Lamingtons

Lamingtons are most likely named after Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, who served as Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901. However, the precise reasoning behind this is not known, and stories vary. According to one account, the dessert resembled the homburg hats favoured by Lord Lamington. Another tells of a banquet in Cloncurry during which the governor accidentally dropped a block of sponge cake into a dish of gravy, and then threw it over his shoulder, causing it to land in a bowl of desiccated coconut or peanut butter. A diner thought of replacing the gravy with chocolate and thusly created the lamington known today.

A 1981 report in the Brisbane Courier Mail states the following: A colleague ... swears this is really how the lamington came about. At one stage when Baron Lamington was Queensland Governor, there was a large amount of stale cake in the Government House kitchen. In an attempt to make it palatable, the cake was dipped in chocolate and then tossed in desiccated coconut. The parliamentarians liked this 'gateau' and ordered their cooks to obtain the recipe from the Government House cook.

Ironically, Lord Lamington was known to have hated the dessert that had been named in his honour, once referring to them as "those bloody poofy woolly biscuits".

Most of these reports amount to hearsay, and some border on the absurd. The most probable version of events surrounds the visit of Lord Lamington and his entourage to Toowoomba's Harlaxton House. An industrious cook, lacking some ingredients, came up with the "lamington". Tea and lamingtons are part of the festivities that follow Australian Citizenship ceremonies.

The article above is from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamington


Ingredients:

4 eggs
¾ cup of castor sugar
2/3 cup of plain flour
1/3 cup of cornflour
1 teaspoon of baking powder

Chocolate Icing

500 grams / 1 lb of icing sugar
1/3 cup of cocoa
15 grams / ½ oz of butter
½ cup of milk
Dessicated Cooconut


Jelly Mix

Raspberry or strawberry jelly mix just starting to set.
Dessicated coconut

Method:

Preheat oven to 170°C, 340°F or gas mark 3½.

Break the eggs into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric beater until thick and creamy (around 5 to 8 minutes).

When you run a spoon through the mixture, the mark shouldn't disappear.

Gradually beat in the sugar until fully dissolved.

Sift the dry ingredients repeatedly into a separate bowl to ensure that they are thoroughly mixed.

Lightly and quickly fold the dry ingredients in with the eggs and sugar using a metal spoon ensuring that the airy sponge mixture is not broken down, but also that the flour is properly mixed in.

Pour into a well-greased and lined square cake tin.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. The cake is cooked when it shrinks slightly away from the side of the tin.

Turn out of tin onto a cake rack immediately.

Chocolate Lamingtons

Melt the butter in a saucepan and remove from the heat.

Sift the icing sugar and cocoa into the saucepan, add the milk and mix through.

Cut the sponge cake into 1 inch/4 cm squares.

Spear each square with a 2-pronged meat fork and dip into the icing mix.

Roll in coconut.


Raspberry or Strawberry Lamingtons

Mix the jelly as per the instructions on the packet.

Cut the sponge cake into 1 inch/4 cm squares.

Spear each square with a 2-pronged meat fork and dip into the jelly mix.

Roll in coconut.

(Makes around 16)
Serves