It’s been a long time since I’ve posted-but I will happily report that I have at least been keeping up the baking! It’s just gone the end of January and of course that means we’ve just had Australia Day. Theres nothing much more Australian than Lamingtons, so I found myself on the morning of Australia Day making Lamingtons-again.
This time I made a chocolate sponge, which is unusual for a Lamington base, and I experimented with a couple of different coatings. The first one was the classic chocolate coating that you’ll see in my recipe for Lamington Cake. The second was a hybrid of the Pinot Noir and raspberry jelly coating which you’ll see in my recipe for Lamington Cupcakes, but instead of Pinot Noir, this time I used rose one. It was absolutely unbelievable as a combination with the chocolate sponge.
But the best part of my experiment was the moment when I realise that it would be a good idea to have some of the chocolate-chocolate lamingtons, and fill them with a thick layer of vanilla-bean ice cream and a whole lot of raspberry jam. It is a completely winning combination, and I thoroughly recommend that you make some of your own as soon as possible. It is a completely winning combination, and I thoroughly recommend that you make some of your own ice cream Lamingtons as soon as possible.
The good thing about this recipe, is that in fact you don’t need to make any of the components. For example, you could purchase some lamingtons from your favourite bakery and buy some vanilla bean ice cream and a jar of your favourite jam, (I like Bonne Maman raspberry jam). Then you only need a knife, a freezer, and a little bit of patience while everything freezes up. You could also use a store-bought sponge cake as a halfway-house before you make the rest of the lamingtons yourself.
For those of you who like to make things from scratch though, here’s how to make my ice cream lamingtons. I’ve even included my recipe for Gin, Vanilla and Raspberry jam, which is absolutely sensational, takes about 10 minutes, and you can make with frozen raspberries.
Ice Cream Lamingtons
Makes 16 5cm Ice Cream Lamingtons
Chocolate Sponge
ingredients
5 eggs, room temperature
155g caster sugar
155g flour
5g baking powder
30g cocoa
50g unsalted butter, melted
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
mixing
Line a 20 cm² cake pan with baking paper, and spray with non-stick spray.
Beat the eggs and sugar together until very thick and creamy. The mixture will have tripled in volume, and the mixture will form a ribbon when allowed to fall back on itself. Sieve the flour, baking powder, cocoa and salt over the top of the egg mixture, and extremely gently fold in. When the ingredients are about three-quarters combined, tip the butter over mixture and continue to fold and until completely incorporated, taking care not to over-mix.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, and bake at 190°C for 25 to 30 minutes until the sponge is cooked. You will be able to tell when the sponge is done by gently touching the surface with your finger. A small indentation will form, and the sponge should make a slight hissing noise under the pressure of your finger. Allow the sponge to sit in the tin for about 10 minutes and then turn onto a wire rack too cool.
You can now allow the sponge to sit overnight if you wish. Handling a day-old sponge is slightly easier than using a freshly baked one when you are making the Lamingtons.
Lamington Coating
ingredients
120g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped
9 tbsp boiling water
9 tbsp cocoa powder
3 cups icing sugar
About 4-5 cups shredded coconut
mixing
Working with one cube of sponge at a time, dip the sides of the sponge into the chocolate icing, allow the icing to drain off slightly, and then roll the coated sponge cube in the coconut. Top up the coconut as needed. Place onto a sheet of baking paper to set.
Gin Vanilla and Raspberry Jam
Makes about 400g
ingredients
200g frozen raspberries
200g sugar
1/2 tsp powdered vanilla bean
3 tbsp Gin
mixing
Combine all the ingredients in a medium-size saucepan. Heat over a medium heat stirring occasionally to assist the raspberries to defrost. Bring to the boil. Boil the mixture for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Towards the end of the cooking time, drop small quantities of the jam onto a cold plate and allowed to sit for about 30 seconds. The jam is ready when the droplet begins to form a skin- push against the cooled jam droplet with your finger and examine the top surface of the jam droplet carefully to see whether it starts to wrinkle. If the droplets does not form a skin, the jam is not ready. Repeat the droplet testing process until you see a skin form. At that point, remove the jam from the heat and give it one last stir.
Pour the hot jam into a sterilised jar and store until needed.
Assembling Ice Cream Lamingtons
400g Raspberry jam
About 200g frozen raspberries
When the Lamingtons are set, cut each of them into half. Line a 20 cm cake pan with clingfilm, and place half of the cut Lamingtons, coconut side down, on the base of the pan. Spread the softened the Vanilla bean ice cream over the top of the cut Lamingtons to a depth of about 1cm. Spread the raspberry jam over the top of the ice cream. Crumble the frozen raspberries over the jam and press in gently. Top with the other half of the cut lamingtons, this time the cut side down. Press down gently, then freeze until firm.
To serve, gently cut the Ice Cream Lamingtons into 16 cubes again, using the top lamingtons as a guide. You can freeze any that you aren’t using immediately in a resealable plastic container, or individual plastic baggies.
Enjoy!xxx
