Australia · Oceania

Lamingtons

Name: Lamingtons
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 25 min
Yield: 16 squares
Cuisine: Australia
Ingredients: 180 g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour; 2 tsp baking powder; 150 g (3/4 cup) sugar; 3 large eggs; 125 g (1/2 cup) butter, softened; 125 ml (1/2 cup) milk; 1 tsp vanilla; 250 g (2 cups) powdered sugar; 3 tbsp cocoa powder; 15 g (1 tbsp) butter; 125 ml (1/2 cup) milk; 200 g (2 1/2 cups) desiccated coconut, for rolling

Fluffy sponge cubes in chocolate and coconut

🛂 Passport Stamp No.023 · Postmarked in Australia

40m

Prep

25m

Bake

16 squares

Makes

Intermediate

Level

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Postmark · Australia

🏛 A little history

The lamington is a little square of soft sponge cake, dunked in chocolate icing and rolled in coconut. It's named after Lord Lamington, a Governor of Queensland in the late 1800s — the story goes that his cook created them in a hurry for surprise guests, and they were an instant hit.

Australians love them so much there's even a 'National Lamington Day'. School bake sales, birthday parties, morning tea — wherever there's a celebration, there are usually lamingtons, snowy with coconut and a little bit messy in the best way.

👩‍🍳 Let's bake!

Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a 9x13 pan with parchment.
Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time and the vanilla.
Fold in the flour and baking powder alternately with the milk until smooth, then spread into the pan.
Bake 22–25 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Cool completely — then chill the cake for an hour so it cuts neatly.
Cut the sponge into 16 squares. Make the icing: sift the sugar and cocoa, warm with butter and milk, and whisk until glossy and runny.
Dip each square in the chocolate using two forks, let the drips fall, then toss in coconut until snowy. Set on a rack to firm up.

💡 Chef Axl's tips

A day-old (or chilled) sponge is much easier to dip — fresh cake falls apart.
Set up a little station: cake, chocolate, coconut, rack. It gets gloriously messy — aprons on!
Split them and add a dab of jam and cream in the middle for a fancy party version.

Pantry

All-Purpose Flour

The everyday workhorse for cakes, cookies, and breads.

🧺 Pantry staple

Pantry

Sugar

Sweetens and helps bakes turn golden and tender.

🧺 Pantry staple

Pantry

Vanilla Extract

A splash of warm, sweet aroma in every batter.

🧺 Pantry staple

Pantry

Baking Powder

The little lift that makes cakes and cookies rise.

🧺 Pantry staple

Tools

Parchment Paper

Non-stick lining so nothing sticks to the pan.

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Bakeware

Round Cake Pan

A sturdy round pan for perfectly even cake layers.

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Tools

Offset Spatula

Angled blade for spreading frosting like a pro.

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Lamingtons

🏛 A little history

👩‍🍳 Let's bake!

💡 Chef Axl's tips

Shop this recipe

All-Purpose Flour

Sugar

Vanilla Extract

Baking Powder

Parchment Paper

Round Cake Pan

Offset Spatula

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