Playing With The Lamingtons

I’m a bit of a sucker for Kitchen and cookware shops.  I don’t even have to buy to get my fix, just browsing is enough. It was whilst surfing the Donna Hay site ( she has a new TV series here) that I came across a Lamington Tin.  What’s a Lamington?

After some probing on the net, I have discovered that almost every Aussie was brought up with Lamingtons. At bake sales, at parties and put into packed lunches. Beautiful little squares of sponge dipped in chocolate and then coconut.  Do we have a comparable heritage cake here in the UK?

Having found out what Lamingtons are, I wasn’t sure I should mess with an Australian legacy; Lorraine at Not Quite Nigella has come up with some beautiful variations.  Using the chocolate and coconut as inspiration I baked Lamington Cookies.  A coconut and butter cookie with a Lamington finish.

•  250g soft butter
• 140g Icing sugar, sifted (confectioners sugar)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or vanilla essence)
• 1 large free range egg yolk
• 285g plain flour
• 90g desiccated coconut (unsweetened shredded coconut)
• For the coating
• 100g dark chocolate
• 100g white chocolate
• 200g desiccated coconut

1. Put the butter and icing sugar in a bowl and fork together.  This stope clouds of sticky sugar all over the kitehen.
2. Then beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy
3. Add the egg yolk and the vanilla and mix thoroughly
4. Sift in the flour and add the desiccated coconut
5. mix until it forms a dough, I use my hands here to form a ball
6. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour
7. Heat the oven to 190c; 375f
8. Roll out the dough between two pieces of baking parchment to about 3mm thick (1/8 inch)
9. Cut into even sized squares and place on baking paper on a baking sheet
10. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until just golden at the edges
11. Remove to a cooling rack and cool completely, the cookies will harden as they cool
12. Place a clean dry bowl over a pan of simmering water, place the dark chocolate in the bowl to melt
13. Place the 125g of desiccated coconut in a separate bowl
14. Dip one end of the cookie in the chocolate and then straight into the coconut, Put back on the rack to set
15. Repeat for the white chocolate, The white chocolate coats the cookie more thickly than the dark chocolate