Welcome to station Australia. I decided to prepare and present you a “Lamington” cake. This is a traditional Australian dessert that enjoys great popularity in its home country and beyond. It’s widely enjoyed in the United States, and in the Western Balkans (Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia), the little pastries are known as “crap”.
The cake is said to be named after Lord Lamington, who was governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901. His maid unintentionally dropped a piece of cake in chocolate topping, and as he was pragmatic, he suggested not throw it away, but instead to sprinkle it with coconut flakes, so that he wouldn’t get his hands dirty while eating. Others believe it was rather named after the lord’s wife. Eventually, this is not particularly important.
Another theory (probably more realistic) is that during these years baking of huge cakes was a tradition in Australia, because they had to to feed their large families. Eventually, however, there were pieces of dry cake left that were not particularly liked. To avoid throwing them away, the hosts started dipping them in chocolate in order to conceal the bad taste, and this is considered to be the first Lamington cake. Subsequently, many variations have arisen, and I will prepare one in which the layers of cake stick together with the help of raspberry jam and cream for a richer and refined taste. The proposed recipe is for 12 pieces, and the batter is baked in a 28×18 cm tray.
For the sponge cake (batter):
2 cups (200 ml) flour
1 cup of fine crystal sugar
250 g of softened unsalted butter
4 eggs
150 ml of fresh milk
15 g baking powder
1 pack of vanilla sugar
pinch of salt
For the glaze:
300 g powdered sugar
50 g dark cocoa
80 ml of fresh milk
60 ml of water
For the decoration of the cake:
about 200 grams of coconut flakes
For the cream:
200 g white chocolate
4-5 tablespoons milk
300 g thick sour cream (if the cream is not thick enough, it must be put in the gauze to drain off the liquid)
2 fulls. sweetened condensed milk
For the filling:
350 g raspberry / strawberry / cherry jam (it is important to have a red color)
Preparation:
I’m starting with the batter for the sponge cake. The oven is heated to 180 degrees. The tray is covered with baking paper and the tray sides are oiled with a little grease in order to avoid the batter from sticking to the sides. In general, I do not sift the flour because I do not have such a habit, but in this case it’s absolutely necessary to sift the dry ingredients (flour, along with baking powder, vanilla and a pinch of salt) to properly raise the sponge cake. In a bowl, beat to a fluffy mixture, the softened butter and sugar with a mixer. Then add the eggs to this mixture one by one and after each egg is being added, beat the mixture until smooth. Finally, add in turns the milk and the dry mixture and mix with an egg beater. Make a very thick mixture that is after poured into the tray and flatten well with a spatula. Then bake for about 30 minutes at 180 degrees (or to a dry stick). Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool slightly in the tray. Then lay it on a baking grid, separate it from the baking paper and wait for it to cool. Wrap it well (but not too tightly) in fresh foil and leave it on a suitable tray in the fridge for 1 night. It is necessary to cool down well in order to cut it easier into small pieces later.
To prepare the cream, crush the white chocolate into small pieces, add the milk, and melt it in a water bath, constantly stirring to prevent the chocolate from being caramelized. Leave the mixture to cool. Then add the condensed milk and stir until homogeneous with a wire stirrer. Finally, add the sour cream stirring (but not beating) also with the wire stirrer. If the cream is not thick enough, squeeze it using gauze in advance. The finished cream for the cake is left in the refrigerator for a night to cool and tighten.
Cut the cooled sponge cake with a serrated knife in equally sized pieces (about 6 x 7 cm for one piece). At moderate temperature, heat up the products for the glaze in a bowl, stir with a wire stirrer until the mixture is warm, smooth and shiny. It does not have to change! When it is ready (thick enough to glaze the pasta without soaking into it) we remove it from the hot plate and allow it to cool to moderately warm. In a wide and convenient container, we lay coconut flakes.
The sliced pieces of the cake are quickly topped with glaze one by one and using 2 forks, we quickly turn each one so that it is glazed on all sides but does not soak long in it. We put them aside and wait for the excess glaze to drain from them. then put it in the coconut flakes. You can use your fingers and sprinkle them with the flakes. Remove the the excess coconut flakes from the little cakes and let them dry on the grid.
When the glaze dries, gently cut each little cake in two with a jagged (or other very sharp knife) horizontally.
Put jam on the lower half and put the white chocolate cream on top of it. Next, put the other half of the sponge to make it look as a sandwich.
For best taste leave the pastry in the fridge for 2-3 hours before serving.
Because I wanted to make a small cake – a jewel, I used half of the products in the recipe. I baked three sponge cakes of 15.2×15.2 cm. I arranged two of them with jam and cream and finally added fresh raspberries. I finished with a third layer to resemble the shape of a box with a latch.
I hope this foreign taste of Australia will appeal to you and make you go there, or maybe you’ll remember a past trip or at least dream of this exotic country with its strange flora and fauna and the beautiful coral reefs.
Next destination Austria.
