The Australian icon: butter sponge squares dipped in thin chocolate icing and rolled in coconut. The production secret is day-old, part-frozen sponge — fresh sponge tears and drinks icing. Yield: 24 lamingtons at 5 cm from a 33 × 23 cm slab. Hold 3 days airtight; they sell day 2 as well as day 1.
Yield: 24 portions · Prep 90 min · Bake 30 min
Ingredients
250 g unsalted butter (sponge)
330 g caster sugar (sponge)
300 g whole egg
450 g self-raising flour
250 ml full cream milk (sponge)
10 ml vanilla extract
750 g icing sugar (dip)
90 g cocoa powder (dip)
60 g unsalted butter (dip)
180 ml full cream milk (dip)
300 g desiccated coconut
Method
Butter sponge Cream butter and sugar until pale, add eggs gradually with the vanilla, then fold in the self-raising flour alternately with the milk in two rounds each. Spread into a lined 33 × 23 cm slab tin and bake at 165°C fan for 28-30 minutes to a clean skewer. Cool completely.
Stale and firm Wrap the cooled slab and hold overnight, then 30-40 minutes in the freezer before cutting. Day-old, part-frozen sponge cuts square, sheds no crumbs into the icing, and absorbs the dip without collapsing.
Cut Trim the edges and cut a 6 × 4 grid of 5 cm squares with a long serrated knife, wiping between cuts. Uniform squares are what make the finished tray read professional.
Chocolate dip Sift icing sugar and cocoa into a wide bowl; whisk in the melted butter and warm milk to a thin, pourable icing. Working consistency is everything: it should coat and drain, not cling. Keep it over a warm water bath and thin with hot milk as it tightens.
Dip and roll Drop each square into the icing with two forks, turn once, lift, drain 3 seconds, then roll immediately in coconut on a tray. One square at a time, production-line: dip station, coconut station, setting rack.
Set and hold Set on racks 30 minutes before boxing or display. Hold airtight at cool room temperature — not refrigerated, which stales the sponge. Day-2 lamingtons, fully set, are the benchmark product.