In Australia we have a sweet treat called lamingtons and they are sold at every bakery. They are squares of vanilla sponge cake that have been dipped in a chocolate glaze and then rolled in desiccated coconut and they are absolutely delicious! My mum used to make them regularly and since I’m utterly obsessed with all things coconut I wanted to bake them myself. But why stop at just squares of cake when you can make a two tiered version sandwiched together with a chocolate coconut cream frosting? My motto in life is ‘go big or go home’ and since it was the hubby’s birthday it was the perfect excuse to try out this cake. 😉
For the sponge I used Nora Cooks Vegan ‘One-Bowl Coconut Cake’ but as always I made a few little changes….
Amendments: I used 1 cup of sugar instead of 1.5 cups and it was sweet enough! I also didn’t have any coconut extract so used vanilla instead.
Hacks: I mixed 4 TBL of desiccated coconut in with the dry ingredients. However, if you want this to be more like a traditional lamington you could leave it out!
*Please Note: The measurements are in US cups. I use a retro measuring cup that has both UK and US measurements and it’s so handy! Click here to buy your own.
Traditionally, a lamington is iced with a mixture of icing sugar, cocoa, hot water and a little butter. However, since I was very low on icing sugar I decided to whip up a coconut cream frosting instead! It uses a lot less icing sugar and is so creamy and decadent yet not as heavy as traditional buttercream. I had to stop myself from eating it all before I iced the cake! It’s a cross between buttercream and actual cream.
Coconut Cream Frosting
Ingredients:
- 2 x 400ml cans of coconut cream (mine was 80% coconut)
- ½ cup icing sugar (I used US cup measurements)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 TBL cocoa powder
Method:
- Place the coconut cream in the fridge for at least a few hours but you could even leave it in there overnight! If you wanted to speed up the process you could pop it in the freezer for 20 minutes
- Scrap the cream out, leaving the water behind (I used this in the cake instead of plant-based milk)
- Using a mixer whip up the coconut cream, vanilla, icing sugar and cocoa making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently.
- Once it looks smooth, it’s done!
- Pop into the fridge to harden up a bit before icing the completely cold cake
This icing can melt in warm weather so it’s best to keep the cake in the fridge once it’s iced! You can also add other sweeteners instead of icing sugar if you want to make it a little healthier such as maple syrup, agave or stevia. Or you can make it sugar-free if that floats your boat! (But what’s the fun in that?!)
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