“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you have imagined!” – Thoreau
Sometimes I don’t know what I want specifically I simply know what I want it to look like. When I was making my version of a batch of Lamingtons (they are meant to be chocolate) I simply knew that I wanted something white and dreamy.
I wanted to spend the afternoon with a cake of substance. And that is what I got.
I’m obsessed with romance at the moment as it makes me happy. I want to live in an environment that is a romantic one. I crave lightness and warmth. Comfort and colour. Joy and peace. And this translated in to my Lamingtons.
I experimented and fiddled and my family loved the results. So did I actually as I realised some time later that I had devoured three of them #notloosingthebabyweightanytimesoon
But it doesn’t matter because we need cake at times in our lives. We need to create in the kitchen occasionally. We need to have the smell sauntering through our home as the mixture begins to cook. We need the thrill of taking something out of the Aga and seeing that it has worked. We need the feeling of pride as we place our creation on to a stand and plonk it in the middle of a table. We need the soft secret smile that we have deep inside of us as we look at our efforts and know that we’ve done well. That, my dearest friends, is why I like being with food.
Do it. Spend an afternoon with my Lamingtons.
What you will need for this recipe:
9 x 9 inch square cake tin
For the sponge -
16oz Self raising flour
12oz Caster sugar
12oz Butter (softened)
6 Medium sized free range eggs
Pinch of salt
For the butter cream-
250g butter, softened
a dash of vanilla extract
600g icing sugar
2 tablespoons milk
For the topping-
100g Strawberry jam
200g Dessicated coconut
Click here for my conversion chart if you are baking outside the UK
Pre-heat your oven to 190c
- I put the sugar, softened butter, eggs, flour and salt in to my Kitchen Aid and mixed it all up with the paddle attachment until it was well mixed and flowing.
- If it seems a little stiff add a dash of milk and continue to mix.
- Transfer the cake batter into the square cake tin (although my cake tin is non-stick, I still grease it with a little butter to make removing the cake when baked easier.)
- Bake in the oven for approximately one hour, or until the knife comes out clean when tested and the cake is lightly browned on top.
Allow the sponge cake to cool before removing from its tin.
- When the cake has cooled, remove from the tin and place into a flat surface.
- Take a large sharp knife and cut the square sponge cake into smaller squares, I cut mine to measure approx 2 x 2 inches
- Add all the ingredients needed to make the butter cream into your food mixer and mix well.
- Mix them hard and fast until the butter has almost dissolved and you have the lightest creamiest buttercream icing. It makes it more delicious and less like spreading pure fat on to your cakes. The secret is in the mixing.
- Spread the buttercream generously over the individual square sponges you have just cut.
- Dollop a generous spoonful of jam onto the top of each of the cake.
- Then start sprinkling on the coconut, making sure that you cover the cake(s) as evenly as you can.
The beauty with these cakes is that they can be served immediately but they taste EVEN better the next day when everything has had a chance to set. Just keep them airtight if you are leaving them overnight.
But however you eat them, whoever is with you, whatever room, park bench or picnic blanket you find yourself on……..
Have them with a hot pot of tea. Nestle back and think of England on a cosy afternoon in the autumn and by the fire. It doesn’t get better than that.
I love you.
Cherry
x
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A lovely looking recipe and IAm looking forward to trying it. why the mixed metric/imperial measurements though.?
[...] now here we go again with baking that is unashamedly romantic. A couple of weeks ago when I made my Lamingtons I bought in far too much dessicated coconut. Which meant I had enough for another cake. Well almost [...]
I made these last night for my little cousins and they are absolutely beautiful! Really enjoyed making them as well. I try and do all of your how-to’s from the past week at the weekend, so this weekend will be Christmas stockings and hopefully something yummy to eat
Thanks so much and you are an inspiration to myself. x
[...] Yum – Cherry (this is one of my favorite blogs at the moment, so take a tour around it!) [...]
I’ve never heard of Lamingtons before in the US. They look delightful! And the photos are the most beautiful cake photos I’ve seen. Since I bake with an online group every week, I’ve seen my fair share! I’d so like to be by a cozy fire sipping tea in England. Grandparents on both sides were from Britain and it must still be in the DNA. My maternal great+grandfather was from the Claggett clock making family. The story goes he was a bit of a rebel and left the UK for America. I often think how I might be sitting by an Aga wearing wellies had he behaved himself. Where I’d really like to be is in Angelina Ballerina’s village! When I saw the house used as a model for her home sold, I felt such overwhelming longing that it was painful!
Looks delicious! I don’t cook or bake very often (mostly because Tim is a better cook than me and I just get fed up of trying to cook for one when he is working weird shifts… maybe you could come up with some easy and scrummy one-person dishes for those of us who are uninspired by having to eat alone a lot?)
But when I do, I tend to go a bit crazy. Take Halloween, for example… I baked 44 pumpkin cupcakes, trying desperately to combine two recipes and convert US measurements to create something with the ingredients I had. Then, not wanting to stop, I baked pumpkin bread too. And if that wasn’t enough I decided to decorate the cakes with marshmallow icing, despite knowing how crazily difficult it was to control when mixing by hand (my SpongeBob cakes taught me that lesson quite well, though not well enough to not try it again it seems!) So I am with you on this one… there is nothing better than the pride of seeing others enjoy the results of time spent in the kitchen, especially when it has been a challenging process to get there!
Hi Cherry, that sounds like a most blissful and wonderful afternoon. My daughter is home from university for a few days next week and we love nothing better than having a good chat whilst baking cake – your Lamingtons look delicious!
Hi Cherry! Just got back from Australia where as you know Lamingtons are the (unofficial, I think) national cake! None of the ones I saw looked as yum as these! Mostly dry, square boxes of sponge…no buttercream or jam! Much prefer your version….have a great day and eat as many as you want, you look wonderful! xoxo R
Coming from you, Ray, a master baker, that is praise indeed. I’m glad you’re back safe and sound. Cx