Whatever their true history, lamingtons are an Australian icon and you can find them in any bakery across Australia.  Lamingtons are cube-shaped pieces of sponge cake, usually day-old sponge cake, that are dipped in chocolate icing and then rolled in shredded coconut.  You might also see lamingtons that are filled with either jam or cream.  They look very pretty (and sometimes they look very messy) and they are very yummy, especially when enjoyed alongside a hot cuppa.

Not all lamingtons are created equally, however.  I’ve tasted yucky, stale lamingtons and just plain yucky lamingtons.  I’ve also had very nice lamingtons – one of my favorites come from the bakery directly next to Pablo & Rusty’s Espresso Bar in Epping, across from the train station.

The recipe for lamingtons that I’m posting today comes from Issue #3 of MasterChef Australia magazine, and was used in the Country Women’s Association episode of MasterChef Australia.  There’s nothing difficult about making lamingtons, it just takes a little bit of time.  You’ll first need to prepare and bake the sponge cake, let it cool, then cut it into cubes.  Next, you’ll need to make the chocolate icing and set out a plate with the shredded coconut in it.  Finally, you’ll roll the cubes of cake in the chocolate icing, and then roll them into the shredded coconut.

As I said, the process is a little time-consuming, but not difficult at all.  The end result makes a great little snack.  My experience with this particular recipe is that these lamingtons taste better the next day (the cake and coconut both seem to be a little moister and softer), so I’d recommend making them a day beforehand if you’d like to serve these for morning or afternoon tea to guests.

Alternatively, you could buy a premade sponge cake to save having to prepare and bake the cake yourself.

Lamingtons
Adapted from MasterChef Australia magazine, Issue #3
Makes 16

Ingredients
4 eggs
125g caster sugar
125g plain flour
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
50g unsalted butter, melted
200g shredded coconut

Chocolate Icing
25g unsalted butter
160ml (2/3 cup) milk
500g icing sugar
50g (1/2 cup) Dutch cocoa powder

Method
Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm square cake pan with baking paper. Fill a sink one-third full with water. Place eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Place bowl in sink and whisk for 2 minutes or until mixture is runny and slightly foamy. Remove from sink. Using an electric mixer, whisk on high speed for 4 minutes or until mixture is pale and triples in volume.

Using a sieve, sift just enough flour to cover the top of the egg mixture. Using a large metal spoon, fold in flour in one light motion. Repeat sifting and folding with remaining flour until just combined.

Combine vanilla and butter in a bowl, then add a large spoonful of batter and stir to combine. Gently fold the butter mixture into batter until just combined, then spoon into the prepared pan.

On a work surface, spin the pan to level, then bake for 25 minutes or until centre springs bake when pressed with your fingertip. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Freeze for 20 minutes; this will make the sponge easier to cut.

To make icing, stir butter and milk in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water until butter is melted. Sift over sugar and cocoa, then stir until smooth. Turn off heat.

My note – I didn’t use the double-boiler method as described here to make the icing, I just put the ingredients in a saucepan and had the burner set very, very low.

Using a large serrated knife, trim sides of sponge, then cut into 16 cubes. Scatter coconut over a tray. Insert a skewer into the crust side of a piece of sponge (don’t go all the way through). Holding the skewer over icing, and, holding a spoon in the other hand, spoon icing over the sponge, rotating the skewer to coat evenly. Shake off excess, then slide sponge off the skewer onto the tray of coconut. Scatter coconut over the top and sides of sponge, then transfer to a tray lined with baking paper. Repeat with remaining sponge cubes, icing and coconut. If the icing starts to thicken, stir in a little water to thin.

My note – using a skewer was useless! I ended up just dropping the sponge cube into the icing, spooning icing over it, then using a fork to lift it out and sit it on the coconut.

Being a foodie, I also really love Australia’s native herbs and spices, such as wattleseed, lemon myrtle, mountain pepper and bush tomato, to name a few.  I’ve never cooked with any of these native spices before but now that I’m here for good I would really love to experience these herbs and spices that you can only find in Australia.

Luckily, my husband grows a variety of plants in the garden, including a lemon myrtle tree.  He picked some leaves from the tree earlier this week for my first experiment in baking with Australian native spices.

I thought I’d have to wait weeks for the leaves to dry, but I found a very helpful post from Simple Daily Recipes on how to dry basil in the microwave.  It looked so easy and quick that I decided to try this on the lemon myrtle leaves.

All you need to do is wash and dry the leaves, lay them in a single layer on a paper towel straight on the microwave’s glass plate, cover the leaves with another paper towel, then microwave on high for one minute.  Check the leaves for brittleness, then microwave at intervals of 20-30 seconds until they break with gentle pressure.  For more detailed instructions, visit Simple Daily Recipes.

Next you’ll need to ground the leaves into a very fine powder.  For this I recommend a mortar and pestle.  The smell of the lemon myrtle while doing this is wonderful and very lemony.  Not all of the leaves ground down very well, so I sifted the powder through a fine mesh colander to separate the bigger pieces that didn’t grind down.

After finishing up the lemon myrtle, I started on the cupcakes.  I chose the flavor of coconut to accompany the lemon myrtle.  The cake recipe is one I have used before from Ina Garten:

And they are the same ones that you see in the photo of me on the “About” page.  What I did differently was add 2 teaspoons of ground lemon myrtle to the flour mixture.

I must take this opportunity to state how much I miss my KitchenAid stand mixer.  I have a Breville stand mixer here, and it’s good, but it is NOT a KitchenAid.  Most of all, I miss my Beater Blade.  I have to constantly stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl; how annoying!

Anyway, I made a lemon myrtle sugar syrup to drizzle on the top of each cupcake.  I poked holes in the tops of the cupcakes with a fork to make sure the syrup would drip down inside of the cupcake.  I decided to make the sugar syrup because I wasn’t totally sure about how strong (or not strong) the lemon flavor would be in the cake.

To frost the lemon myrtle cupcakes, I wanted a coconut cream cheese frosting that had coconut milk or cream.  I found just what I wanted at Good Eats ‘n Sweet Treats.  After frosting the cupcakes, I coated each one in sweetened, shredded coconut.

I couldn’t wait to taste these!  They are really nice and not too sweet.  It’s not a cupcake for kids; it’s the sort of cupcake you’d serve with tea or coffee for a morning or afternoon snack with a friend, if that makes any sense!  The lemon myrtle taste isn’t too strong; it’s more of a hint of lemon, while the coconut is actually the stronger flavor.

Overall, these are some lovely cupcakes and a great effort for my first baking experience with an Australian native spice!  I invited the neighbors over for morning tea to sample of these cupcakes and they really enjoyed them.  I even sent them home with the leftovers!

Lemon Myrtle Coconut Cupcakes
Adapted from Ina Garten
Makes approximately 14 cupcakes

Ingredients
170g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 extra-large eggs, room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons ground lemon myrtle
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
100g sweetened, shredded coconut

Method
Preheat the oven to 325F (160C).

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, lemon myrtle, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner evenly with batter. Bake for 20-25, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Lemon Myrtle Sugar Syrup
Adapted from Lemon Myrtle Australia
Makes approximately 2/3 cup

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2-3/4 teaspoons ground lemon myrtle
juice from half of a lemon

Method
Bring all ingredients to the boil stirring until sugar is dissolved. Strain lemon myrtle from syrup. Poke holes into the cupcakes with a fork, then either dip cupcakes into syrup or spoon the syrup over the cupcakes. This is best done when the cupcakes and syrup are still warm.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Good Eats ‘n Sweet Treats
Makes enough to frost 14-16 cupcakes

Ingredients
340g cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons coconut cream
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method
Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a large bowl on medium-high speed about 1 minute. Add the whipping cream, coconut cream, and salt; beat until combined. Frost cupcakes when they are completely cool.