On my never-ending quest to find the nicest, most exciting baking treats from all around the world, one of my most cherished discoveries are lamingtons.
What are Lamingtons?
You might be familiar with the squared, chocolaty treats, but if you’re not, allow me to tell you all about them.
Lamingtons are an Australian pan cake created probably by Mrs. Lamington, the wife of Queensland’s Governor at the beginning of the twentieth century. They’re a big deal in Australia, for them, July 21 is National Lamington Day!
Actually, there’s a similar baking treat typical in Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, and neighboring countries, and it’s called čupavci. I wonder who copied who?
The treat itself is a sponge cake cut into squares, with a chocolate icing and sprinkled with grated coconut. And that’s a winning combination.
A quick and easy Lamingtons recipe
Because I know we don’t always have time to cook everything from scratch, especially if you have a large party craving for lamingtons, I have a fast and easy lamington recipe for you.
We’re using a box of ready-mix cake, notably Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme Cake Mix. For boxed cakes, I’ve tried them all, and I find this one to be particularly good.
We’re also making an unctuous, buttery chocolate icing, so you’ll need chocolate chips. In this case, I suggest you get the good stuff, high-quality baker’s chocolate because the cake has a nice texture, sure, but all the flavor in lamingtons comes from the toppings.
Finally, we’ll be using dried grated coconut. Chocolate and coconut are not the most usual partnership, but they give this popular cake its personality.
Although grated coconut will last anywhere from four to six months; it does go stale, so try buying the freshest one you can find. Look for the production date on the package, it might not make all that much of a difference, but when coconut is past its prime, you can tell, and your guests too!
One last tip before we start, I recommend using a 13×9 baking pan, but you can use any rectangle or square baking sheet you have but try not to make your lamingtons too skinny.
Good lamingtons are all about the favor, of course, but the height matters too — traditional ones are often as high as they are wide, in perfect chocolate-covered squares.
Let’s make Lamingtons!
PrintQuick and Easy Lamingtons
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 box of Lemon Supreme Cake Mix Duncan Hines
- 4 eggs
- 1/3 cup oil
- 1 cup milk
Frosting:
- 1–1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
- 2 cups of chocolate chips
- 1 lb of shredded dry coconut for coating
Instructions
Preheat oven to 360F.
- Blend your cake ingredients: cake mix, milk, oil and eggs in a large bowl at low speed until just moistened.
- Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Pour batter in 13×9 pan.
- Bake 22-25 min and cool completely.
Chocolate icing:
- In a medium saucepan bring milk and sugar to a boil.
- Remove from heat, add chocolate chips and butter, stirring until melted.
- Cool.
Combining:
- Cut the sponge cake into squares.
- Place a wire rack over a baking pan or over parchment paper.
- Pour the shredded coconut into a shallow bowl.
- Using a fork, dip each square into the icing, coating all sides, then roll in coconut.
- Leave it on the rack to dry.
More recipes for you coconut lovers: Coconut rum balls or Coconut cake roll.
