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The Great Australian Lamington

The Great Australian Lamington
Lord Lamington Governor of Queensland - creator of the world-famous Australian Lamington.

The Humble Australian Lamington - Created in Queensland in 1901


Australian Lamington
THE WORLD-FAMOUS AUSTRALIAN CULINARY ICON NAMED AFTER THE GOVERNOR OF QUEENSLAND - LORD LAMINGTON.

The world-famous Australian lamington is over a century old.

Despite some dubious claims from New Zealand, the lamington is as Australian as meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars, ranking alongside the other true Australian icons of the pavlova, peach melba and Vegemite.

This Australian culinary icon, which consists of sponge cake dipped in chocolate and liberally sprinkled with fine desiccated coconut, was created through an accident at work by a maid-servant to Lord Lamington, the thoroughly-British eighth Governor of Queensland.

The maid-servant was working at Government House in Brisbane when she accidentally dropped the Governor's favourite sponge cake into some melted chocolate.

Lord Lamington was not a person of wasteful habits and suggested that it be dipped in coconut to cover the chocolate to avoid messy fingers.

Paul Tully celebrates
the 100th anniversary
of the world renowned
Australian lamington
on 19 December 2001
Lord Lamington devoured this new taste sensation with great delight and the maid-servant's error was proclaimed a magnificent success by all! The Governor however is on the record as calling them "those bloody poofy woolly biscuits".

Lord Lamington was born in London, England on 29 July 1860 as Charles Wallace Alexander Napier COCHRANE-BAILLIE holding the aristocratic title of Baron Lamington.

He was Governor of Queensland from 9 April 1896 to 19 December 1901.

After leaving Queensland, he went on to become the Governor of Bombay in India for 4 years. He died at Lamington House, Lanarkshire, Scotland, in 1940.

According to Hansard page 728 at the Australian Constitutional Convention in Canberra on 11 February 1998, Cr Paul Tully, an elected delegate representing "Queenslanders for a Republic" suggested that his extensive research of the Governors of the 6 Australian colonies and states had produced evidence of only "one, single, solitary, positive achievement of any Governor since the First Fleet arrived in 1788" and that was Lord Lamington's contribution to the culinary delights of the Australian nation!

Lord Lamington served Queensland for 5 years but despite all of his colonial, aristocratic pomp and ceremony, the only thing which Charles Wallace Alexander Napier COCHRANE-BAILLIE will ever be remembered for in Australia is the creation of the world-famous lamington.

PAUL TULLY'S TRUE-BLUE DELICIOUS AUSSIE LAMINGTON RECIPE

INGREDIENTS
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup castor sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup self-raising flour 1/2 cup milk.

Beat the eggs well, gradually adding the sugar until dissolved. Add the milk and vanilla essence and then stir in the self raising flour and whip the butter into the mixture. Pour the mixture into a cake tin or lamington baking dish and bake in a moderate oven of 180 degrees Celsius for 35 minutes. Allow the cake to cool for at least 10 minutes and then stand for 24 hours preferably in the refrigerator, before applying the icing.

THE CHOCOLATE ICING
4 cups icing sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons boiling water
3 cups desiccated coconut.

Stir the cocoa and icing sugar vigorously in a large bowl, adding the milk, butter and boiling water, warming the chocolate mixture over a very low heat until it has a smooth creamy texture. Cut the sponge cake into equal squares about 5cm x 5cm and, using a fork or thin skewer, dip each piece into the chocolate mixture ensuring that the mixture is liberally and evenly applied. Dip each piece into the desiccated coconut, allowing the lamingtons to cool on a wire tray for several hours.

THEN SIT BACK, RELAX AND SAVOUR THE DELIGHTS OF YESTERYEAR COURTESY OF LORD LAMINGTON'S ABSENT-MINDED MAID-SERVANT!

THANK GOD, THE LAMINGTON WAS NOT CHRISTENED THE "COCHRANE-BAILLIE". IMAGINE ASKING FOR A "COCHRANE-BAILLIE" IN A CAKE SHOP!
© Paul Tully 2009


Do you have an interesting historical anecdote about the Australian lamington?
Please email the Australian Lamington Official Website.




How to make pink or chocolate lamingtons

Pink and chocolate lamingtons.

Main ingredients: Coconut, eggs

In my family there are those who cannot go past a chocolate-dipped lamington but there are others, such as myself, who have a soft spot for the jelly-dipped pink ones. 

It’s best to cook the sponge the day prior to assembling the lamingtons.





 Ingredients

5 eggs, at room temperature

60 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

150 g plain flour

¾ cup castor sugar



Chocolate lamington dipping

Dutch cocoa

icing sugar

butter, melted

dessicated coconut



Pink lamington dipping

a packet of strawberry jelly crystals, or raspberry


Method

Select a 20 cm x 28 cm lamington tin and brush with some of the melted butter. Dust with plain flour and tap to dislodge excess. Preheat oven to 180ºC.

Beat eggs and sugar in an electric mixer until very thick and mousse-like – this will take abut 10 minutes. Sift flour over egg mixture and fold in thoroughly but lightly using a large metal spoon. Trickle cooled melted butter down sides of bowl and fold in thoroughly. Pour into tin and bake for 15–18 minutes until top of cake feels springy to the touch (but do not open oven door before 15 minutes has elapsed). Allow cake to cool for a few minutes in tin, then turn out onto a clean tea towel and leave until completely cold.

Cut day-old sponge into 5 cm cubes and refrigerate.

For chocolate lamingtons, mix 1 part cocoa with 8 parts icing sugar, 1 part boiling water and 1 part melted butter to make icing, and prepare a tray of desiccated coconut. Impale a square of sponge on a fork and dip in icing, then in coconut. Allow to dry on a wire rack before storing in airtight tins. Some cooks dip the cake squares in melted jam before the chocolate icing.

For pink lamingtons, make up a packet of strawberry or raspberry jelly crystals, using the quantity of boiling and cold water as suggested on the packet. (85g crystals dissolved in 1 cup boiling water, stir and then add three-quarters cup cold water.) Swirl the liquid in a bowl over a larger bowl of iced water and as soon as the jelly shows signs of thickening, dip the lamington squares into the jelly and then in coconut. Allow to set. 

Will make enough for 12-15 lamingtons, depending on size.

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