baking time

Lamingtons!
A while back I noticed that someone had ended up at this site searching for "lamington recipe" - which sadly, I couldn't provide at that time. But now I can.

I think lamingtons are pretty Australian, so for those of you who don't know why I'm getting so excited that I have to use exclamation marks I better explain. Lamos are basically little cubes of a light sponge cake (or genoise for the fancy bakers) that are dipped in a chocolate mixture and rolled in shredded coconut. They are a staple of the old school bakery. Sometimes they have a layer of jam in the middle which is controversial. Sometimes cream too which is just yuck. My beloved Sarah is pretty lamington obsessed so we always end up with one in the car on any country bakery mission. When they're good they really are much better than the sum of their parts.

Sarah used this recipe and made some for our afternoon tea that were pretty damn sublime - a million times better than any bakery lamington. It's adapted from an old magazine recipe I found at my house which was for orange lamingtons and involved jelly crystals - yuk. But after Sarah's first recipe resulted in a sunken 1 inch high cake we tried this sponge recipe and it hit the spot - firm enough to cut but deliciously light. I made the chocolate part up.

Sponge:
8 free range eggs, separated
2 extra egg yolks
190g caster sugar
80g plain flour
40g cornflour
40g melted butter (cooled)

Icing:
cocoa
boiling water
icing sugar
1 tbsp butter
1.5 cups of shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Beat the 10 yolks with 90g of the sugar until very pale (5 - 10 minutes). Transfer to a large bowl. Sift the flour and cornflour three times, then fold into the yolk mixture.
Beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar until stiff and glossy. Fold three quarters of the whites into the yolk mixture. Mix the melted butter with the remaining whites until well combined, then folk into the yolk mixture.
You will need a big wide rectangle baking tin (about 30 cm x 25 cm and at least 3 cm deep). Lime it with greaseproof paper and pour the mixture in. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes, or until golden and spongy to touch. Turn out onto a wire rack and cover with a tea towel to cool.

To make the icing melt the butter in the boiling water. Pour it over the icing sugar and cocoa and stir until dissolved. It should be a very dark brown - if not add more cocoa.

Cut the sponge into 8cm cubes. Dip them in the chocolate liquid - letting it soak in just a bit - and roll in coconut. This bit can be a bit messy - try forks or skewers for holding the cake. Let them set a bit before serving.