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RECIPE: Traditional Australian Lamington for Mother's Day

By Emily Frost | April 29, 2016 5:13pm
 The Australian bistro Burke & Wills has shared its take on a traditional Australian lamington. 
Make an Australian Lamington
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UPPER WEST SIDE — A lamington is to an Australian as a brownie is to an American, according to Matilda Boland, who co-owns the West 79th Street restaurant Burke & Wills. 

The lamington —  a sponge cake bar covered in chocolate and coconut — is "a classic Australian dessert that everyone grows up eating in their school lunchbox and at grandma’s house for special occasions," said Boland. 

This Mother's Day, the Australian bistro at 226 W 79th St. near Amsterdam Avenue, is giving a lamington to every mom (or "mum" as Australians would say) to take home or to eat on the spot.

The treat will come packaged with the recipe, but we've shared it here as well, so you can have a pile of homemade lamingtons ready to go to and really impress her. 

The recipe is a "slight tweak on the classic," based on native Australian and co-owner Tim Harris' mum's recipe, said Boland. 

"There are many variations, some with or without a layer of cream or jam. Everyone’s mum has a recipe that they learned to cook growing up," she said.

The lamington will be on Burke & Wills dessert recipe through the summer.  

Mum's Lamington Recipe

Cake Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 eggs
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups self raising flour (or can substitute regular flour with 1 tsp baking soda)
1/2 cup milk 

Icing Ingredients:

2 cups confectioner's sugar 
1 heaped tablespoon butter
1/3 cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups desiccated coconut
4 tablespoons boiling hot water
1/2 cup milk

Method:

— Use a mixer on high speed to blend the butter and sugar together for about 8 minutes.
— Then beat in the eggs and vanilla.
— Mix in milk and flour with the mixture.
— Pour the mixture into a greased square baking tray.
— Put in oven and bake for 30 minutes at 350° F.
— Allow the cake to cool.
— Once the cake has cooled, spread a thin layer of strawberry jam, cut down middle and fold
in half.
— Place in the freezer for about two hours until frozen.
— Once frozen cut the cake into squares.
— For the icing, combine all of the ingredients for the icing, except the coconut, with boiling water in a bowl until it is quite thin, about 15 minutes. 
— Coat the cake square pieces with the icing.
— Roll the lamingtons in the coconut.
— Leave the lamingtons in an airtight container and leave in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, preferably overnight.