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Triple Chocolate Lamingtons is a delicacy that is as tasty as it is elegant. Using chocolate three different ways satisfies even the toughest chocoholic.
It is that time of month when I participate in a baking challenge on a website called The Daring Kitchen, that issues monthly challenges to it’s members. Members are from all over the world so the challenges are for things I’ve never made and sometimes have never heard of.
For the May challenge Marcellina from Marcellina in Cucina dared us to make Lamingtons. An Australian delicacy that is as tasty as it is elegant.
Marcellina stated that history says the cakes were named after Lord Lamington who was the Governor of Queensland, Australia from 1896 to 1901. Lamingtons were made as an attempt to utilize a cake that had been dropped. Sounds reasonable to me, I have often created something in an attempt to avoid disaster. Now there are different stories stating they actually originated in other countries, but the concept is the same.
The cake within the Lamington is a vanilla genoise sponge made by whipping eggs and sugar until very thick and pale. The cake is then dipped into a chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated coconut. This allowed the eater to keep their fingers clean. Now Lamingtons can come in any flavor. Some are split and filled, and they are always dipped into a flavored icing and then rolled in a coating.
For my Lamington, I wanted to make Marcellina’s “Traditional Lamington”. I thought it had to be a mistake that she uses all cornstarch and no flour but I was game. I then chose to make Martha Stewarts’ Chocolate Fudge Filling recipe and Marcellina’s chocolate icing. John thinks he doesn’t like coconut so I elected to use ground chocolate sandwich cookies for my coating. Thus the name, “Triple Chocolate Lamingtons”.
Marcellina stated that the key to success is to use fresh ingredients and to measure. I did that, and as instructed, let the cake set for a day before continuing. However, I can’t lie. I had a heck of a time icing and coating the cakes. They just wanted to break up which even made rolling them in my cookie crumbs difficult. I persevered, and while not as pretty as Marcellina’s, they are tasty! I even thought mine could be used as coal for those people at Christmas that weren’t as nice as they should be? Tasty coal.
Triple Chocolate Lamingtons
Author: Hostess At Heart
A sponge genoise cake that is filled with chocolate fudge, iced in chocolate and then rolled in chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs.
1cup240 ml (225 gm) (8 oz) castor (superfine) sugar
Pinchsalt
1teaspoon5 ml vanilla extract
11/4cups300 ml (200 gm) (7 oz) cornstarch
11/2teaspoons8 gm baking powder
1tablespoon15 ml (15 gm) (1/2 oz) butter, melted (optional)
Chocolate Filling
112-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips
1/4cupconfectioners' sugar
1/2teaspooncoarse salt
3/4cupevaporated milk
1/2teaspoonpure vanilla extract
Chocolate Icing
31/4cups780 ml (400 gm) (14 oz) icing (powdered) sugar
1/3cup80 ml (40 gm) (1-1/3 oz) cocoa powder
1tablespoon15 gm (15 gm) (1/2 oz) butter, melted
1/2 to 3/4cup120 ml to 180 ml milk (I used leftover evaporated milk used in the filling)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare a 9x13 inch pan by spraying with non-stick cooking spray and then lining with parchment paper.
In a stand mixer, combine eggs, sugar and salt. Beat on high for 15 minutes.
While eggs are beating, sift the cornstarch and baking powder together at least 3 times.
After 15 minutes add vanilla to the egg mixture, and beat on high for another 5 minutes. The mixture should have at least tripled in size, be light in color and foamy.
Sift flour mixture over the egg mixture, and gently fold into the egg mixture using a whisk. If you are using butter, thoroughly fold it in now but lightly.
Spread mixture into your prepared pan and smooth out evenly.
Bake for 22-25 minutes. The sponge will rise quite a lot but then settle back down. Don’t open the oven door while baking.
When baked the sponge will have shrunk very slightly from the sides and should spring back
when pressed gently.
Remove the cake from the pan immediately, and keeping on the parchment paper, place on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. It is best to let the cake stand in an airtight container overnight before continuing. It will make them easier to handle.
Prepare the chocolate filling by placing chocolate chips, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Stir to mix.
Heat evaporated milk in a small pan until just simmering. Pour over chocolate chip mixture and allow to sit for 5 minutes or until melted. Whisk until smooth. Refrigerate until thickened but spreadable, 1 to 2 hours.
Prepare icing by sifting powdered sugar and cocoa together. Stir in butter and milk. Set the bowl over a pan of hot water. Stir until icing is smooth, adding more milk to thin the icing if needed.
To assemble, cut the sponge cake into 24 rectangular pieces – 6 across and 4 down. You can remove the crust edges if you want.
If filling, cut in half and apply filling. Put halves together again and dip in icing, allowing excess to drip off. Roll in coating immediately. Allow to dry on a cooling rack for two hours.
Store in an airtight covered container in the refrigerator or freezer.
Notes
Recipe provided by https://marcellinaincucina.blogspot.com/
This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.
These look absolutely delightful Julie! I have been meaning to try making laming tons ever since I saw a blog post on them a couple months ago. Your version looks absolutely gorgeous with the three chocolates! Great job on the challenge!
Thank you! They were new to me and I really enjoyed the history of these little cakes. I’ve never made a cake with all corn starch but was amazed that it didn’t taste acidic. Of course, three kinds of chocolate didn’t hurt.
Thank you so much Joanne! I really enjoy the diversity of the challenges that we get from Daring Kitchen Bakers. Enjoy your day and thank you for stopping by!
Oh my Julie – triple chocolate will suit me just fine! Lamingtons are a new dessert for me so it is always fun to learn about new recipes. Four of your group/our group made different versions so it’s nice to see the varieties you can make 🙂
Thank you Judi! I love chocolate as you know, but just loved seeing all of the varieties other bakers did. I do enjoy learning about the history behind some of these dishes too.
This is such an impressive feat, Julie! I, too, was thrown off by a cake made entirely of cornstarch! I didn’t even know that was a possibility. Your cakes look absolutely fabulous and tender! Great idea to use them as “coal” for the holidays, too!
Thank you Tracey! I thought the cornstarch was a mistake but it is considered a genoise sponge and used a lot in other countries. I was moist but a bit hard to work with. Think I’ll go back to flour. Enjoy you day!
I hadn’t either Sarah! That is what I am enjoying about this challenge. I learn so much about other cultures and get to try other dishes. The Daring kitchen has a monthly baking challenge and a monthly cooking challenge. You can do either or both.
wow, I had never heard of Lamingtons before, until very recently. Now they are everywhere! Yours look drop dead delicious! I will have a couple for sure! 😀
Thank you Julianna! Actually there are 4 of us Fiesta Friday bloggers in the Daring Kitchen challenge, so they all showed up here which was fun for me.
Your triple chocolate idea is great Julie and I’m inspired for the next time I make Lamingtons! Your sponge looks lovely too! They sound really tasty – thanks for sharing! 🙂
Beautiful lamingtons Julie…..and wow, that looked like quite a challenge. I was telling Lili too that I had never come across lamingtons on our trip to Australia, but that was a long time ago, and perhaps my memory has faded. It’s great that you participate in these, a lot to learn and treasure for the future I’m sure. Well done Julie!
Thank you Loretta! They were new to me too. I’ve never made a cake with only cornstarch and not flour! It was a challenge but it turned out delicious. Lili is so talented and such a sweet baker.
Ha! Tasty coal 🙂 I love the idea of rolling them in cookie crumbs, they look decadently chocolatey! I used a different sponge recipe for mine (I forgot to buy eggs and didn’t have enough for that one…!) and I’m glad I did as it sliced perfectly and didn’t crumble at all, even though I was too impatient to make it the day beforehand… Despite your problems with it crumbling they still look very neat though! 🙂
Thank you Sarah! They really present some challenges but that’s why I joined. I love seeing different recipes and trying them even though they don’t always come out as well as I would like. To be expected like anything else I suppose.
These look delicious with all that chocolate, Julie! I had never heard of Lamingtons either. It is always so much fun to learn something new about cooking/baking! I admire you for sticking with it even though it wasn’t easy.
Lamingtons are new to me too Julie. They look like a labor of love to make but they turned out beautiful. All the cornstarch in the batter was a surprise. Interesting.
These were new to me too. I liked the technique but next time will try a different cake. This one was hard for me to work with and required way to much finger licking! 🙂
These look absolutely delightful Julie! I have been meaning to try making laming tons ever since I saw a blog post on them a couple months ago. Your version looks absolutely gorgeous with the three chocolates! Great job on the challenge!
Thank you! They were new to me and I really enjoyed the history of these little cakes. I’ve never made a cake with all corn starch but was amazed that it didn’t taste acidic. Of course, three kinds of chocolate didn’t hurt.
These look absolutely delicious Julie! Congrats on also completing this month’s Daring Kitchen Bakers Challenge also!
Thank you so much Joanne! I really enjoy the diversity of the challenges that we get from Daring Kitchen Bakers. Enjoy your day and thank you for stopping by!
Oh my Julie – triple chocolate will suit me just fine! Lamingtons are a new dessert for me so it is always fun to learn about new recipes. Four of your group/our group made different versions so it’s nice to see the varieties you can make 🙂
Thank you Judi! I love chocolate as you know, but just loved seeing all of the varieties other bakers did. I do enjoy learning about the history behind some of these dishes too.
This is such an impressive feat, Julie! I, too, was thrown off by a cake made entirely of cornstarch! I didn’t even know that was a possibility. Your cakes look absolutely fabulous and tender! Great idea to use them as “coal” for the holidays, too!
Thank you Tracey! I thought the cornstarch was a mistake but it is considered a genoise sponge and used a lot in other countries. I was moist but a bit hard to work with. Think I’ll go back to flour. Enjoy you day!
I never knew the history of lamingtons! I love the idea of a triple chocolate version! 😀
Thank you! I love learning about all of this history and culture.
They look lovey, so I appreciate the struggles and the honesty! I still wish I had one now, though! 🙂 HAppy FF!
Thank you! Even though I DID struggle, the flavor didn’t. I really do like the idea of little hand cakes like this though.
Haven’t tasted this cake.. Looks delicious ag
Thank you. It was new to me too! Hope you are enjoying your weekend.
Oh yum! These sound wonderful–I could go for one right now! 🙂
I’d share Nancy! Thank you so much for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend!
You had me at triple chocolate! My goodness I could eat 2 dozen of those at one sitting..Thanks great post!
Thank you Bobby Do Tube! I am somewhat of a chocolate fiend myself so I didn’t have to think too hard on this one.
I have not heard of this before, but it looks and sounds absolutely wonderful! I love the idea of doing a monthly challenge, so fun 🙂
I hadn’t either Sarah! That is what I am enjoying about this challenge. I learn so much about other cultures and get to try other dishes. The Daring kitchen has a monthly baking challenge and a monthly cooking challenge. You can do either or both.
Oh wow triple chocolate – this is just making me drooooool Julie…. crazy good….
Thank you Chitra! I am somewhat of a chocolate fiend as you can tell. Enjoy your weekend!
wow, I had never heard of Lamingtons before, until very recently. Now they are everywhere! Yours look drop dead delicious! I will have a couple for sure! 😀
Thank you Julianna! Actually there are 4 of us Fiesta Friday bloggers in the Daring Kitchen challenge, so they all showed up here which was fun for me.
hmm, simply damn delicious cute looking sweet bites lamingtons!!!
Thank you Dedy!
They look so goo Julie! Perfect treatments for a morning coffee!
Thank you so much! They went very good with a cup of coffee.
Your triple chocolate idea is great Julie and I’m inspired for the next time I make Lamingtons! Your sponge looks lovely too! They sound really tasty – thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thank you Lili! It was a challenge for me, but they were delicious all the same.
That’s the most important thing Julie and cakes are usually easier the second time around! 🙂
You had me at “triple” 🙂 What a fabulously decadently delicious recipe!
Thank you! It was a chocolate over load but I cut them small so we didn’t mind.
This is new to me Julie! What a labor log love there! Gorgeous looking cake and sounds sooo delicious and sinful!!!
Beautiful lamingtons Julie…..and wow, that looked like quite a challenge. I was telling Lili too that I had never come across lamingtons on our trip to Australia, but that was a long time ago, and perhaps my memory has faded. It’s great that you participate in these, a lot to learn and treasure for the future I’m sure. Well done Julie!
Thank you Loretta! They were new to me too. I’ve never made a cake with only cornstarch and not flour! It was a challenge but it turned out delicious. Lili is so talented and such a sweet baker.
Ha! Tasty coal 🙂 I love the idea of rolling them in cookie crumbs, they look decadently chocolatey! I used a different sponge recipe for mine (I forgot to buy eggs and didn’t have enough for that one…!) and I’m glad I did as it sliced perfectly and didn’t crumble at all, even though I was too impatient to make it the day beforehand… Despite your problems with it crumbling they still look very neat though! 🙂
Thank you Hannah! They were yummy but a pain. I will use your recipe for the cake next time.
These look just fabulous Julie!! I love the things you have been making thru daring bakers! Amazing!!
Thank you Sarah! They really present some challenges but that’s why I joined. I love seeing different recipes and trying them even though they don’t always come out as well as I would like. To be expected like anything else I suppose.
These look delicious with all that chocolate, Julie! I had never heard of Lamingtons either. It is always so much fun to learn something new about cooking/baking! I admire you for sticking with it even though it wasn’t easy.
Super awesome!!
Thank you Lina! Enjoy your day.
You too!
Beautiful Lamingtons Julie ☺ You excel in everything
You are too kind! Sometimes I excel at masking mistakes. 🙂
Isnt that a life saving skill!!!☺
Ha! Yep.
Lamingtons are new to me too Julie. They look like a labor of love to make but they turned out beautiful. All the cornstarch in the batter was a surprise. Interesting.
These were new to me too. I liked the technique but next time will try a different cake. This one was hard for me to work with and required way to much finger licking! 🙂
I’ve never heard of this cake, but I’m sure that with so much chocolate, this Australian delicacy is not only elegant and tasty, but also addictive. 🙂
I haven’t either! I did go on chocolate overload but with John around, nothing went to waste. Thank you Ana, enjoy your day!