Lamingtons are small, square vanilla sponge cakes dipped in chocolate sauce and rolled in desiccated coconut.
This recipe also features 4 new flavours: Baileys & walnut, fruity rum-punch, lemon, and dark chocolate.
Recipe Intro
I first discovered these delicious cakes in Croatia, where they’re considered a national treat. Known as cupavci (fluffies), these treats are so popular in Croatia that almost everyone grows up enjoying them as a childhood favourite.
As with all my recipes, I enjoy exploring their origins and history. I was rather curious about the origins since coconut isn’t a typical ingredient in European or Croatian cuisine. To my surprise, I found out that these cakes aren’t actually Croatian at all – they are Australian, known as Lamingtons, named after Lord Lamington, a former governor of Queensland. They became a popular treat in Australia in the early 20th century.
It was around Christmas time when I made these Lamingtons and wanted to make them look more festive. That’s when the idea of adding four extra flavours came to mind.
The flavours I chose are inspired by some of my favourite desserts: lemon cake and the popular Croatian walnut cake. I also included rum, a flavour I’ve always loved in desserts, along with Baileys, another favourite of mine. My top pick, however, is the rum-punch variation, inspired by the famous Viennese Punschkrapfen. I have the original recipe for that, so I’ll be posting it soon!
Whether you stick with the classic Lamington chocolate version or try one of these new flavours, let me know how they turned out in the comments, and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram with #spicetraveller if you take any photos!
Ingredients for Lamingtons: Classic and Four Flavour Variations
The sponge cake base for Lamingtons remains the same for all flavours, from there, we add unique twists to create four distinct flavours.
Below are the ingredients for the classic Lamington sponge cake, followed by the additional ingredients for each flavour variation, so choose your favourite:
Note: The ingredients listed on the Recipe Card are for ONE Lamington sponge cake base.
Lamington sponge base
- flour – plain white, all-purpose
- sugar – caster
- baking powder
- yoghurt – plain set
- oil – sunflower oil
- eggs
- vanilla sugar
Chocolate coating (glaze)
- dark chocolate
- butter – unsalted
- milk
- sugar
- double cream
- desiccated coconut
Lamington sponge cake flavours
Lemon
- lemon
- icing sugar
- yellow colouring
Rum-punch
- black tea
- rum
- brown sugar
- orange
- Gran Marnier
- candied fruit
- orange
- vanilla extract
Baileys & Walnut
- walnuts
- Baileys
- Milk
- white chocolate
- butter
- double cream
- brown sugar
- milk
Chocolate
- dark chocolate
- cocoa
- rum
- white chocolate
- butter
These are the flavours I created for my Lamingtons, but feel free to stick with the classic Lamingtons or choose one extra flavour from the list. You can also swap the classic for a flavoured version or, if you’re feeling adventurous, make all five flavours! The choice is yours! 🙂
How to make Lamingtons: classic and new flavours
Lamington Sponge Cake Batter
- Whisk the eggs and sugar together with an electric mixer until fluffy. Next, add all the remaining ingredients and mix until well combined.
- For the Classic Lamingtons – add vanilla sugar.
For other sponge cake flavours, add the listed ingredients to the sponge cake base for each type you want to make.
Rum-punch
Add finely chopped candied fruit, grated orange zest, and vanilla extract.
Lemon
Add lemon juice and grated lemon zest.
Baileys & Walnut
Add ground walnuts, vanilla extract, and Baileys.
Chocolate
Add dark chocolate, cocoa powder and rum.
Bake
- Grease the baking tray with oil, dust with flour, and pour in the sponge mixture. I used a tray measuring 25cm x 18cm.
- Bake each sponge in a preheated oven at 170°C for 20-25 minutes.
- Once baked, remove the cake from the oven and place it on a cooling rack to cool. Avoid placing it on a plate, as this will cause the cake to sweat.
Prepare Lamingtons for dipping and glazing
- Before dipping the sponge in the sauce (glaze), cut it into squares.
- I cut the sponge cakes into a mix of small and large squares, getting 24 squares from one tray and 15 from the others. Before cutting, I trimmed the edges of the sponge cakes to give the squares a neater shape, as the edges were slightly rounded.
How to Add Extra Flavours to Your Lamingtons
Lamingtons are traditionally made by coating sponge cake squares in chocolate glaze and rolling it in desiccated coconut.
However, my Lemon, Walnut, and Rum Punch flavours had an extra step – I drizzled some sauce over the squares before glazing, making them extra moist and full of flavour.
Once the cakes are ready, you can begin preparing the sauce for soaking.
- For the Lemon and Walnut cakes: drizzle each square with one teaspoon of the sauce.
- For the Rum Punch cake: drizzle with 2-3 teaspoons of the sauce.
Note: Be careful not to add too much extra sauce to the sponge squares, as they may become too moist and fall apart when dipping into the glazing sauce.
Glazing Lamingtons
Now, you need to prepare the glazing of your choice.
For the classic Lamingtons, you can use the traditional chocolate glaze, or you can pick from the other flavours listed on the Recipe Card.
Take your sponge cake and one by one, dip them into the melted chocolate (or other flavours) glaze. You can either fully immerse the cake or use a spoon to pour the glaze over the cake, ensuring that the entire surface is coated. For a thicker coating, dip the cake square completely into the glaze and use a fork to lift it out, letting any excess drip off.
Tip: If you want your Lamingtons to absorb more of the glaze for extra moisture and flavour, you can lightly press down on the sponge while it’s in the glaze. This helps the chocolate seep into the sponge a bit more, adding richness and depth to the flavour.
After dipping each sponge square into the glaze, carefully roll it in desiccated coconut until fully coated. Place the coated squares on a serving tray and let them set before serving.
Enjoy your Lamingtons!
What to do with leftover sponge cake and glazing?
Since I had leftover sponge cake trimmings, I cut them into small cubes (about 1-2cm), soaked them in rum-punch, and put them in dessert glasses. I added a layer of whipped cream, followed by another layer of cake, and topped it all off with another dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of the leftover glaze. A unique twist on tiramisu!
Recipe Card
Classic Lamingtons with chocolate and coconut + 4 new flavours
Ingredients
- 1 cup desiccated coconut
LAMINGTON CAKE BASE
- 3 eggs
- 150 g caster sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla sugar
- 250 g plain, all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 150 ml plain set yoghurt
- 100 ml oil
Extras for Rum-Punch base
- 3 tbsp very finely chopped candied fruit
- 1 tsp orange zest
Extras for Lemon base
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Extras for Baileys & Walnut base
- 4 tbsp ground walnuts
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp Baileys
Extras for Chocolate base
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 7-8 squares dark chocolate
- 3-4 tbsp rum
DRIZZLE (optional)
rum-punch drizzle
- 200 ml black tea - Indian, Chinese, etc.
- 5-6 tbsp rum - better with Pepito rum punch if available
- 3-4 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 lemon zest and juice
- 1 orange zest and juice
- 3-4 tbsp liqueur or brandy - Gran Marnier
lemon syrup drizzle
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp icing sugar
- 100 ml water
Baileys drizzle
- 3-4 tbsp Baileys
- 100 ml milk
GLAZE
Classic Lamington glaze
- 150 g dark chocolate
- 1.5 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2-3 tbsp milk
- 2-3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp double cream
Pink glaze (rum punch)
- 1/2 cup icing sugar
- 150 g white chocolate
- 1.5 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2-3 tbsp milk
- A few tablespoons of rum punch drizzle - (see above)
- a few drops red food colouring
Yellow glaze (lemon)
- 150 g white chocolate
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp double cream
- 3 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- a few drops of yellow colouring
Caramel glaze (Baileys & walnut)
- 150 g white chocolate
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp double cream
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp milk
White glaze ( dark & white chocolate)
- 150 g white chocolate
- other ingredients are the same as Classic ( see above)
Instructions
- Lamington Sponge Cake BatterWhisk the eggs and sugar together with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients plus vanilla sugar and mix until well combined.If making classic Lamington, skip step 2.
- For Other Sponge Cake FlavoursMake classic Lamington batter and then add ingredients for the flavour you want:Rum-punch: Add finely chopped candied fruit, grated orange zest, and vanilla extract.Lemon: Add lemon juice and grated lemon zest.Baileys & walnut: Add ground walnuts, vanilla extract, and Baileys.Chocolate: Add melted dark chocolate, cocoa powder, and rum.
- BakeGrease and flour the tray, then pour in the sponge mixture. (I used a 25cm x 18cm tray.)Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C for 20-25 minutes.Cool on a rack after removing from the oven (avoid placing on a plate to prevent sweating).
- Prepare Lamingtons for Dipping and GlazingTrim the edges of the cake for neater squares.Cut the cake into squares.
- Soaking the sponge cake (optional)After cutting the sponge cake into squares, drizzle a teaspoon or two of the flavour liquid over each square. This helps add extra flavour and moisture, ensuring the sponge isn’t dry or bland before dipping in the glaze. This step is optional and is not the final glazing; it's simply to add extra flavour and moisture to the sponge.Rum-Punch – Brew some black tea, Assam is the best. Add 200ml of hot water to one tea bag and let it steep for 2-3 minutes.While the tea is still hot, stir in the sugar until it’s fully dissolved. Add orange juice, grated lemon zest, rum, and Gran Marnier (orange-flavoured brandy liqueur). If you don’t have Gran Marnier, you can use 1-2 teaspoons of regular brandy instead. Finally, add a few drops of red food colouring or Grenadine syrup. (this is if you want it coloured on the inside)Lemon – In 100ml of water, heat the lemon juice and sugar. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, remove it from the heat.Baileys & walnut – Mix the milk and Baileys together, then drizzle over each cake square.Chocolate – Drizzle each cake square with rum.
- GlazingClassic Lamington – Melt the chocolate, sugar, butter, milk, and cream together over a very low heat. After about a minute, once the chocolate has fully melted, remove it from the heat and whisk until you have a smooth, silky chocolate emulsion. Dip the sponge cake into the sauce, gently press it with a fork to help it soak up the liquid, then remove it and roll it in desiccated coconut.Rum-Punch – Melt the white chocolate and butter and add icing sugar and milk, remove from the heat. Whisk until you get a smooth glaze, and add a little red food colouring to achieve a pink hue. Coat each cake square in the glaze and roll it in desiccated coconut.Lemon – Melt the white chocolate, then add sugar, butter, lemon juice and a few drops of lemon colouring. Whisk together until smooth to create a glaze.Dip the lemon sponge cubes into the glaze, gently press them to absorb the liquid, and then roll them in desiccated coconut.Baileys & Walnut – Melt the white chocolate, then add the brown sugar, butter, milk, cream, and Baileys. Whisk together until smooth to create a glaze.Dip the walnut sponge cubes into the glaze, gently press them to absorb the liquid, and then roll them in desiccated coconut.Chocolate – Same as for the Classic Lamingtons, but use white chocolate instead.