Vintage baking: Lamingtons

The popularity of all things vintage is evident in the rising popularity of enamel kitchenware, wooden utensils and old school baked goods. To celebrate, we are going to be featuring a couple of vintage baking recipes, kicking off with Lamingtons (aka ystervarkies).

This traditionally Australian treat consisting of sponge cake dipped in chocolate before being rolled in desiccated coconut is believed to have been created through a (wonderful) accident.

A servant to Lord Lamington, the very British Governor of Queensland in 1896, accidentally dropped the Governor’s favourite sponge cake into some melted chocolate. Being a person opposed to wasteful habits, Lord Lamington suggested that the chocolate-covered cake is dipped in coconut to avoid messy fingers and, as they say, the rest is history.

This recipe makes approximately 50 and is wonderfully easy to make. All you need is a mixer (or strong arms), bowls,a sieve and some cake tins. Easy as dropping cake into melted chocolate, right? Download print-friendly recipe.

Cake

350g self-raising flour
7ml baking powder
1ml salt
125g butter
250g sugar
4 eggs

1. Heat the oven to 200°C and grease two baking pans approximately 19cm x 19cm x 4cm in size.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together and add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

4. Add the dry ingredients bit by bit, stirring in until just mixed.
5. Place the mixture in the baking pans, even out and bake for 15 – 20 minutes until golden and firm to the touch.

6. Turn onto a wire rack and allow to cool. Once cooled, wrap in cling wrap and place in the fridge for two hours (or overnight if possible) – this ensures that the cake is easier to handle and less likely to fall apart when dipping in the icing.
7. Trim the edges of the cooled cake to neaten it up and cut into blocks of approximately 3cm x 3cm. A cake cutting wire can be a helpful tool for this, otherwise a sharp knife will do you fine. Set aside and prepare the icing.
Icing

2 ½ cups icing sugar
⅓ cup good quality, unsweetened cocoa powder
50g butter
5ml vanilla extract
½ cup milk
4 cups desiccated coconut

1. Place some of the coconut on a plate and set aside.
2. Combine all the icing ingredients in a large saucepan and stir over low to medium heat until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and runny.
3. Dip the cake blocks in the chocolate icing, making sure that each side is completely covered and allowing the excess icing to drip back into the saucepan.

4. Immediately press each side of the block in coconut and place on a wire rack to allow the icing to set. Add more coconut to the plate as you need it.

With thanks Karen Grandcourt for the beautiful images.