Monday, July 26, 2010

LAMINGTONS

I had no idea what a lamington cake was until Kris of Bake in Paris blogged it. What actually caught my attention were her photos of the cake, they were so beautiful. It makes you want to make the cake ASAP.
Well, actually i didn't get to make it ASAP=;) but unbeknownst to me i made this cake on the 21st of July w/c happens to be THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL LAMINGTON DAY what a coincidence!! And yes i seriously didn't know, i was surfing for other ideas and recipes and came across the website about the national lamington day.

I got my inspiration from Kris, i also made two kinds of coating. I made the chocolate and an orange curd coat. Thank you, Kris. Lamington will definitely grace our table especially this coming holiday!

FOR THE SPONGE CAKE

2 C all purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 C whipping cream **
1 C milk
2 C sugar
4 large eggs

**If you want your cake creamier you can use 2 C (1 pint) of whipping cream and omit 1 C milk.

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Mix flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
3. Whisk cream and sugar. Beat eggs and add, one by one, alternating with a tablespoon of flour each time.
4. Fold in remaining flour.
5. Transfer it to a greased square cake pan.
6. Bake 40 minutes to an hour.
7. Let them cool.


FOR THE COATING/ICING:

2 C powdered sugar
1/3 C cocoa powder
2 T butter cut into small cubes
1/2 C hot milk
2 C desiccated/ flaked unsweetened coconut

Procedure:
1. Sift sugar and cocoa into a small bowl.
2. Add butter and milk, mix until smooth.
3. In a saucepan on a low heat, heat the mixture and mix well to create a nice coating but not too runny.
4. Place coconut in a shallow container.







FOR THE ORANGE CURD:

2 eggs beaten lightly
1/3 C sugar
1/2 C orange juice
5 T butter, chopped coarsely
2 T cornstarch dissolved in 1 T orange juice (slurry)

Combine the first four ingredients, stirring constantly until mixture starts to thicken. Slowly add the slurry, stirring constantly until you achieve the curd consistency.





ASSEMBLY TIME:

1. Cut the sponge cake into 36 squares.
2. Coat the cake squares with the chocolate icing and the orange curd, then roll in coconut.
3. Let them cool on a sheet of parchment paper.