Seeing as National Lamington Day falls over the weekend, I thought it would be fitting to do up some lamingtons for tea time. These lamingtons were born after an awe inspiring visit to Sydney's Flour and Stone w my sisters in 2016. Their pannacotta soaked lamingtons were THE lamington experience! So genius - soaking the sponge in pannacotta to keep it moist.
When I returned to the cafe, I tried very hard to re-create their delicious lamington, & this is my interpretation. I do mine over the span of two days, so the sponge gets an overnight soak of panncotta. I find this helps it 'harden' up before being dunked into warm chocolate and coated in the coconut. Also, I use strawberry or raspberry jam depending on which ever one I have on hand!
Makes 24 lamington cubes.
Ingredients
Sponge cake
300g unsalted butter, room temp
300g caster sugar
300g self-raising flour, sifted twice
5 eggs beaten
142ml milk
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
50g raspberries
10g freeze dried raspberries
extra freeze dried raspberries to decorate
Pannacotta
2 leaves of gelatine
400ml thickened cream
100g caster sugar
1 tspvanilla bean paste
Chocolate glaze
400g dark chocolate, chopped coarsely
200g thickened cream
400g flaked coconut
100g shredded coconut
Method
To make sponge cake, preheat oven to 175 degC, grease & line two 8 x 12 inch tins. Cream butter & sugar together, until light and fluffy (it will look a very pale yellow). Slowly add eggs & combine (mixture might split but continue on)! Gently fold in flour, milk & vanilla bean paste before pouring batter equally into the two pans & bake for 15-20minutes (or until fully cooked, you can use a skewer to check). Allow to cool completely.
To make pannacotta, soften gelatine leaves by soaking in cold water for about five minutes. Squeeze out excess water and put aside the gelatine. In a pot, heat together the cream, sugar & vanilla until a light simmer. Remove from heat & whisk in gelatine. Strain through a sieve and let it come to room temperature.
Once cakes and pannacotta have cooled, pour equal portions of pannacotta mixture onto the cakes (still in their tins). Let them chill in the fridge for about two hours. Once the pannacotta looks like its been mostly absorbed, spread a layer of jam on one cake. Crush freeze dried berries & sprinkle dust over the jam layer. Carefully sandwich cakes together, wrap tightly in cling wrap & allow to set overnight. Once set, cut into even cubes & refrigerate whilst you prepare the glaze.
To make chocolate glaze, boil cream over the stove. Once it’s bubbling, remove from heat & stir in chocolate. Allow to cool to room temperature. If it’s not runny enough, you can gently stir in some full cream milk.
To assemble
Spread half the coconut on a tray. Using tongs, thinly coat the lamington in the chocolate ganache & allow them to drip excess on a cooling rack. Place lamington in coconut tray, and using your hands, lightly dust the sides with flaked coconut. Refrigerate until firm (at least an hour), just before serving sprinkle some extra freeze dried berries on top.
Lamingtons can last up to one week in an airtight container in the fridge. Bring them to room temperature before eating, so they're soft n' supple!
