These quick and easy homemade Lamingtons are the perfect Sunday afternoon treat. Light and fluffy vanilla sponge, filled with raspberry jam and dipped in chocolate before being coated in shredded coconut. Delicious.
Lamingtons are a popular cake choice in my house. My husband is obsessed with these little coconut covered cuties. Any time we’re in a supermarket you can guarantee he’ll sniff them out, grab the pack and shout ‘Katie, Lamingtons!’ before throwing them into the trolley with a look of triumph. His work is done, he might as well go and wait in the car from that point on.
Being such a great wife, and not wanting to be outdone by a £1 pack of sponges, I thought I’d try my hand at making them from scratch. Homemade is always better than store bought in my book. Unless you’re talking puff pastry, cause ain’t no-one got time for that!
I have to admit, I was a little intimidated by homemade Lamingtons. It was the whole dipping process, it gave me anxiety. Anxiety brought on by the time I tried to make fondant fancies from scratch. We don’t talk about that day, that dark dark day. *shudders* Thankfully I came across an awesome tip to make dipping the constructed Lamingtons a breeze. Freeze them! So simple, I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it sooner. Simply pop the naked Lamingtons in the freezer for 15 minutes before dipping them in the chocolate icing. Life changed!
Another little tip for successful Lamington making is an easy one. I like to bake my sponge the night before construction. This allows the sponge to dry out a little, giving a bit more of a sturdier structure for dipping. I think this is especially useful if you choose not to fill your Lamingtons with jam. Plain Lamingtons are just as delicious as the filled version, and a lot easier to make.
Make sure to drain as much excess icing from the cake as possible after you’ve dipped them. This will help keep your coconut from turning into a chocolatey mess. While eating handfuls of chocolatey coconut goo is bother delicious and tempting, it makes coating your remaining Lamingtons a bit of a nightmare.
Easy Homemade Lamingtons
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 16 Lamingtons 1x
Ingredients
For the Sponge:
- 230g plain flour
- 220g caster sugar
- 100g unsalted butter, softened
- 70g vegetable oil
- 3 large, free range eggs at room temperature
- 150 g full fat milk
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 150g good quality raspberry jam
For the Chocolate Icing:
- 170g plain chocolate
- 200g full fat milk
- 40g unsalted butter
- 250g powdered sugar, sifted
- 25g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 tbsp hot water
- 200g shredded coconut
Instructions
For the Sponge:
- Preheat your oven to 170°C and line a 9×9″ square tin with baking parchment.
- In a medium sided mixing bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt together, set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the butter, sugar and vegetable oil together until pale and creamy (around 2-3 minutes), scraping down the sides of the bowl from time to time.
- With the mixer still running on a medium slow speed add the eggs one at a time, making sure they’re fully incorporated after each addition.
- Add half of your flour mixture to the the bowl and mix until just combined. Add the milk and vanilla extract and mix, followed by the remaining flour mixture. Mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into you prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes or until skewer inserted in the middle comes out with few moist crumbs clinging to it. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing the cake and transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment and clear a little room in your freezer.
- Once cool, using a sharp serrated knife, cut your cake in half horizontally. Fill the middle of the cake with raspberry jam then cut the whole thing into 16 squares. Place the cakes onto your prepared baking sheet and pop in the freezer while you make the chocolate icing. This will make dipping the cake so much easier.
For the Chocolate Icing:
- In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (ensuring the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water) melt the chocolate, butter and milk together until smooth.
- Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. You want to icing to be the consistency of paint. Too thin and it will soak into the sponge and make the cakes mushy, too thick and it will be a nightmare to cover your cakes.
- If your icing is too thick add the boiling water, tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
Assembly:
- Pour the shredded coconut into a large, shallow dish.
- Using two forks dip each cake into the chocolate icing making sure the cake is fully coated. Allow the excess icing to drain off the cake before plunging it into the coconut. Give it a little roll around to make sure it’s fully covered in the shredded coconut before removing to a wire rack to set.
- Repeat until all of your Lamingtons are dipped and coated, allow to set for a hour before digging in.
- Best served with a hot cup of tea or coffee.
Notes
If you don’t want to fill your Lamingtons with jam you can skip the freezing step and jump straight to the fun bit.
You can use any flavour of jam you like, just make sure it’s the best quality you can afford.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Baking
- Cuisine: Australian
Keywords: Lamingtons, Chocolate, Coconut, Sponge
I thought Lamingtons were much harder to make than that! I love the shredded coconut on the outside, it makes for an interesting texture.
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Wow these Lamingtons look gorgeous! Can I use dark chocolate instead of plain chocolate in this recipe?
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Hi Jen, Plain chocolate is the same as dark chocolate. Just a different name for it 🙂
Hope you enjoy 🙂
Katie xoxo
I’ve always wanted to try Lamingtons, but have never had access to them. When I saw this recipe I figured I may as well make them myself. They were easy and so soft and tender.
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Lamingtons! OMG, I haven’t made those in years. Thanks for this recipe and reminder. I’m so making them for the weekend.
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I’m so glad you chose raspberry jam for this lamington recipe! Perfect choice with the chocolate icing!
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I don’t do much baking so your professional tips to bake the cake ahead of time and freeze it were so helpful. Love these with a cup of tea!
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Homemade lamingtons definitely make tea time so much nicer and delicious. This bite-size dessert is my favorite and I can’t wait to try this.
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Such delicious afternoon snacks to make for my family this weekend. I am sure they will love this.
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These are fluffy bites of perfection! Love the filling and my kids gobbled these up. SO tasty.
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I had to look ‘lamingtons’ up as hadn’t heard of these cakes before. Apparently, they originated in Australia which was interesting to know! I can’t buy them here in Italy, so am planning to make some. They look delicious and I want to try them!
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I had never heard of Lamingtons before but my family loved them and you can be sure they’ll make a regular appearance at our home!
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I’ve always wanted to try and make lamingtons since they look like the cutest and most perfect quick dessert! I love the addition of jam inside, they look super tasty and I can’t wait to try them out! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
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I’ve never heard of these, but they look incredible! That coconut and that filling look amazing!
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Oh my word, these are amazing! Not only are they gorgeous but they taste delicious.
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Lamingtons!!! It reminds me of my chidhood treat. Looks the same but without the jam. I definitely will try it this version.Thanks for sharing
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