daring Bakers’ challenge this month and allowed us to make them using any flavouring and topping we wanted to, I decided to go with what Dave loves. On our last day in Paris, Dave and I went for ice cream. My last ice cream treat will always be a split cup of hazelnut (my favourite choice) and something new. That way, if the something new disappoints at least I have my favourite to end with. Dave always has his favourites and on that day he had chocolate, raspberry and pistachio. So I made a Genoese sponge (recipe adapted from Larousse Gastronomique page 494) and replaced some of the flour with cocoa powder to make a chocolate cake, which I then coated with raspberry curd. The recipe for the curd has been adapted with permission from Lorraine and it made a runnier curd than what my recipe makes. I then sprinkled on pistachio nuts and presented Dave with his treat. He told me that the raspberry comes through and that the nuts offer texture. To me, that is the perfect dessert and I hope if you don’t like traditional lamingtons you will give the ones I have made a go.
Lamingtons
Ingredients
for the raspberry curd
- 300 g raspberries
- 5 egg yolks
- 140 g fructose
- 125 g butter, cubed
- 2 limes, zest only
- 50 mls lime juice *
for the Genoese sponge
- 138 g fructose
- 12.5 mls vanilla sugar
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 large pinch of salt
- 115 g flour, sifted
- 10 g cocoa powder, sifted
- 63 g butter, melted
for the lamingtons
- 100 g pistachio nuts, finely chopped
Method
for the raspberry curd
- Place the raspberries into a jug
- Using a stick blender purée until smooth
- Sieve into a jug to get the juice
- You are looking for 200mls, but don't worry if it is slightly more or less, just adjust the lime juice
- Place the yolks and fructose into a thick bottomed sauce pan
- Whisk until at the ribbon stage
- Place onto the stove at a low temperature setting and add the butter
- Allow the butter to melt before adding the raspberry juice, lime juice and zest
- Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon until the curd reaches 75° Celsius
- Remove from the heat and cover with a lid
- Leave to cool completely before placing into a sterilized glass jar
for the Genoese sponge
- Preheat the oven to 200° Celsius
- Place the fructose, sugar, eggs and salt into a stand mixer bowl
- Over a bain-marie, whisk until thick and pale
- Do not short cut this stage as you want a light and airy sponge
- Try and get the volume to double at least
- Remove from the heat and using a balloon whisk, whisk until completely cooled down
- Place the flour and cocoa into a jug and mix
- Pour a third down the side of the bowl and gently fold in until all the flour is incorporated
- Repeat until you have folded in all of the flour
- Place the butter into a jug and slowly pour down the side of the bowl
- Mix gently until completely incorporated
- Pour the batter into a lined square baking tin
- Bake for 10 minutes
- Turn out immediately and leave to cool
for the lamingtons
- Cut the sponge cake into 4cm squares
- You want the height to be 4cm (or as close) as well, so if your squares are not high enough, sandwich 2 together
- Coat the outside with curd and place into the fridge to set for an hour
- Dust with the pistachios and serve
Notes
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
Blog-checking lines: 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
What I blogged May 28:
- one year ago – Packing Your Suitcase
- three years ago – Caramelized Apples
- four years ago – The Omnivore’s Hundred
- five years ago – Cointreau Soufflé
That’s brill Larousse said lamingtons are from Australia. New Zealand have also claimed the chocolate/coconut sponge treat to be their own. I adore this version, it looks amazing, much more glam than the traditional variety. 🙂
Thanks Anna, that means a lot coming from an Aussie girl 🙂
NZer’s love lamingtons too and I love your twist on them – Tandy.
Thanks Rachel 🙂
Also wanted to say – thanks – you are making me think of different ways to do these:-)
my pleasure!
That looks beautiful! And funnily, hazlenut is right up there with my favourite ice cream flavours too 🙂
I must make some hazelnut ice cream at home sometime 🙂
I have not yet experienced a decent Lamington, so I’d HAPPILY have yours instead. 🙂
Thanks Krista 🙂
This is absolutely beautiful!!
Thank you so much 🙂
It looks AMAZING!
Thank you Pam 🙂
What a delicious variation on lamingtons, Tandy! Pistachios are so delicious and I can imagine that they sit well as a coating on these little cakes. Interesting that you use fructose.
I am sucrose intolerant and have used fructose as a substitute for over 20 years now 🙂
Wow Tandy, I love the way your dessert turned out my husband would of loved this. Printing for later….Thanks!
Hope you enjoy it 🙂
Your lamingtons look fantastic Tandy! And I’m so honoured that you used my curd recipe. Thanks for making something Australian! 😀
Thanks for letting me use your recipe 🙂
I’ve been meaning to comment on this for ages and have finally had a moment. Such a coincidence that both you and Joanne from What’s on the List should write about lamingtons in the same week. I recently talked about Aussie and Kiwi food on the radio, just before ANZAC Day. In my research, I found this interesting article: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/01/lamington-invented-in-new-zealand-new-research-proves-beyond-doubt
Bloody Kiwis!
Thanks for the comment and the tweet love. I will read the article later during the day 🙂