Easy Homemade Lamingtons

Learn how to make perfect Australian lamingtons. Delicious homemade sponge cakes dipped in chocolate and covered in shredded coconut. They’re perfect for morning or afternoon tea.

Lovely lamingtons for the win! 💜

Have you ever had lamingtons before? These gorgeous little cakes are absolutely divine. Homemade soft sponge cakes dipped in chocolate and covered in coconut.

You’re going to love making this special Australian dessert from scratch.

What is a lamington?

A lamington is a famous Australian dessert made from sponge cake. The cake is cut into squares and then dipped in chocolate icing and covered in coconut. There are a few different varieties, sometimes lamingtons are filled with jam or even whipped cream.

While you can buy pre-made lamingtons from the supermarket, there is nothing like a homemade lamington, made from scratch.

Sometimes lamingtons can be made from butter cake or yellow cake, but most of the time, they are made using light and fluffy sponge cake – which is what we are making here today.

For this lamington recipe, you’ll first need to make a delicious sponge cake – one that’s light and airy and sweet. While sponge cakes have a bit of reputation for being difficult to make, my recipe is very simple and straightforward. I’m also going to give you all my best tips for making the perfect sponge.

Once the cake has cooled, you simply cut it into small squares. Then it’s time to for the chocolate icing. This delicious frosting is made using icing sugar, cocoa powder, butter and milk.

Each cake is quickly dipped in the chocolate icing and then sprinkled with coconut. I’ve used shredded coconut but you can use any type of  coconut you like.

Tips for making the perfect sponge cake

• Measure out ALL your ingredients before you start. Use a kitchen scale to measure out your dry ingredients in grams – you need to be exact.
• Grease and line your baking tin with baking or parchment paper. Then grease the paper with a little butter to make sure the sponge doesn’t stick. This also helps the sponge have something to grip onto and rise correctly.
• Sift your dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch and baking powder) twice to make sure your sponge is extra light.
• Sponge cakes are ALL about the eggs. You need to beat your eggs until they are voluminous and thick. My trick to knowing when your eggs are ready? When you can draw the number 8 on the top using your whisk and it stays there for 1-2 seconds – it can take a while to get your eggs to this stage – be patient.
• Do NOT over mix when you add your flour mixture otherwise you will lose all the air you put into your eggs, which is what will make your sponge cake light and fluffy.

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Let's Bake

Easy Homemade Lamingtons

Yield Makes 12 lamingtons 1x

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.8 from 10 reviews

Prep: 45 minutesCook: 25 minutesTotal: 1 hour 10 minutes

Easy homemade sponge cake dipped in chocolate and covered in coconut – an Australian classic.

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Ingredients

Sponge cake

• 70 grams (1/2 cup) plain flour or all purpose flour
• 35 grams (1/4 cup) cornflour or cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 50 grams (1/4 cup) caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon butter

Chocolate icing

• 40 grams (1/2 cup) cocoa powder
• 250 grams (2 cups) icing or powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) milk
• 120 grams (2 cups) shredded coconut

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line an 8 inch baking square tin with baking paper. Lightly grease the inside of the paper with a little butter as well.
2.  Sift flour, cornflour and baking powder twice into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, add eggs and start to beat using an electric whisk. Once the eggs start to go thick and foamy, add sugar, one tablespoon at a time.
4. Continue to beat the eggs until they are thick and voluminous – this can take 5-8 minutes. You’ll know the eggs are ready, when you can draw the number 8 on top and it stays for 1-2 seconds.
5. Meanwhile, add milk and butter to a small microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds or until butter is melted. Leave to cool slightly.
6. When the eggs are ready, gently add the sifted flour mixture, pour butter mixture down the side of the bowl and gently fold until flour is JUST combined. Do not over mix or you’ll mix all the air out of the eggs.
7. Add mixture to prepared cake tin. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until cake gently springs back when lightly touched on top. Leave to cool completely.
8. To make the chocolate icing, sift cocoa powder and icing sugar. Add melted butter and milk and stir until chocolate is smooth.
9.  Cut sponge cake into 12 squares. Carefully and quickly dip each piece of cake into chocolate, let the extra chocolate dip off and then cover in coconut. Transfer to a cake rack to dry.
10. Repeat with remaining cake squares.

Notes

Lamingtons are best eaten on the day they are made.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 1 cake Calories: 203

Nutrition information is a guide only.

Author: Jessica HolmesCategory: CakeCuisine: Australian

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This recipe was first published in June 2014.

Jessica Holmes

Hi, I’m Jess, the creator of Sweetest Menu and the author of Something Sweet. A self-taught baker and published recipe writer who can’t stop making easy and delicious baking recipes.